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Fitness Instructor Agreement Template

Engage a yoga, Pilates, spin or group fitness instructor — or a personal trainer — with the timetable, pay, qualifications, safety and cover rules agreed.

Use This Template — Free See the Agreement Signers don’t need an account
Fitness instructor agreement
The blanks in brackets are what you fill in. VergeHR adds each signer’s signature and date boxes.
Fitness instructor agreement — page 1 of 3
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Fitness instructor agreement — page 2 of 3
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Fitness instructor agreement — page 3 of 3
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Use This Template Fill in the blanks, name who signs, and send — from VergeHR eSignature.

What is a fitness instructor agreement?

Gyms, yoga and Pilates studios, boxing clubs and leisure centres often use freelance instructors to teach classes on their timetable. A written agreement protects both sides: the studio knows the instructor is qualified and insured and what happens if they can't teach, and the instructor knows their rate, when they will be paid and what the studio will do if it cancels a class.

This template lists the classes or sessions, the regular timetable and where they take place, and leaves the instructor free to design each class within the studio's published description and safety standards. Pay is per class, per hour or per personal training session, with an optional attendance bonus and invoicing on your schedule. The instructor confirms the qualifications and insurance you require. A participant-safety section covers equipment checks, asking about injuries and offering modifications, capacity, emergency procedures and incident reporting, alongside the studio's own duties. It then covers finding approved cover and payment for it, studio cancellations with optional late-cancellation pay, music licensing, ownership of class plans, recording or live-streaming by agreement, independent-contractor status, member confidentiality, an optional non-solicitation promise and ending the agreement.

Best for
Gyms and studios engaging freelance class instructors or personal trainers
Signed by
The studio and the instructor
Pay
Per class, per hour or per personal training session, with an optional bonus
Length
About 3 pages, initialled on every page

When to Use a fitness instructor agreement

  • A yoga or Pilates studio adding a freelance teacher to its timetable
  • A gym engaging spin, HIIT or group fitness instructors
  • A studio engaging a personal trainer to train members on site
  • A dance, martial arts or boxing club engaging a class coach
  • A studio running live-streamed classes taught by a remote instructor

What You Fill In

21 blanks, then the name and email of each person who signs: studio, instructor.

1 The parties

  • Studio or gym (business name)*
  • Studio address
  • Instructor's full name or business*
  • Instructor address

2 Classes

  • Start date*
  • Classes or sessions*
  • Regular timetable*
  • Where*

3 Pay

  • Currency*
  • Rate*
  • Paid* per class taught · per hour taught · per personal training session
  • Attendance bonus or other pay
  • Instructor invoices* weekly · every two weeks · monthly
  • Invoices paid within (days)*

4 Qualifications and insurance

  • Qualifications the instructor must hold*
  • Insurance the instructor must hold*

5 Cover and cancellations

  • Notice to find cover (hours)*
  • Paid if the studio cancels a class late

6 Other terms

  • Member non-solicitation period (months)
  • Notice to end the agreement (days)*
  • Governing law*

7 Who signs

  • Studio signature and date, job title, initials on every page · The gym, studio or club engaging the instructor.
  • Instructor signature and date, initials on every page · The instructor or trainer.

What the fitness instructor agreement Covers

  1. Classes
  2. Pay
  3. Qualifications and insurance
  4. Participant safety
  5. Cover and cancellations
  6. Music, content and recordings
  7. Independent contractor
  8. Members and confidentiality
  9. Ending the agreement
  10. General

Using the fitness instructor agreement, step by step

1 List the classes

Enter the classes or sessions and their length, the regular timetable (one class per line reads well) and where they take place, including online classes.

2 Set the pay

Enter the rate and whether it is per class, per hour or per personal training session, plus any attendance bonus. Choose how often the instructor invoices and how many days you have to pay.

3 Require qualifications and insurance

Name the qualifications the instructor must hold for these classes — for example a recognised teaching qualification and a current first aid and CPR certificate — and the insurance they must carry. Ask for copies before the first class.

4 Agree cover and cancellations, then send

Choose how many hours' notice the instructor must give to find cover, and whether you pay anything when you cancel a class late. Set the non-solicitation period (or leave it empty), the notice period and the governing law, then send it to the instructor to sign.

Tips Before You Send It

  • Keep an approved cover list so instructors can find a substitute quickly and you know every cover teacher is qualified and insured.
  • Diary the expiry dates of each instructor's first aid certificate and insurance.
  • Check your music licence covers group classes and live streams — they are often licensed separately.
  • If you set the instructor's hours, methods and content in detail and they work only for you, take advice on whether they are really a contractor.

Sign It Online In Minutes

  1. Fill in the blanks. Names, dates and amounts go straight into the agreement — the preview shows exactly where.
  2. Name who signs. Tick “This is me” for your own part. VergeHR builds the PDF with every signature, date and initials box on the right line, and you can check or move anything before sending.
  3. Send it. Each signer gets a secure link and signs from any device — no account needed. The signed PDF, with an audit trail and a Certificate of Completion, is filed in Files and emailed to everyone.
Use the fitness instructor agreement Template — It’s Free

Fitness instructor agreement: frequently asked questions

What happens if the instructor can't teach a class?

They must tell the studio by the notice you set and try to arrange an approved substitute from the studio's cover list. The substitute is paid for the class, unless the instructor arranges and pays them with the studio's agreement.

Does the studio have to pay if it cancels a class?

Only if you fill in a late-cancellation payment, such as a percentage of the rate when cancelled with less than 24 hours' notice. Otherwise the studio just has to tell the instructor as soon as it can.

Can the studio record the instructor's classes?

Only by agreeing it with the instructor in writing first, including how the recording will be used and any extra pay. The studio also needs consents from participants who can be identified. The instructor keeps ownership of their class plans and choreography.

Is an electronically signed instructor contract valid?

Electronic signatures are generally valid for ordinary contracts like this in the US (ESIGN Act and UETA), the UK, the EU (eIDAS) and Canada. VergeHR keeps an audit trail and Certificate of Completion with the signed PDF.

Use This Template — Free