Guide · Canada

How to Write a Relationship Agreement

A clear, fair relationship agreement is built together. Here are the clauses to include and how to keep it mutual.

Step 1: Name the parties and confirm consent

Identify both people, confirm they are adults, and state that both enter freely. This is the foundation everything else rests on.

Step 2: Define what stays private

List what is confidential, names, photos, messages, finances, identities, and agree on consent and media rules for what may be posted or shared.

Step 3: Set boundaries and expectations

Cover communication, exclusivity, gifts and voluntary support, and the boundaries specific to your relationship type.

Step 4: Keep it mutual and add a review process

Both parties should hold the same obligations. Add a built-in review process so the agreement can be revisited and amended whenever both agree, and a clear, fair process for how it ends.

Step 5: Sign freely and get legal review

Both initial each clause and sign with a witness, each keeping a copy. Never sign under duress, and always have a licensed lawyer review the terms before relying on them. This guide is general information, not legal advice.

Prefer a ready-made starting point? Browse all agreements or see how it works.

Protection, never a weapon

An agreement can never silence the truth.

A relationship agreement protects privacy. It must never be used to hide harm. Every MutualClause template is built mutual, and built with carve-outs that cannot be removed.

Abuse is never confidential

Confidential information explicitly excludes abuse, harassment, threats, and degradation. Those are never covered.

You can always report a crime

Nothing in the agreement can prevent reporting illegal activity to police or authorities. The law overrides any clause that tries.

Carve-outs for support

You may always speak with therapists, doctors, lawyers, and trusted loved ones. Healing and safety come first.

Mutual by design

Both parties hold the same obligations. A one-sided agreement that creates a power imbalance is the opposite of what this is.

Never sign an agreement under duress. A reputable partner welcomes your questions and your own legal review and never pressures you. An agreement signed under pressure is often voidable. These agreements can never be used to hide abuse or illegal activity. To be a true safety net rather than a source of harm, the agreement must stay mutual and fair, and must keep its exceptions for therapeutic and medical support, so that confidentiality never causes secondary traumatization. Always have a licensed lawyer review the terms before signing.

MutualClause provides educational legal-information templates only. Nothing sold here is legal advice, and purchasing does not create a lawyer-client relationship. These templates do not facilitate or contract for any illegal activity; no intimate activity is implied or obligated by any provision, and consent may be withdrawn at any time. Consult a licensed lawyer in your province before executing any agreement.