BizAlgeria

Freelance contract in Algeria: a downloadable template with a late-payment clause

A service contract for freelancers in Algeria, in French, Arabic and English, with a late-payment clause explained article by article from the Civil Code.

By Published Rules checked on 4 min read

Two hands, one holding a gold pen, sign a contract on a white sheet on a light desk, with a small gold hourglass and a green plant beside it

A freelancer who works on a handshake has only messages to prove what was promised. A written contract fits on two pages, takes an hour, and changes everything the day a client does not pay. Here is a service contract template, to download in French, Arabic and English, and the reason for each clause from the Civil Code.

Download the template

Everything in square brackets is to be replaced. The percentages and deadlines are examples to adapt, not required values. This is not legal advice: have a lawyer read the text before you have it signed, especially for a large amount or a foreign client.

What the Civil Code says, and what the template does with it

The contract is your law. The Civil Code says a contract is the law of the parties and must be performed in good faith (arts. 106 and 107). The more precise it is, the less room for argument.

A freelance job is a “works contract”. It is the contract where someone undertakes to do a task for a payment (art. 549). With no clause, the price is payable on delivery (art. 559). If the price was not fixed in advance, it is set by the value of the work and the expenses (art. 562), so with the risk of a disagreement.

Changes are paid for, in writing. With a fixed price, you cannot claim more for changes unless the client authorised them with an agreed price, and that agreement must be written (art. 561). Article 4 of the template therefore sets included rounds of corrections and a written quote for the rest. See the quote template.

The client may stop, but pays. They can end the contract before the work is finished by compensating your expenses, the work done and the lost gain, which the court can reduce (art. 566). Article 6 of the template fixes the amount in advance.

The late-payment clause

It rests on three ideas from the Civil Code.

  1. No default, no compensation for delay (art. 179). Default can be by formal notice or an equivalent act, by post, or by a clause saying the due date is enough (art. 180). Article 5 of the template uses the last route. For the letter to send anyway, see the formal notice template.
  2. You can fix the penalty in advance (art. 183). The template offers a percentage per week of delay, with a cap.
  3. Keep it reasonable. The judge can reduce an excessively exaggerated penalty, and it is not due if the client proves you suffered no harm (art. 184). And if your real harm exceeds the penalty, you cannot claim more, except for fraud or gross fault (art. 185). A clause at 1% a week capped at 10%, as in the template, is only an example: we have no source saying what courts accept.

The template also has a deposit (30% in the example): the simplest protection against non-payment.

Before you sign

What we could not confirm

We read the articles in the original text of the Civil Code published in the Official Journal in 1975 and compared them with a French copy amended up to 2007; we did not check for more recent amendments. The code sets a 15-year limit as a rule and 2 years for the claims of some listed professions: we do not know whether your trade is on the list, so do not let an invoice sit. We found no statutory penalty rate imposed on private clients, and we did not check contracts with a foreign client who would pick another governing law.

An acronym puzzles you (NIF, RC, G12…)? See the glossary.

Sources and verification

6 points checked against the texts, 3 still to confirm.

Sources consulted

Show the point-by-point detail
  • Verified The contract is the law of the parties: it can only be revoked or changed by their mutual consent or for causes set by law, and must be performed according to its content and in good faith (Civil Code, arts. 106 and 107).
  • Verified A works contract (contrat d’entreprise) is one where a party undertakes to carry out a work or task for a payment (art. 549). The price is payable on delivery unless usage or agreement says otherwise (art. 559); if it was not fixed in advance, it is set by the value of the work and the expenses (art. 562).
  • Verified With a fixed price, the contractor cannot claim an increase for changes, unless they are due to the client’s fault or authorised by the client with an agreed price; that agreement must be in writing unless the contract itself is oral (art. 561).
  • Verified The client may end the contract before completion provided they compensate the contractor for expenses, work done and the gain they could have made; the court may reduce the lost-gain part if circumstances make it fair (art. 566).
  • Verified Compensation for delay is due only if the debtor has been put in default (art. 179). Default is by formal notice or equivalent act, by post as the code provides, or by a clause saying the due date is enough (art. 180). It is not needed, among other cases, if the debtor declares in writing they will not perform (art. 181).
  • Verified The parties may fix the compensation in advance (art. 183). It is not due if the debtor proves the creditor suffered no harm, and the judge may reduce it if it is excessively exaggerated or if the obligation was partly performed; any contrary agreement is void (art. 184). If the harm exceeds the fixed sum, the creditor cannot claim more unless they prove fraud or gross fault (art. 185).
  • To verify The articles were read in the original 1975 text (Official Journal no. 78) and then compared with a French copy amended up to 2007. Later amendments, if any, were not checked.
  • To verify Claims expire after 15 years as a rule (art. 308); a 2-year limit applies to the claims of some listed professions (doctors, lawyers, engineers, architects, experts, teachers…) for work within their profession (art. 310). We do not know whether a freelancer falls in that list: do not wait.
  • To verify In the texts read there is no statutory late-payment rate imposed on private clients; a freelancer with a foreign client wanting to choose another governing law or a foreign court: not checked.

Corrections log

  • : First published.

General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules can change: check the date above.

Confirm with the official source

Contact details as published by the bodies themselves, collected on 28 October 2026. Before you act, call or write to confirm the point that concerns you, and keep the answer in writing.