Internship agreement

Set out what the intern will learn and do, who supervises them, whether and how they are paid, and that the internship is not a promise of a job. Fill in the program and send one link.

An agreement between a company and an intern setting the internship’s dates, schedule, learning objectives and supervision, whether the intern is paid, what the intern must keep confidential, who owns their work, and that the internship carries no promise of employment. Signed by the company and the intern.

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What it covers

When to use it

What it does not do

Signing, witnesses and delivery

The agreement

Internship Agreement

This Internship Agreement (the "Agreement") is made between [Company legal name] (the "Company") and [Intern full legal name] (the "Intern"), a student or recent graduate of [Intern’s school and program (or "Not applicable")]. The Company offers, and the Intern accepts, an internship on the terms below. The Company and the Intern are each a "Party".

1. Position, Supervisor and Term

The Intern will serve as [Internship title] in the [Department or team] department under the supervision of [Supervisor (name and title)] (the "Supervisor"). The internship begins on [Start date] and ends on [End date] (the "Term"), unless ended earlier under Section 9. The Term is limited to the period in which the internship provides the Intern with beneficial learning and will not be extended without a new written agreement. The Intern will work approximately [Hours per week] hours per week, on a schedule set with the Supervisor that accommodates the Intern’s academic commitments, at [Work location] or remotely as the Supervisor approves.

2. Compensation Status

This internship is: [Paid or unpaid]. Compensation, if any: [Hourly wage or stipend (or $0 if unpaid)] per [Paid per], less applicable withholdings, paid in accordance with the Company’s regular payroll practices. If the internship is paid, the Intern is a temporary, non-exempt employee for the Term, shall accurately record all hours worked, and shall be paid at least the applicable minimum wage and overtime as required by law.

If the internship is unpaid, the Parties acknowledge and agree that the Intern is not entitled to wages for time spent in the internship, that the Intern is not an employee of the Company for any purpose, and that the Intern is the primary beneficiary of the internship as described in Section 3. The Company will reimburse pre-approved out-of-pocket expenses the Intern incurs at the Company’s request in accordance with its expense policy, and any stipend stated above is a fixed educational allowance and not payment for services.

3. Educational Nature of the Internship

The internship is an educational experience designed for the benefit of the Intern. The Parties agree and intend that: (a) the Intern understands that there is no expectation of compensation beyond what Section 2 states; (b) the internship provides training similar to that which would be given in an educational environment, including the hands-on application of skills the Intern is studying; (c) the internship is tied to the Intern’s formal education program, and academic credit is being received: [Is the intern receiving academic credit?]; (d) the schedule accommodates the Intern’s academic calendar; (e) the Term is limited to the period in which the internship provides beneficial learning; (f) the Intern’s work complements, and does not displace, the work of paid employees, and the Intern will not be used to fill a position that would otherwise be held by an employee; and (g) the Parties understand that the internship is conducted without entitlement to a paid job at its conclusion.

Learning objectives for the internship are: [Learning objectives]. The Supervisor and the Intern shall review progress against these objectives at least once at the midpoint of the Term and once at its end, and the Company shall provide the Intern with written feedback at the end of the Term and, if academic credit is being received, complete any evaluation the Intern’s school requires.

4. Supervision and Duties

The Supervisor shall provide the Intern with regular guidance, assign projects consistent with the learning objectives, and be available to answer questions. The Intern shall perform assigned projects diligently, attend scheduled meetings and training, keep the Supervisor informed of progress and absences, and observe the Company’s working hours and standards of professional conduct. The Intern shall not sign contracts, make commitments or represent the Company to third parties except as the Supervisor expressly authorizes.

5. Confidentiality

During the internship the Intern may receive non-public information about the Company, its clients, projects, designs, finances, employees and business methods, and information the Company holds in confidence for others ("Confidential Information"). The Intern shall keep Confidential Information confidential during and after the Term, shall use it only for the internship, and shall not remove it from the Company’s premises or systems except as needed for assigned work. On the last day of the Term, or earlier on request, the Intern shall return all Company property and materials and delete any Confidential Information from personal devices and accounts. The Intern may describe the internship and the general nature of the work in a résumé, portfolio or academic report, and may include work samples in a portfolio with the Company’s written consent, which will not be unreasonably withheld for work that does not disclose Confidential Information. Nothing in this Section prevents the Intern from reporting possible violations of law to a government agency or from discussing working conditions.

6. Work Product

All designs, drawings, documents, code, data and other work the Intern produces in the course of the internship ("Work Product") belong to the Company. The Intern assigns to the Company all right, title and interest in the Work Product and all intellectual property rights in it, and shall sign any document the Company reasonably requests to confirm that assignment. This assignment does not cover work the Intern creates entirely on the Intern’s own time, without Company resources or Confidential Information, that is unrelated to the Company’s business or the internship, including academic work not prepared for the Company.

7. Policies and Conduct

The Intern shall comply with the Company’s policies made available to the Intern, including its equal employment opportunity, anti-harassment, information security, health and safety, and acceptable use policies, to the same extent as employees. The Company prohibits discrimination against and harassment of interns and provides interns with the same channels for reporting concerns as employees. The Intern shall behave professionally toward employees, clients and the public.

8. No Guarantee of Employment

The internship is not an offer or promise of employment, and successful completion of it does not entitle the Intern to a position with the Company. Any offer of employment will be made separately, in writing, on its own terms. The Intern is free to seek employment elsewhere during and after the Term, and the Company has no obligation to consider the Intern for any position.

9. Ending the Internship

Either Party may end the internship at any time before the end of the Term, with or without reason, by written notice to the other; the Company will give reasonable notice where practicable and will end the internship immediately for misconduct or breach of this Agreement. If the internship is paid, the Intern will be paid for all hours worked through the last day. If the Intern is receiving academic credit, the Company will notify the Intern’s school that the internship has ended and will provide an evaluation for the period completed if the school requests one.

10. General

This Agreement is governed by the laws of the State of [Governing law (state)] and applicable federal law. It is the entire agreement between the Parties about the internship and supersedes any prior discussions; it may be amended only in a writing signed by both Parties. If any provision is held unenforceable, the remainder continues. Sections 5, 6 and 8 survive the end of the Term. This Agreement may be signed electronically and in counterparts, and the electronic execution record, timestamps and document fingerprints kept by the signing platform are conclusive evidence of its execution. The Intern acknowledges having read this Agreement and, if under eighteen, that a parent or guardian has also reviewed and approved it.

Signatures

Company · Intern

Internship Agreement FAQ

Can an internship be unpaid?

At a non-profit or government body, yes, when the intern volunteers. At a for-profit company, only if the internship passes the Department of Labor’s primary-beneficiary test: the intern must be the one who benefits, through training similar to an educational environment, tied to their coursework and calendar, for a limited period, without displacing paid employees, and without a promise of a job. If the company gets more out of the arrangement than the intern does, the intern is an employee and must be paid.

What is the primary-beneficiary test?

The seven-factor test adopted by federal courts and the Department of Labor in 2018 for interns at for-profit employers. It asks whether both sides understood there would be no pay; whether the training resembles what an educational environment would give; whether the internship is tied to a formal education program or credit; whether it accommodates the academic calendar; whether it is limited to the period in which it provides beneficial learning; whether the intern’s work complements rather than displaces paid employees; and whether both sides understood there was no entitlement to a job. Section 3 of the agreement addresses each factor.

Does an intern need to sign a confidentiality agreement?

It is wise, and this agreement contains one. Interns often see code, customer lists, product plans and financial information, and without a written obligation the company has only trade-secret law to rely on. Section 6 also assigns the intern’s work product to the company, which matters if the intern builds something the company later ships. Nothing in it stops the intern from describing the internship on a résumé or discussing working conditions.

Can I leave the schedule and learning objectives blank for the intern or their school to fill in?

Yes. Any blank you leave becomes a field the intern completes when they open the link, and you see what they entered before you countersign. Learning objectives are often drafted with the school, so a common approach is to fill in the dates, pay and supervisor and let the intern paste the objectives their program requires. Leave the school and program fields for the intern in any case.

Should we promise a job at the end?

No. A promise of employment at the end of an unpaid internship is one of the factors that makes the intern an employee entitled to wages, and even for a paid intern it creates an expectation that can turn into a claim. The agreement says the internship carries no guarantee of employment and that any offer will be made separately, in writing, on its own terms.

Are interns covered by harassment and discrimination laws?

Paid interns are employees and are covered by every employment law. Unpaid interns are covered in a growing number of states and cities, including California, New York, Illinois, Oregon and Washington, D.C., and the company should treat them as covered everywhere. The agreement requires the intern to follow the company’s anti-harassment policy and gives them the same reporting channel as employees.

Related templates

This template is general information, not legal advice. Laws differ by state; review anything important with a lawyer.

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