Updated July 29, 2020:

If you're wondering, "how much do terms and conditions cost," it depends on how thoroughly you want an attorney to review the contract containing them. Reviews can be basic, more than basic, and complex with prices ranging from less than $200 to several thousands of dollars.

Basic Level Review

The estimated cost of a basic or easy review ranges from $135 to $350. With this type of review, the scope can be limited to focus on only specific areas of concern. While you may be in agreement with the contract overall, you may have questions about some of the terms.

You can specify which terms you would like the attorney to address and explain. By limiting what the attorney reviews to only certain aspects of the contract, there will be fewer attorney fees. The downside is that the attorney will not be looking at the contract in its entirety. They are, therefore, not to blame if some other portion of the contract does not go well.

Medium Level Review

The estimated cost for this level of review runs between $450 and $3,000. The increase in cost is due to your need for an opinion on a particular issue. This would be something along the lines of needing to know if the contract is in compliance with state or federal law or if there is something that needs changing to prevent being sued.

An attorney may also need to know more about your business dealings as well as your preferences. This could require research and could lead to revisions of the contract.

Complex Level Review

A complex review can cost several thousand dollars. While it may be beneficial to have a complex review of a contract that will be used repeatedly, such as a service contract, a basic or medium review may be all that is needed.

The important thing to ask yourself is why you need the contract reviewed. Then, choose a level that will satisfy your needs.

Importance of Terms and Conditions

Terms and conditions are also known as terms of use or terms of service agreement. It is an agreement that is recommended to have on your website but is not required by law. Privacy policies are required by law if personal data is collected from people providing personal information to your website.

A terms of service agreement is the rules and regulations users must agree to follow to use a website or software.

Prevent Abuses

Terms and conditions serve as a legally binding contract between the website owner and its users. The terms outline the guidelines for using the website or software and what the consequences are for abusing either. One option is temporarily banning an abusive user(s).

Examples of abusive users include things such as spamming other users, posting defamatory content, using harmful language, and other negative actions.

Own Your Content

As the owner of the website, you own the design, logo, and content you create. User-generated content is usually owned by the users.

The terms and conditions can carry a clause informing users that, as the owner of the content, it is protected by international copyright laws. This is usually referred to as the Intellectual Property clause included in the Terms and Conditions.

The terms can also explain that writers are welcome to use the website and share their work and ideas, but clearly explain copyright laws as it pertains to ownership by the website.

Termination Clause

Since the terms and conditions already list the potential for temporarily banning abusive users, you can follow-up with a termination clause. The clause informs users that their abusive behavior will result in terminating the account and banning the abuser from the service.

Termination clauses are used for websites that have a registration section. The user must register before being able to use the website or access information.

Limited Liability

A limited liability clause informs users that the owner is not held responsible for errors found in published content. Nor is the owner responsible for information being:

  • Accurate
  • Complete
  • Suitable

The Governing Law

This clause refers to the jurisdiction that applies to the terms of the agreement. For example, with a website operated by a registered New York business, New York would be the governing jurisdiction for the terms and conditions posted on your website.

If you need help with terms and conditions costs, you can post your legal need on UpCounsel's marketplace. UpCounsel accepts only the top 5 percent of lawyers to its site. Lawyers on UpCounsel come from law schools such as Harvard Law and Yale Law and average 14 years of legal experience, including work with or on behalf of companies like Google, Menlo Ventures, and Airbnb.