What information is required on a model release?

First and foremost, all info entered on a model release must be factual. A release is a legal agreement, and any incorrect information may affect the legality (and your protection from your model).

Required information for every model release

• Full legal names (first and last) for photographer and model
• Signatures of photographer and model (or model's parent/guardian if under 18)
• Full contact information (address, phone, email) for the model (or parent/guardian if under 18)
  • Yes, we need an address, email, and phone number
  • What to do if a model doesn't have some or all contact info
• Full birth date for the model (month, day, year)
• Shoot dates
  • Shoot start date and end date, even if the shoot is all in one day, OR
  • Range of time (up to but no more than one year)
    • Must include the start and end dates of the year-long period; writing "year release" is not sufficient
  • Shoot dates on the release need to match the camera Exif shoot date
• Shoot description (if you are shooting nude/explicit content)
  • Nudity must be mentioned in the shoot description
  • The shoot description must match the content being released (if your description says “business” but the content shows someone at the beach, the release will not be accepted)

Optional but strongly recommended

• Shoot location
• Shoot description (if the content is not nude/explicit)
• Model photo (even better if the model is holding the signed release)
• Nationality, ethnicity, and gender of the model (helps with search facets)
• Witness name and signature

Signature Date

The date of signing should be the date the release was actually signed. It does not need to match the shoot date or any Exif data.