What should a doula service agreement cover?

Educational information, not legal advice. Have an attorney familiar with your state and practice review your agreement before you use it with clients.

Start with the decisions, not a template

A useful agreement records what the doula and family understand before services begin. It cannot prevent every hard situation, but it can keep both sides from relying on different memories later.

Write down the decisions below in plain language. Then ask an attorney which terms need to change for your state, business structure, and services.

1. Services and boundaries

List what the package includes: prenatal visits, labor support, postpartum visits, contact between appointments, and any scheduling limits. Say whether travel, overnight care, sibling care, classes, or other services cost extra or are not offered.

Describe the doula’s role accurately. A typical scope statement explains that the doula provides non-clinical physical, emotional, and informational support and does not diagnose, perform clinical tasks, or make medical decisions for the client.

2. Fees and payment dates

State the total price, the amount due when the agreement is signed, every later payment date, accepted payment methods, and what happens after a missed payment.

Some doulas schedule the final payment by a week of pregnancy because the estimated due date is more useful to their work than a fixed calendar milestone. Others use dates or installments from signing. Choose a schedule you can explain and administer consistently.

Ask an attorney how your state treats words such as “retainer,” “deposit,” and “non-refundable.” A label alone does not decide whether a payment may legally be kept.

3. Availability and the on-call period

If the package includes birth attendance, define when on-call availability begins and ends. Explain what clients should do when labor may be starting, how quickly they can expect a response, the service area, and any circumstances that affect arrival.

Do not leave “on call” undefined. Families may reasonably interpret it differently unless the agreement gives them the dates and contact process.

4. Backup support and a missed birth

Explain when a backup doula may attend, how the family will learn who the backup is, and whether the price changes. Address what happens if neither the primary nor backup doula can attend.

These terms should distinguish an absence the doula could control from circumstances such as a very fast labor, hospital restrictions, or the family not contacting the doula as agreed.

5. Early birth and other schedule changes

The agreement should address a birth before the on-call period, a late booking, a scheduled induction or cesarean, a change of birth location, and a pregnancy ending unexpectedly. Avoid assuming that one payment or refund rule fits every situation.

Discuss the options with counsel and write the chosen approach plainly. It may account for support already delivered, availability already reserved, services that can still be provided, and services that will no longer occur.

6. Cancellation, refunds, and rescheduling

Cover cancellation by the family and by the doula. State any notice requirements, rescheduling policy, credits, and refund calculation. If postpartum hours expire or late cancellations use booked hours, say so.

Avoid open-ended phrases such as “a reasonable refund will be discussed.” A defined process is easier for both sides to follow, but an attorney should review whether it complies with your state’s rules.

7. Communication, privacy, and records

Say which channels you use for routine and urgent messages, how quickly you usually respond, and how long records are kept. If you collect health or pregnancy information, explain why you need it and how clients can ask to see, correct, or delete it.

Treat photos and testimonials as separate, optional permissions. Do not make marketing consent a condition of receiving doula support.

8. Signatures and changes to the agreement

Explain how both sides sign, receive a copy, and approve later changes. Electronic-signature rules and required disclosures vary, so have counsel review the signing process as well as the words in the document.

Birth and postpartum work may need different terms

Postpartum services are often scheduled and tracked in hours rather than around one birth event. A postpartum agreement may need minimum visit lengths, overnight expectations, illness rules, cancellation notice, an end date for using hours, and a process for adding time.

If one client buys both services, an addendum or separate postpartum agreement can be clearer than forcing every rule into one document.

Questions to take to an attorney

Before review, highlight the parts that carry the most financial or relationship risk:

1. When may an initial payment be kept or refunded?
2. How should cancellation and missed-birth refunds be calculated?
3. Are the electronic-signature and consumer notices sufficient?
4. Does the agreement describe the doula’s scope accurately under state law?
5. Do the privacy and record-retention terms match the information the practice collects?

An attorney can answer those questions faster when the business choices are already clear.

FAQ

Can I use an agreement I found online? You can use a template to identify decisions and organize a draft. Do not assume its legal language fits your state or practice. Remove provisions you do not understand and have local counsel review the result.

Can birth and postpartum support share one agreement? They can, but make sure the document clearly separates event-based birth support from hour-based postpartum support. A separate addendum is often easier to update.

What if a family wants different payment terms? Record any agreed change in writing and make sure it does not conflict with the rest of the agreement. Avoid relying on a text message that changes one deadline while leaving the signed schedule untouched.

Junie can turn your reviewed agreement into a reusable signing flow and calculate payment dates from the schedule you choose. Junie does not provide legal advice or replace attorney review. See the free intake and invoice templates or how Junie works.