Is Uncapped Liability Normal in a Freelance Contract?

The liability section is the part of a contract most freelancers skim, because it is dense, legal sounding, and buried near the end. It is also the one clause that can turn a small, well paid job into a risk far bigger than the fee. So before your eyes glaze over, here is what normal actually looks like.

What a liability cap actually does

A liability cap is a ceiling. It is the maximum amount you could ever be made to pay if the client claims your work caused them a loss. With the cap set at the fees you were paid, the worst case is that you hand the money back. Without a cap, there is no ceiling at all, and a dispute over a $2,000 job can chase a number with far more zeros on it.

Indemnity is the companion clause. To indemnify someone means to cover their losses. A fair indemnity is limited to problems your own work actually caused, say a stock photo you used without the right license. An unfair one asks you to cover the client's losses no matter whose fault they were.

The benchmark

Why "any and all claims" is the phrase to catch

Those four words are the whole problem. "Any and all claims" means you are agreeing to cover losses even when they have nothing to do with you: the client's own mistake, a third party they hired, a decision they made against your advice. Pair that with no cap, and a modest project quietly carries unlimited risk. It is not a deal any insurer would take either.

The fix is two small edits: put a number on the ceiling, and exclude anything that was the client's own fault. Neither is an unusual request. Well written contracts include both as a matter of course, which is exactly why their absence is worth flagging. For where this sits among the other terms to check, see the freelancer's contract benchmark.

The clause worth rewriting

The trap: "Contractor shall indemnify Client against any and all claims, losses, and damages."

The fair version: "Contractor's total liability shall not exceed the total fees paid, and excludes claims arising from Client's own negligence."

Same clause, completely different risk. The first hands the client a blank cheque with your name on it. The second keeps your exposure tied to what you were actually paid.

How to ask for it

You do not need legal training to raise this. A plain line works: "I am happy with the scope, I would just like to cap liability at the project fee and exclude issues caused on the client's side, which is standard." Framed that way it reads as professional, because capping liability to the contract value is one of the most common negotiated terms in freelance work.

The same instinct, catching the clause that quietly shifts risk onto you, is worth applying to your time, not just your money. See how many revisions are normal for the two words that do to your hours what uncapped liability does to your bank balance.

None of this is legal advice, and enforceability genuinely varies by jurisdiction. But the principle, cap your liability at the fee and carve out the other side's fault, is well established and expected.