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Non disclosure agreement

This free non disclosure agreement (NDA) is simplicity itself.

It is a unilateral or one-way agreement, in which one party undertakes to keep the other's information confidential. In addition to the basic confidentiality obligation, the recipient of the information must use reasonable security measures to safeguard the information and must at all times act in good faith in relation to the information.

If you are looking for a mutual agreement, one that protects the confidential information of both parties, then you should try this NDA template over on website-contracts.co.uk instead.

Confidential information stamp
*This unilateral NDA is also available on website-contracts.co.uk without the usual notice attributing the authorship and source of the NDA to SEQ Legal.

Types of non disclosure agreement

NDAs are one of the most common types of commercial contract. They are also one of the most straightforward. That said, there are a few distinctions to be borne in mind. First, as well as short-form documents (like the free NDA available here), there are more detailed documents that cover collateral matters, such as IPR, publicity restrictions and personal data processing. Second, we need to distinguish unilateral from mutual NDAs. The latter protect the confidential information of both parties. Third, we can distinguish general NDAs from those designed for very particular circumstances. Some examples of the latter are:

  • information relating to a business venture;
  • an invention;
  • a media concept; and
  • a design/idea for a website.

Alternative NDA templates

Links to our full range of NDA templates are set out in the table below. On website-contracts.co.uk you can download Word document templates for editing on your computer. With Docular, you can edit the templates online, which saves time and and makes editing fun (almost).

TitleDescriptionGet the document on...
Short-form unilateral NDAThese are general NDAs that protect the information of only one partyGet on Website ContractsGet on Docular
Long-form unilateral NDAExtended one-way NDAs which include special publicity and data protection clauses.Get on Website Contracts Get on Docular
Short-form mutual NDANDAs protecting the information of both partiesGet on Website ContractsGet on Docular
Long-form mutual NDAExtended versions of our general two-way NDAs.Get on Website ContractsGet on Docular
Business venture NDA A specialist mutual NDA, designed for use by two parties entering into a business venture.Get on Website ContractsGet on Docular
Invention NDA A one-way NDA under which details of an invention may be disclosed.Get on Website ContractsGet on Docular
Media concept NDA Another one-way NDA, this time for media concept disclosure.Get on Website ContractsGet on Docular
Web design NDA Yet another one-way NDA, for disclosing web application concepts to web designers to get quotes.Get on Website ContractsGet on Docular

Summary of free document licensing terms

By downloading a free legal document available on this website, you accept and agree to our terms and conditions. The main terms of the licence in the terms and conditions are as follows.

  1. Unless you have paid for the right to use the relevant document without the included credit (attribution) text, you must retain the credit in the free legal document.
  2. Subject to this point, you may edit and amend the documents to render them suitable for your purposes.
  3. You must not sell or re-distribute the free legal documents or derivatives thereof.
  4. We give no warranties or representations concerning the free legal documents, and accept no liability in relation to the use of the free legal documents.

Comments

Submitted by Manny (not verified) on Sat, 22/08/2015 - 01:57

I expect that this wiil help me to better understand the form which a NDA should take.

Submitted by Phil Hardgrave (not verified) on Wed, 09/12/2015 - 22:15

Is this really free?

Submitted by Alasdair Taylor on Sat, 12/12/2015 - 11:02

Yes, this NDA is free to use, providing you retain the text in the document that attributes the source of the document to us.  You can get access to a version of the NDA that omits that text, here:

https://www.website-contracts.co.uk/non-disclosure-agreement-unilateral....

Also, if you purchase a that document, you can of course remove the credit from a version of this free documnet that you have previously adapted.

Submitted by Veronica Fischer (not verified) on Wed, 06/01/2016 - 15:14

Thank You so much for allowing a downloadable and printable document. I have no problem sharing your link as MOST, if not all other "free" websites want you to fill in each section as you go, review ithe contract and then allow you to print. I'm at a stage where I prefer to review what details are necessary and covered in this type of contract and do more research prior to actually filling in ANY information, especially over the internet. I find your willingness to offer a blank agreeement (even with your company info- you should put a watermark on it as well) freely, to the public, for business purposes of protection for an idea or product is beyond professional. I consider you one of the higher ranking professional companies and would be proud to do business with you at any time. Seems Most ethical when these days, that is a rare commodity. Thank you again for keeping me at ease with not having to "DISCLOSE" my information, technology, indea, invention, prior to having any written disclosure form created. Thank you. Veronica Fischer. 

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 23/01/2016 - 17:06

Thanks - this is very useful.

Submitted by Othmani (not verified) on Tue, 09/02/2016 - 11:21

Thanks for the clear and easy to read template 

Submitted by Genielle (not verified) on Thu, 07/07/2016 - 16:00

Easy to read and use also understandable.

Submitted by Cheryl (not verified) on Tue, 12/07/2016 - 13:52

Hi! Thank you for the templates. May I know if we can edit and add some parts here? But will still remain the credit? Thank you for the answer.

Submitted by Alasdair Taylor on Tue, 12/07/2016 - 16:39

Our licensing terms permit the documents to be edited - indeed they need to be edited to some degree before use. You do however need to retain the credit.

Submitted by Niraj (not verified) on Thu, 04/08/2016 - 02:40

Hi there,

Are we allowed to use this template or give it to friends to help them secure start for their business contracts and etc?

Regards,
Niraj

Submitted by Alasdair Taylor on Thu, 04/08/2016 - 08:53

You are welcome to use the template yourself in accordance with the licensing terms.

Under those licensing terms, you should not redistribute the template, but you can of course direct your friends to this website.

Submitted by Dan F (not verified) on Fri, 12/08/2016 - 07:55

Sorry if this is obvious or not; these things aren't my strong point unfortunately.

Is it fine to print the NDA out as is and use it for a meeting as is?

I saw that if I used it on a website I'd have to link it but I am just looking for an NDA to protect my idea's for upcoming meetings. I gather it is OK to use it for protection as is?

Thanks a lot!
Dan

Submitted by Alasdair Taylor on Sat, 20/08/2016 - 14:00

Yes, that's fine.

Submitted by Don Tobias (not verified) on Wed, 05/10/2016 - 19:45
Thank you! I really appreciate this help!

Submitted by michael cosgrave (not verified) on Wed, 25/01/2017 - 22:15

Do you have a template for an NDA between two parties, one in UK and one in US?

Submitted by Alasdair Taylor on Thu, 26/01/2017 - 10:41

I don't have a document that is designed to take account of the laws of both the US and UK - however such dual law documents are quite rare and usually US and UK parties sign NDAs governed by the law of one or other jurisdiction (English law or the law of an identified US state). However, the courts of both jurisdictions may be granted the right to adjudicate disputes. In any particular case, this approach could cause problems, eg because a particular rule of law in one jurisdiction impacts upon the enforceability of the provisions of the NDA, even thought it may be expressed to be governed by the law of the other jurisdiction. Whether this is a real issue will depend upon the circumstances.

Submitted by louie noble (not verified) on Thu, 15/06/2017 - 12:48

I live in NZ and wish to do a provisional worldwide NDA.

Doing a NDA, couldn't they just go tell somebody else your idea?

How would you know?

Submitted by Alasdair Taylor on Thu, 15/06/2017 - 15:25

Often, it's very difficult to know if confidential information has been disclosed. If you can avoid itl, you shouldn't rely upon an NDA as the only method of protecting a valuable idea.

Submitted by David Long (not verified) on Mon, 20/08/2018 - 15:26

Would it be appropriate to include a restrictive covenant clause to prohibit the recipient from using information / knowledge gained during their relationship with the disclosor to entice employees away from the disclosor's business or to 'poach' customers and if so, where would this sit in the template?

Submitted by Alasdair Taylor on Wed, 22/08/2018 - 09:13

Sorry, but I can't provide this kind of drafting help here - If I tried to answer I'd be very likely to mislead you as I don't have all the necessary info.

Submitted by Aisha Garg (not verified) on Fri, 08/05/2020 - 08:59

What are the benefits of an NDA? & what to include in NDA?

Submitted by Alasdair Taylor on Sun, 10/05/2020 - 05:34

The usefulness and contents of an NDA will in practice depend upon the circumstances in which it is used. Do you have any particular circumstances in mind?

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