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Model Voucher

Terms of the Trade - The Voucher

One of the documents any working model is bound to encounter is the Voucher. A hybrid between a time card, an invoice, and a model release, this document is understandably confusing. In this excerpt from attorney Louis Tertocha's article, "From Contract Clauses to the Rigors of The Runway," in The Entertainment and Sports Law Journal, he gives us a concise definition of a voucher:

The majority of assignments made for clients of an agency (a client is the party that requires the model) are negotiated with the agency's booker. Depending upon agency policy, an "advance" against the payment for services rendered is often issued to the model, contingent upon the model's successful performance of the assignment and tendering of necessary paper-work (the ubiquitous "voucher") to the agency.The voucher is a document executed by the client upon completion of the assignment that confirms the model's performance. The model is responsible for delivering the voucher to the agency, usually within 24 hours; the agency uses this to invoice the client. Advances against earnings, if any, paid to the model by the agency require strict compliance with voucher procedures and may be recouped before models are paid commissions. Significantly, the voucher may also serve to assign all of the model's interest in or rights to the photographic images to the client or, alternatively, may contain other restrictions on use.


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