Hold Harmless Agreement

A Hold Harmless Agreement is used between two parties to create protection from liability.

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Hold Harmless Agreements are more formally known as Indemnity Agreements, where an Indemnity represents a type of security or protection for one person or organization against financial and other liabilities.

This type of contract is quite common in business and private lives. A Hold Harmless Agreement is often required of an employer and employee relationship where it serves to protect the employer against damage claims on the part of the employees.

What Is a Hold Harmless Agreement?

A Hold Harmless Agreement protects the indemnitee from being responsible in a particular situation. Often expected in the workplace, you can also use it in other instances. For instance, a landlord may insist on executing a Hold Harmless Agreement before allowing a tenant to move in before the start of the lease agreement.

Businesses working with heavy-duty and hazardous equipment or activities might also use Hold Harmless Agreements to protect against potential liabilities.

Other Names for Hold Harmless Agreement

Depending on your state, Hold Harmless Agreement may also be known as:

  • Indemnity Agreement
  • No-Fault Agreement
  • Assignment of Indemnity
  • Indemnification Agreement
  • Reparation Agreement

Who Needs a Hold Harmless Agreement?

Any two parties entering into an agreement where one party could become liable benefit from a Hold Harmless Agreement. Employers and landlords often insist on such an arrangement.

Why Use 360 Legal Forms for Your Hold Harmless Agreement?

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Create your own documents by answering our easy-to-understand questionnaires to get exactly what you need out of your Hold Harmless Agreement.

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Laws vary by location. Each document on 360 Legal Forms is customized for your state.

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All you have to do is fill out a simple questionnaire, print, and sign. No printer? No worries. You and other parties can even sign online.

How to Create a Hold Harmless Agreement with 360 Legal Forms

The Hold Harmless Agreement should adhere to state law, first and foremost. To ensure these laws are met, it helps to have a proven template.

Let 360 Legal Forms help with our extensive library of attorney-vetted legal forms. The process is fast and easy. All you have to do is fill out our easy-to-understand questionnaire. Once complete, simply download your form as a PDF or Word document from your secure online account.

What Information Will I Need to Create My Hold Harmless Agreement?

To create your document, please provide:

  • Indemnitee Details: The legal name of the individual or organization seeking indemnification.
  • Indemnifier Details: The legal name of the individual or organization granting indemnification.
  • The Effective Date: The date when the agreement goes into effect.
  • Indemnified Actions: Describe the particular actions to be indemnified.
  • Terms of Indemnity: Specify the terms of the indemnity.
  • Other Terms: Other terms.
  • Witness: The name of the witness to the signatures.
  • Signatures: Both parties are to sign the agreement.

Hold Harmless Agreement Terms

  • Indemnification: Protection against liability.
  • Indemnitee: The person or organization asking for indemnity.
  • Indemnifier: The person or organization forfeiting liability claims.
  • Liability: The quality of being liable.
  • Claim: In the context of a Hold Harmless Agreement, this refers to a damage claim.
  • Waiver: The forfeiture of a right.
  • Assignment: A legal transfer of ownership or responsibility.
  • Severability: The quality of a document, such as an agreement or a lawmakers’ bill, being valid even when some parts or provisions are struck out (valid without the severed parts or conditions).

Hold Harmless Agreement Signing Requirements

Both the indemnitee and indemnifier must sign the Hold Harmless Agreement in the presence of a witness to make it legally binding. Notarization is usually not necessary.

What to Do with Your Hold Harmless Agreement?

After generating your Hold Harmless Agreement on 360 Legal Forms, print out a copy and have both parties sign it in the presence of a witness. There is no need to file it with the court or any other body. Distribute a physical copy of the contract to the indemnitee and the indemnifier.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Waiver of Liability is the forfeiture of liability claims from one party to the other. In contrast, the Hold Harmless Agreement has the sole purpose of protecting one party against potential liabilities. It involves two or more parties in the agreement, as opposed to one person signing a waiver.

The witness can be any person above 18 years of age. However, the standard practice is to use a witness who does not hold any stake in the agreement. The witness does not have to know anything about the terms of the agreement but rather just bear witness to the signatures.

First, the Hold Harmless Agreement has to be drafted in accordance with state and county laws. A Hold Harmless Agreement is considered valid if entered into willingly and free of duress or coercion. The only exception is if the indemnitee was negligent to a fault, as a Hold Harmless Agreement could still be declared invalid.

Hold Harmless Agreements are applicable in one’s personal life too, besides the more common business or transactional application. Before you allow someone to stay at your home, for example, you can use such an agreement to protect yourself against liabilities, such as if your guest or your guest’s guest is to sustain an injury in your home.

The best practice is to negotiate terms that are agreeable to all parties involved. If the agreement is too broad or refined, that could mean that the language of the contract favors one party at the expense of the other.

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Applicable to all 50 states
Applicable to all 50 states

Our documents are vetted by lawyers and are applicable to all 50 states.