Cast and crew agreement: what you agree with actors and crew

An actor plays a scene. The director of photography chooses the light and the editor later sets the rhythm of the film. What they deliver carries rights, and as the producer you need those rights to release the film. The cast and crew agreement records which rights you acquire, what you pay for them and on what terms people work on set. That applies to your lead actor just as much as to the agreement with your film crew.

Dutch law already arranges part of this for you. The Dutch Copyright Act presumes that authors transfer certain rights to the producer, and through the Dutch Neighbouring Rights Act the same applies to actors. Anything beyond that you only have if it is in writing. You notice this as soon as a distributor, funder or insurer asks to see your chain of title. Since 1 January 2026 the equitable remuneration must also be agreed in writing in every agreement.

Are you about to contract actors or crew and want to know whether your template meets the 2026 rules? Call 020 675 88 21 or send a message using the form at the bottom of this page.

Who in your production is an author or a performer

Not everyone on set has rights in the film. Under Dutch law, the authors of a film are the individuals who make a creative contribution intended for that film (article 45a of the Dutch Copyright Act, in Dutch). The Act gives no list of roles. Besides the director and the screenwriter, the director of photography, the production designer and the editor can also be authors, if their contribution reflects their own creative choices. A runner is not. An earlier article explains who the authors of a film are.

Actors are performers. Their rights are set out in the Dutch Neighbouring Rights Act (in Dutch), article 4 of which applies the film rules of the Copyright Act to every performance intended for a film. In a film production the rules for actors and authors therefore largely run in parallel.

You conclude separate contracts with the director, the screenwriter and the composer. The statutory presumption of transfer also does not apply to the composer and the lyricist of the film music. For the director, see our page on the director’s agreement.

Rights of actors and crew: what the law provides and what you agree yourself

Unless you agree otherwise in writing, authors are presumed to transfer a number of rights to you as the producer (article 45d of the Dutch Copyright Act). These are the rights to rent out and otherwise communicate the film to the public, to reproduce it, to add subtitles and to dub the dialogue, from the moment the film is completed. Through article 4 of the Neighbouring Rights Act the same applies to the actor.

That presumption does not cover everything you may want to do with the material. If you want to use footage of an actor outside the film itself, for instance in a brand campaign or in a sequel, the contract has to say so. For any transfer beyond the statutory presumption you need a written agreement. It only covers what it expressly states or what necessarily follows from its nature and purpose (article 2(3) of the Dutch Copyright Act). The same goes for an exclusive licence.

Moral rights also deserve a place in the contract. An author is presumed to have waived the right to object to changes to their own contribution, unless you agree otherwise in writing (article 45f of the Dutch Copyright Act). The author can still object to a distortion that harms their honour or reputation. Actors have comparable rights, even after they have transferred their rights (article 5 of the Neighbouring Rights Act). So record which edits to a scene you want to be able to make: shortening, dubbing, altering it digitally.

That last point carries more weight now that voices and faces can be imitated with AI. If you want to recreate or alter an actor’s voice or face digitally, agree on it in advance and describe what it is for. Our page on deepfakes in film sets out the legal issues involved.

More on assigning copyright →

Equitable remuneration has had to be in writing since 2026

Since 1 January 2026 article 45d of the Dutch Copyright Act has been stricter. However the rights reach you, you owe authors equitable remuneration for the transfer and for the exploitation of the film. You record that remuneration in writing. The right to it cannot be waived. The change comes from the Dutch Act strengthening copyright contract law and, through the Neighbouring Rights Act, also applies to actors.

In practice, producer and crew member often agree one fee for the work and the rights together. That is allowed. Do make clear which part is the remuneration for the rights, because if the contract only states a day rate, it remains open whether anything was paid for the rights at all. That exact question comes back when someone asks for more later.

The law does not say how much is equitable. Article 45d does apply copyright contract law to film, with the exception of article 25fa. That includes the bestseller provision: if the agreed remuneration turns out to be disproportionate to what the film earns, an author can claim additional equitable remuneration (article 25d of the Dutch Copyright Act). A case about such a claim, and about the credit that goes with it, is pending before the Amsterdam District Court. We discussed it in our article on equitable remuneration and credit in film.

If your budget is too small for a fee that matches the work, you can defer part of the payment until the film generates income. Our article on low-budget film production explains how such a deferment works and why you need to align it with your funders.

Not sure whether your current contracts meet the 2026 requirement? Send them to us and we will check them.

Credits and naming in the end credits

An author is entitled to have their name and role stated in the place customary for that in the film, and may require that this part of the film is shown as well (article 45e of the Dutch Copyright Act). If someone would rather not be named, they can object, unless that objection is unreasonable. An actor can object to the performance being made public without their name, unless that too would be unreasonable.

The law does not settle the exact credit. Agree on the job title under which someone is credited, in what order, and whether the name also appears on the poster, in the trailer and in press materials. The case at the Amsterdam District Court shows how much a credit can be worth. A filmmaker there is claiming a credit as co-director, in the end credits and on IMDb.

Freelance, employment or payroll: which agreement you conclude with actors and film crew

Many crew members work freelance. When deciding whether that holds up, the Dutch tax authorities and the courts look at how the working relationship operates in practice, using the factors the Dutch Supreme Court set out in the Deliveroo judgment. Our article on false self-employment in the film industry works through them for roles such as the DoP, the production designer and the production assistant. The tax authorities have been enforcing since 2025 and, since 1 January 2026, can also impose penalties where there is intent or gross negligence.

From 31 December 2026 a statutory presumption is added. If someone works for no more than €36 an hour, a contract of employment is presumed (article 7:610aa of the Dutch Civil Code, in Dutch). That amount is indexed. A day rate of €300 for a twelve-hour shooting day works out at €25 an hour, so for runners, assistants and extras that threshold is closer than it looks.

Actors have a rule of their own. For employee insurance purposes a performer counts as an employee, even without a contract of employment, unless you agree in writing before the first payment that this rule does not apply (article 4 of the Decree designating cases in which an employment relationship is regarded as employment, in Dutch). If you do employ an actor, you may exploit the rights to the extent agreed or to the extent that follows from the nature of the employment contract, custom or reasonableness. Unless agreed otherwise, you then also owe equitable remuneration (article 3 of the Neighbouring Rights Act).

If freelance work does not suit the role, payrolling is an option in between. The payroll company then becomes the employer and takes over wages, contributions and administration, while you keep the day-to-day direction.

Arrangements on safety and working hours on the film set

Your duty of care as a producer does not apply only to employees. A freelance actor or crew member can also hold you liable for an accident on set, if they depend on you for their safety and the work belongs to your business (article 7:658(4) of the Dutch Civil Code, in Dutch). Our article on liability on the film set explains what that duty of care requires and who has to prove what after an accident.

Concrete standards are set out in the Guidelines for safe and healthy working in the AV sector (in Dutch), which also apply to productions without public money. The guidelines are meant to be the starting point when you conclude a freelance agreement, and you share the schedule at that point. A working day lasts no more than 14 hours and there are at least 10 hours of rest between two working days. For stunts, weapons and intimate scenes you bring in a stunt coordinator, a weapons expert or an intimacy coordinator.

Put those arrangements in the contract and record who oversees safety on set. After an accident, that is exactly what you need to be able to show.

What fair pay and the Fair Practice Code ask of your contracts

If you apply for the Netherlands Film Production Incentive, you declare that everyone working on the film applies the Fair Practice Code. Your contracts with cast and crew then have to live up to that declaration.

The Film/AV Production Chain Table has set out what fair pay means in money in a toolkit of practical instruments. It contains indexed hourly starting rates for freelancers in film and AV production, grouped into levels A to K, which have served as the minimum threshold for fair pay since 1 January 2026. If you agree a day rate, check whether it reaches those starting rates.

Lawyer for your cast and crew agreement

At Liaise we have worked for film producers for more than 35 years. We draft cast and crew agreements that fit your production or review your template against what has been mandatory since 2026. Think of the written equitable remuneration, the rights you need for exploitation and promotion and the position of anyone who falls below the new hourly threshold. If you are an actor or crew member who has been sent a contract, we are glad to read it with you before you sign.

Shooting soon? Call 020 675 88 21 or send your question using the form below.