Nanny contract template: what to include and how to write yours

A nanny contract template is a fill-in starting point for a nanny work agreement, the written agreement between your family and the nanny you employ. It sets out the schedule, duties, pay, taxes, time off, house rules, and how the job ends. Once you both sign it, you each know what the job asks and what it pays.

A nanny contract template puts your agreement in writing.

As a household employer, you follow IRS tax rules and U.S. Department of Labor wage rules, and a contract records the terms those rules depend on. When your nanny's rate and hours are on paper, tracking time and filing taxes get much easier.

A 2021 National Domestic Workers Alliance survey of all domestic workers found only 16% had a written agreement with their employer. The National Domestic Workers Alliance shares that figure on its Domestic Workers Bill of Rights page. Your contract helps close that gap for the person you hire.

According to the same group, states that have passed a Domestic Workers Bill of Rights include New York, California, Illinois, and Oregon. These laws add protections beyond federal rules, so check what your state asks of you.

A contract also sets the tone for a relationship built on trust. Your nanny will help raise your kids, so they deserve their pay and hours in writing too. If you're a nanny weighing an offer, asking for a written agreement is a fair and professional request.

You can browse nanny jobs with real families and raise it in your first conversation. When families hire directly, nobody else writes the terms. You and your nanny agree on them together, with no agency in the middle, and the contract is where those terms live.

What every nanny contract should include.

A good contract covers two layers. The essentials are the terms any employment agreement needs. The deeper details capture how care actually happens in your home, day to day.

Think of it the way you'd get to know a nanny. A résumé tells you about experience and certifications, but you hire the person for how they handle a hard afternoon. The deeper details do that same work for your contract.

Copy the sample nanny contract below into a document and fill in each blank together. Delete what doesn't apply, and add anything specific to your family.

This template is general information only and doesn't replace legal or tax advice. State rules vary, so check yours before you both sign.

1. Parties and children
   • Family (employer) name or names: ____
   • Nanny (employee) name: ____
   • Address where care happens: ____
   • Children's names and ages: ____
2. Start date and trial period
   • Start date: ____
   • Trial period length: ____ weeks
3. Schedule
   • Regular workdays: ____
   • Start and end times: ____ to ____
   • Guaranteed hours per week: ____
   • How extra hours are requested and approved: ____
4. Duties
   • Childcare duties: ____
   • Child-related household tasks, such as kids' laundry or meal prep: ____
   • Tasks not included: ____
5. Pay
   • Hourly rate: $____
   • Overtime rate for hours over 40 in a workweek: $____
   • Pay day and frequency: ____
   • Payment method: ____
   • Mileage or expense reimbursement: ____
6. Taxes
   • Employment status: household employee
   • Who withholds and files taxes: ____
   • Payroll service, if any: ____
   • Forms: W-4 at hire, W-2 each year
7. Time off
   • Paid vacation days per year: ____
   • Who picks vacation dates: ____
   • Paid holidays: ____
   • Paid sick days per year: ____
   • Pay when the family travels or cancels: ____
   • Unused time off (rollover or payout): ____
8. Benefits (optional)
   • Health stipend: $____ per month
   • Transit stipend: $____ per month
9. House rules and care approach
   • Discipline approach: ____
   • Screen time: ____
   • Food and allergies: ____
   • Driving and car seats: ____
   • Visitors during work hours: ____
   • Live-in terms, if any (room and meals): ____
10. Privacy and cameras
    • Confidentiality: ____
    • Photos and social media: ____
    • Phone use during work hours: ____
    • Cameras in the home (locations, and whether they record audio): ____
11. Reviews and ending the job
    • Review dates: ____
    • Notice period for both sides: ____ weeks
    • Grounds for immediate dismissal: ____
    • Severance: ____
    • Return of keys and property: ____
12. Signatures
    • Family signature and date: ____
    • Nanny signature and date: ____

Need a part-time nanny contract template? Use the same 12 sections and scale them to fit. Write the exact days and hours, and keep the overtime and time-off lines, because part-time work still comes with pay rules.

The clauses that protect both of you.

Most misunderstandings between families and nannies trace back to six clauses. Get these right in your nanny agreement template, and you'll skip a lot of awkward conversations later.

Each clause below explains what to write and why it matters. Fairness runs through all of them, because a contract only works when both of you can live with it.

Hours and overtime, written down.

Start with the weekly schedule and the exact start and end times. Then add how extra hours get requested and paid. A late meeting or a delayed flight is easier to handle when you've already agreed what an extra hour costs.

The U.S. Department of Labor's live-in domestic worker rules set the federal floor: the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) covers domestic workers in private homes. Unless an exemption applies, they're owed at least federal minimum wage for all hours worked. Hours over 40 in a workweek earn time and a half.

Long shifts don't change that on their own. The U.S. Department of Labor's guidance on hours worked in domestic service says employees who work 24-hour shifts are not necessarily live-in workers. If your nanny goes home after a long shift, treat the overtime rule as the default.

State overtime rules can be stricter than federal law, so check with your state labor department. Part-time arrangements need hours in writing too, since a few extra afternoons a month add up fast.

Pay and taxes, settled up front.

Your nanny sets their rate, and you agree on it directly. Write down the hourly rate, the overtime rate, the pay day, and the payment method. Add mileage or expense reimbursement and any guaranteed hours, so a slow week doesn't mean a short paycheck.

Next, settle employment status. Under the IRS control test, a worker is your employee if you control what work is done and how it's done. A nanny working in your home, on your schedule, is generally your household employee, even if the contract calls them a 1099 contractor.

The tax figures below come from the IRS household employer guide for 2026, and the IRS adjusts them annually. Check the current numbers each year before you run payroll.

Social Security and Medicare taxes apply once you pay one household employee $3,000 or more in cash wages in 2026. The combined rate is 15.3%, split evenly, so your nanny's share is 7.65% and yours is 7.65%. You can choose to pay your nanny's share yourself instead of withholding it.

Federal unemployment (FUTA) tax applies once you pay $1,000 or more in cash wages to household employees in any calendar quarter. The rate is 6% of cash wages, and only the first $7,000 a year per employee is taxed. You may owe state unemployment tax as well.

Your contract should name who handles withholding and filing. It should also cover the paperwork, which means a W-4 when your nanny starts and a W-2 from you each year.

Gathered Hands keeps the money side simple with flat membership pricing: families pay $29.99 a month, with no placement fee. We never take a commission or a cut of your nanny's pay, so the rate in your contract is exactly what they earn.

Live-in terms, spelled out.

A live-in nanny's home and workplace share an address, so boundaries matter even more for their privacy. Under DOL rules, live-in status means residing on your premises permanently or for extended periods of time.

Live-in nannies may be exempt from federal overtime pay, but they're still owed at least minimum wage for every hour worked. That makes tracking hours a must.

The law already expects you to do it. The U.S. Department of Labor's domestic worker recordkeeping requirements say a household employing a live-in worker must keep records of all hours worked and payroll. A written schedule in your contract makes those records easier to keep.

Spell out the room, meals, off-duty time, and rules for guests. Agree on what happens to housing if the job ends, including how long your nanny has to move out. Off-duty time belongs to your nanny, even when they're just down the hall.

Time off, sick days, and holidays.

Write down how many paid vacation days your nanny gets and who picks the dates. List the paid holidays by name, so nobody has to guess about the day after Thanksgiving.

Sick days need their own line. There's no federal paid sick leave mandate for nannies, but some states require it, so check your state's current law.

Guaranteed pay deserves extra care. If your family travels or cancels a day, say whether your nanny is still paid. This is their livelihood, and a canceled week of care shouldn't become a week without income.

Decide whether unused days roll over or pay out at year end. If you offer extras like a health stipend or transit help, put the amounts in writing too.

Privacy, house rules, and cameras.

Your nanny will see your family's everyday life up close. A confidentiality clause covers what stays private, and a social media rule says whether photos of your kids can ever be posted.

Add house rules for phone use during work hours and for visitors. If your nanny drives the kids, note whose car they'll use and how car seats are handled.

If you use cameras, say so in the contract, including where they are and whether they record audio. Disclosing monitoring builds trust, and recording laws vary by state, especially for audio.

Privacy runs both ways. What your nanny does off duty is their own business, and your contract should respect that.

Reviews and how the job ends.

Set a trial period with a clear length, so you can both check the fit. Then schedule regular reviews, and use them to talk about what's working and whether a raise is due.

Notice should run both ways. Write how many weeks' notice each side gives, and list the few reasons for immediate dismissal, such as a safety risk to your children.

Add severance terms and how unused time off is paid out. Note when keys and property come back, too. A fair exit is part of a respectful relationship, even when the job ends.

How to write your nanny contract, step by step.

Writing the contract is the last part of hiring well. Here's the path to a signed agreement in five steps.

Start by finding the right person. When you find a nanny directly, you can read the whole profile, personality included, before you send a message. Then interview, and ask the questions your contract will need answered.

Next, check background screening and understand its limits. Gathered Hands screens nanny accounts through Checkr for identity and criminal records before nannies can apply to jobs.

No background check can surface every record or guarantee how someone will behave, so call references too. You can read the details in our safety and screening policy.

Then agree on the terms directly, using the template above. Go section by section with your nanny, and treat it as a conversation between two people who want this to work.

Review the draft together and adjust anything that doesn't fit. When you're both happy, you each sign and date it, and you each keep a copy.

Finally, set up payroll and taxes before the first day. Check your state's requirements too, such as workers' compensation insurance, so everything is in place when your nanny walks in.

A contract that starts the relationship well.

A good nanny contract template gives you fewer surprises and fair pay, plus room for the relationship to grow. Your nanny knows what the job asks and what it pays, and you know what to expect when you hand over the keys.

It works for families hiring directly and for nannies who want their terms in writing. On Gathered Hands, families message nannies directly or post a job, and nannies keep the full rate they set, as the pricing section above explains. No agency, no middleman, just real people agreeing on terms together.

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