Engagement letter and fee-information sheet

Your fee choices become an agreement to sign, a fee-information sheet for a consumer client and, away from the office or at a distance, the withdrawal information and form.

The rule, its source and its date
A document to review and sign
Client data stays on this device

What the rule says

Rules verified on 07/10/2026

A lawyer sets the fees with discretion but may not agree on fees that depend only on the result (art. 446ter, Judicial Code): a result fee is only ever a supplement to a base fee.

Before a consumer signs, the firm gives the price or how it is calculated, VAT included, and for an hourly rate an estimate of the hours or periodic statements of hours (CJEU C-395/21; Code of Economic Law, Books III and VI). Signed away from the office or at a distance, the consumer may withdraw within 14 days.

Legal aid (pro deo) is outside this tool: it follows the rules of the legal aid office.

Your result appears here

The result appears as soon as the required fields are filled in.

A consumer client met at home: €150 an hour for 8 to 12 hours, a provision and a 10 % result fee as a supplement.

Your fee profile

Your usual rate, VAT status, provision, office costs, statements, insurer and bar details, kept in this browser for your next letters. Never a client's name or mission.

Sources

Rules verified on 07/10/2026

A drafting aid based on the sources cited. To be reviewed and adapted by the lawyer; it is neither advice nor a guarantee of compliance.

How it works

How the tool works

Five steps, with a preview of the documents updated at every answer:

Client and contract. Consumer, company founder not yet in business, or professional; where the agreement is concluded (at the office, off premises, at a distance); legal-expenses insurance; whether the matter falls under the anti-money-laundering law. If the client may qualify for legal aid, the tool stops: the engagement then follows the legal aid office.
Mission. What you will do and what is not included. The client's name, address and mission are used for the document only and stay on this device.
Fees. Hourly rate, flat fee, subscription, or a flat fee followed by an hourly rate; an estimate of the hours; a result fee as a supplement only; indexation; how often statements are sent.
Costs and payment. Office costs, disbursements, the firm's VAT status, provision, payment term and late-payment clause.
Firm and signature. The firm's identity, bar, insurer and cover, complaints contact, privacy notice, general terms and liability cap.

The tool produces:

the engagement letter, in numbered articles, with signature lines;
for a consumer, the fee-information sheet: the key facts in one block (who, what, how, how much, when, withdrawal, complaints), then the detail;
off premises or at a distance, the information on the right of withdrawal, the model withdrawal form and, when work must start at once, the client's express request.

A checklist shows, item by item with its source, the information a consumer must receive before signing and whether the documents cover it. The documents export to PDF and Word, in the client's language, whatever the language of the site. The guide on informing the client about fees explains the rules.

Legal basis

Judicial Code, art. 446ter: fees set with discretion, no pact linked solely to the result, reduction by the bar council; art. 444, al. 2 (amicable solutions) and 446quater (client funds).
Code of Economic Law, arts. III.74 to III.78 (information due to every client), VI.2 and VI.4 (prices including VAT), VI.45 to VI.73 (distance and off-premises contracts, withdrawal), VI.83 (unfair terms) and Book XIX (consumer debts).
Court of Justice of the European Union, 12 January 2023, C-395/21: with an hourly rate, the consumer receives an estimate of the hours or a commitment to periodic statements.
AVOCATS.BE Code of conduct, arts. 5.10 and 5.18 to 5.35; OVB Codex Deontologie voor Advocaten, arts. 74, 89, 120, 134 and 218 to 221.
VAT Code, art. 28, 5° (disbursements) and 56ter (small-enterprise scheme); OVB VAT FAQ of 1 September 2026.

Points to watch

Legal aid. The tool does not cover pro deo work: neither Book VI nor art. III.74 applies, VAT is 0 % and no fee may be asked of the beneficiary. Check eligibility with the legal aid tool.
Withdrawal. Occasional contracting by e-mail without an organised scheme is a grey zone: the tool gives the information by default. Without it, the period runs 12 months longer and the client may owe nothing (CJEU C-97/22).
Statutory texts. The withdrawal information and form follow the wording of Directive 2011/83; the Dutch and German texts of the Belgian annexes have not been compared yet, and there is no official English text.
Liability cap. The amount of the OVB's basic cover was not verified.
Privacy notice. Give it with the letter; the privacy notice tool prepares it.

What the tool does not do

It does not copy the models of the OVB or of a bar, which are for members: it is designed following the texts cited and refers to those models.
It does not draw up the statement of fees and costs or the Peppol e-invoice.
It does not estimate the costs of proceedings for the client, and it settles no fee dispute.
Saving your fee profile and printing your letterhead are firm features, unlocked with a verified e-mail address. The documents and every export stay free.

Verification

The rules were verified on 7 October 2026 against the Judicial Code, the Code of Economic Law, judgment C-395/21, the codes of conduct and the OVB VAT FAQ. The document is a drafting aid to be reviewed and adapted by the lawyer; it is neither advice nor a guarantee of compliance.

Updated on 7 October 2026

Frequently asked questions

Must the engagement letter be in writing?

No text requires the agreement itself to be in writing. But before the contract the lawyer must give the client the information of art. III.74 of the Code of Economic Law and, for a consumer, that of art. VI.2: the price or how it is calculated including VAT, payment terms, complaints. The firm must prove it gave them (art. III.78): a signed and dated letter and sheet are the simplest proof.

What must the client be told when fees are charged by the hour?

Since the judgment of the Court of Justice of 12 January 2023 (C-395/21), stating the hourly rate alone is not enough for a consumer. The consumer must be able to assess the approximate total cost: an estimate of the number of hours, or a commitment to send periodic statements of the hours worked, and the events that may lengthen the work. The tool requires one of the two and recommends both.

Is a result fee allowed?

Yes, as a supplement to a base fee that remains due whatever the outcome. Any fee pact linked solely to the result is forbidden (art. 446ter, Judicial Code). The tool refuses a result fee without an hourly rate, a flat fee or a subscription, and calculates provisions on the base fee.

May a consumer client withdraw?

Yes, if the agreement is concluded off the firm's premises (at the client's home, in hospital, in prison) or at a distance within an organised scheme: the client has 14 days, without giving a reason. Without the information on that right, the period runs 12 months longer. If the client expressly asks for work to start within the period, a client who withdraws pays an amount in proportion to the work done. Signed at the office, the agreement gives no such right.

Do disbursements bear VAT?

No, when four conditions are met: the client is the legal debtor, the third party invoiced in the client's name and for the client's account, the firm advanced the sum for the client, and it is recharged at its exact amount (art. 28, 5°, VAT Code). Office costs follow the VAT of the fees.

What if the client contests the fees?

The client may ask the bâtonnier or stafhouder to intervene; the bar council may reduce fees exceeding fair moderation, whatever the agreement (art. 446ter, al. 2). A consumer client may also refer the matter, free of charge, to the lawyers' ombudsman (AVOCATS.BE, or the OCA for the Flemish bars). The letter says so.

Is the client's data sent anywhere?

No. The client's name, address and mission stay in your browser: they are never in the share link, the usage statistics or a problem report. The PDF and Word files are made on your device.

In which language are the documents drawn up?

In French, Dutch, English or German, as you choose, whatever the language of the site. The letter states the language chosen and the language of communications with the client.