What is a force majeure clause?

A force majeure clause says what happens when an event outside both parties' control, such as a natural disaster, a government order or an epidemic, makes it impossible to perform the contract. It usually excuses both sides from liability for the failure, for as long as the event lasts.

What counts as force majeure?

Whatever the clause lists, so the list matters. Common examples are natural disasters, severe weather that closes the venue, fire, war, terrorism, government orders, epidemics and venue closure. A client changing their mind, a cost going up or ordinary bad weather usually does not count.

What happens to a deposit under force majeure?

Only what the contract says. Many force majeure clauses excuse performance but say nothing about money already paid, which is where most disputes start. A good clause for date-based work says the booking moves to a new date with the deposit carried over, and what happens if no date can be agreed.

Does illness count as force majeure?

Usually not, unless the clause says so. A freelancer's own illness is normally handled by a separate clause about sending a replacement or refunding the client. Include that clause too.

Is a force majeure clause the same as a cancellation policy?

No. A cancellation policy covers a client who chooses to cancel. A force majeure clause covers an event that stops the job for both sides. You need both, and they should say different things about the money.

Client ProtectionOctober 16, 2026

Force Majeure Clause for Freelancers: The Part About the Money Is Missing

Force majeure is French for "superior force," and in contract terms it means nobody's fault. The venue floods. The government closes events. A hurricane takes out the coast the week of the wedding.

My 14-year-old heard me say "force majeure" on a call and asked if it was a Star Wars thing. It isn't, though "may the force majeure be with you" is now permanently in my head, and I'm sorry it's in yours too. It's a clause, and for freelancers who sell dates, it's one of the few clauses that gets tested by the whole industry at the same time.

Here's what it covers, what it doesn't, and the sentence most templates forget.

What a Force Majeure Clause Does

It answers one question: if something outside both our control makes this job impossible, who owes what?

Without one, you're relying on general law, which in most places is narrow and slow. In the US, doctrines like impossibility and frustration exist but are hard to win on. In the UK, frustration ends the contract but the money rules are blunt. A clause lets you decide in advance, in plain words, instead of finding out in a dispute.

What Counts, and What Doesn't

A force majeure clause covers what it lists. Courts tend to read these lists narrowly, so the list is the clause.

Usually covered, if listed:

Natural disasters, fire, flood, earthquake
Severe weather that closes the venue or makes travel unsafe
War, terrorism, civil unrest
Government orders, including bans on gatherings
Epidemics and pandemics
The venue becoming unavailable for reasons outside both parties' control

Usually not covered:

The client changing their mind, or the couple separating
Rain at an outdoor wedding that can still go ahead
A cost going up, for either side
Your own illness (that's a different clause, more below)

That last group matters. A client who cancels because plans changed is a cancellation, and your cancellation policy handles it. Force majeure is for when the day itself is taken away from both of you.

The Missing Sentence: What Happens to the Money

Here's the gap. Most force majeure clauses you'll find say something like "neither party shall be liable for failure to perform due to events beyond their reasonable control." Then they stop.

That excuses both sides from performing. It says nothing about the deposit sitting in your account. So the day the event is cancelled, you think the deposit is yours because you held the date, the client thinks it's theirs because nothing happened, and the clause agrees with both of you.

For date-based work, the fair answer usually looks like this:

First, move the date. The booking moves to a new date within a set window, say 12 or 18 months, with everything already paid carried over.
If no date works, say exactly what is refunded and what is kept. Many vendors refund everything above the retainer, or everything minus costs already spent. Pick one and write it down.
Put a time limit on it, so a postponed booking doesn't sit open forever.

A force majeure clause that skips the money doesn't prevent the argument. It schedules it.

Force Majeure Clause Example

I'm a freelancer, not a lawyer. Have someone qualified in your state or country review this once. Wedding couples are usually consumers, and consumer law can limit what a business may keep when a booking can't go ahead.

FORCE MAJEURE

Neither party is liable for failing to perform this agreement if the
failure is caused by an event outside its reasonable control, including
natural disaster, fire, flood, severe weather that closes the venue or
makes travel unsafe, war, terrorism, civil unrest, government order,
epidemic, or the venue becoming unavailable through no fault of either
party (a "Force Majeure Event").

If a Force Majeure Event prevents the booking from going ahead, the
parties will first try to move it to a new date within [12] months of
the original date. All payments already made are carried over to the
new date.

If no new date can be agreed within [30] days of the original date,
the agreement ends. The [Freelancer] keeps the retainer of $[Amount]
and refunds all other payments within [14] days.

This clause does not apply to a cancellation by the Client for any
other reason, which is covered by the Cancellation section.

The last paragraph is there on purpose. Without it, "we had to cancel because of a family emergency" will try to walk in through the force majeure door.

And Your Own Illness?

Separate clause. Force majeure usually covers events that hit everyone, and your flu hits only you. Write it on its own: if you can't attend, you send a qualified replacement, and if you can't, you refund what the client paid. The wedding photography contract template and the videographer template both have that clause ready.

The Move

Find the force majeure clause in your contract, if there is one, and ask it one question: does it say what happens to the money?

If it stops at "neither party shall be liable," add the two paragraphs about moving the date and what's refunded if no date works. That's the part that gets read out loud on the worst day of the year.

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About the Author

Steve spent ten years freelancing as a videographer and editor. He now writes the Hardbook Journal — contracts, deposits, and what to say when a client goes quiet.