Teaming Agreement Template and How to Draft One (2026)

What is a teaming agreement, and when do you need one? A teaming agreement is a contract between two or more companies who decide to bid together for a single contract or tender, usually as a prime bidder and one or more subcontractors. It sets out who leads the bid, how the work and the money will be split if they win, and what each side must do during the bidding. It is common in government procurement, defence, construction, IT systems and large services tenders, where one company alone cannot meet every requirement. You need one when you plan to respond to a tender with a partner. Without it, the parties argue later about who promised what, who owns the client relationship, and how the work divides. A teaming agreement locks that down before the bid goes in, while everyone still has an incentive to agree. A teaming agreement is not the same as a joint venture. A joint venture usually creates a shared entity or a longer business relationship. A teaming agreement is narrower: it is about winning one specific bid, after which the prime typically subcontracts parts of the work to the team members under separate subcontracts. This article is general guidance, not legal advice. Procurement and competition rules vary by jurisdiction, so have a qualified professional review any agreement before you rely on it. ## Teaming agreement template Copy the block below and fill the bracketed fields. ```

TEAMING AGREEMENT This Teaming Agreement ("Agreement") is made on [DATE] BETWEEN: [PRIME COMPANY NAME], [address] ("Prime") AND [TEAM MEMBER NAME], [address] ("Team Member") BACKGROUND A. [Client/Authority] has invited bids for [describe the tender / RFP ref]. B. The parties wish to submit a joint bid, with the Prime as lead bidder. 1. PURPOSE AND EXCLUSIVITY The parties will work together only to prepare and submit a bid for the [Opportunity]. During this Agreement, neither party will join a competing bid for the same Opportunity without the other's written consent. 2. ROLES The Prime will lead the bid, own the client relationship, and submit the proposal. The Team Member will provide [scope of its part of the work and inputs to the bid]. 3. WORK SHARE If the bid wins, the work and value will be divided approximately as: Prime []%, Team Member []%, subject to the final scope set by the client and to clause 4. 4. SUBCONTRACT ON AWARD If the Prime is awarded the contract, the parties will negotiate in good faith and sign a subcontract for the Team Member's scope within [N] days of award, on terms consistent with this Agreement and the head contract. 5. BID COSTS Each party bears its own costs of preparing the bid unless agreed otherwise in writing. 6. CONFIDENTIALITY Each party will keep the other's confidential information and the bid strategy secret, and use it only for the bid. 7. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY Background IP stays with its owner. Each party licenses the other to use its inputs only for the bid. Ownership of anything created jointly is [set out]. 8. EXCLUSIVITY LIMITS AND COMPETITION LAW Nothing in this Agreement restricts either party beyond this Opportunity, and the parties will comply with applicable competition law, including rules against bid rigging. 9. NO PARTNERSHIP This Agreement does not create a partnership, joint venture or agency. Neither party may bind the other except as stated. 10. TERM AND TERMINATION This Agreement ends on the earliest of: the subcontract being signed, the bid being rejected, the tender being cancelled, or [long-stop date]. It may be ended earlier by mutual consent. 11. GOVERNING LAW AND DISPUTES This Agreement is governed by the laws of [jurisdiction], with disputes subject to [courts / arbitration seat]. Signed for the Prime: __________ Signed for the Team Member: __________ Name / title / date Name / title / date

- **Roles and work share (clauses 2 and 3).** Set out clearly who leads and roughly how the work and value split. Keep the split "approximate and subject to final scope", because the client often changes the requirement.
- **Subcontract on award (clause 4).** This is the clause that gives the agreement teeth. Commit both sides to negotiate and sign a subcontract within a fixed window if the bid wins, on terms consistent with the head contract. Say what happens if they cannot agree.
- **Bid costs (clause 5).** Decide who pays for bid preparation. Usually each side carries its own costs.
- **Confidentiality and IP (clauses 6 and 7).** Protect the bid strategy and each side's background IP. Make clear that sharing inputs for the bid does not transfer ownership.
- **Competition law (clause 8).** Teaming is lawful, but coordinating with a competitor needs care. Keep the cooperation limited to the one bid and avoid anything that looks like bid rigging or price fixing. ## Common mistakes to avoid - Treating the work-share percentage as fixed when the client has not yet set the final scope.
- No deadline or mechanism for the subcontract after award, so the winning team then falls out over terms.
- Exclusivity that is too broad or too long, which can breach competition law.
- Forgetting that a teaming agreement is a commitment to bid together, not a guarantee the client will award to any particular split.
- Letting the teaming agreement contradict the head contract or the client's own terms. ## A note on jurisdiction This template is written with Indian practice in mind, where teaming is common in public procurement under the General Financial Rules and various tender conditions, and where the Competition Act, 2002 prohibits bid rigging and collusive tendering. The same shape works in other jurisdictions, but the procurement rules, the limits on coordinating with competitors, and the treatment of joint bids differ by country and by the specific tender. Many public tenders also set their own rules for consortia and subcontracting, which override your agreement. Always read the tender conditions first, and say "varies by jurisdiction" rather than assume one approach fits every bid. Last verified October 2026. ## Where a contract workspace helps A template gives you a solid teaming agreement. The ongoing work is everything around it: keeping the teaming terms consistent with the subcontract you sign after award, checking each partner's draft for weak terms before you sign, remembering the subcontract deadline and the tender's own dates, and keeping versions straight as the bid evolves. Drafting, reviewing and tracking teaming and the subcontract that follows can also sit in one AI workspace tuned to how your company bids. It can draft from your teaming template, link the clauses so a change in work share flows through, let you edit terms in plain language, and keep the subcontract deadline and the tender's own dates in view. [Adira](https://adiralaw.com) is one tool that takes this single-workspace approach. The template alone is enough to put a fair teaming agreement in place; a workspace simply makes drafting, review and tracking one connected job instead of several scattered ones.