Subcontractor Agreement Template (Snow Plow, Lawn and Cleaning)
Free subcontractor agreement template with snow plow, lawn and cleaning presets: trigger, per-push rate, salt supply, insurance and indemnity. Word download.
How this template works
A subcontractor agreement sits between your client contract (what you promised the property) and the sub's invoice (what you owe for the work). It says who the parties are, what the sub does and with what equipment, when they go, what you pay and how, who supplies material, how keys and codes are handled, what record comes back after each visit, what insurance the sub carries, how claims are allocated, and how either side ends it. Fill the fields and the document updates live across 15 numbered clauses. Every blank you leave falls back to a bracketed placeholder, so the agreement is usable before you have typed anything.
The computed parts, and nothing else:
Term end date (default) = Effective date + 12 months (editable)
Rate line label = keyed to the rate basis (per push, per visit, ...)
Trigger and response = shown for snow and ice work only
Visit record clause = keyed to the type of work (snow: a site log)Rates, payment terms, and insurance amounts are your figures, echoed into the document as typed and never computed or suggested. The snow plow preset is a fill of this same agreement, not a separate contract: per-push pay, the trigger and response lines (left blank for your numbers), the salt and ice melt supply line, a site log per visit, the additional insured line, and the mutual indemnity form with its review note. Lawn care and cleaning set their own scope, schedule, materials and records wording, and cleaning writes key and alarm-code rules into site access. Clause 13 states the agreement does not automatically renew. Nothing you enter is saved; the signed copy lives with you, not in any system of record.
This is the agreement between you and the business you hire to do part of the work: the plow operator who takes six of your lots, the mowing crew that covers the north side of town, the cleaning team that takes the overnight buildings. It is not the contract with the property. That one, for snow, is the snow removal contract template, and this agreement exists to carry its promises down to whoever is actually in the truck. Fill it in your browser, start from the snow plow, lawn care, or cleaning preset, and download the editable Word file or print a PDF. No signup, and nothing you type is saved.
One agreement, three presets
The document has 15 numbered clauses whichever preset you start from. A preset fills the wording that changes by trade and leaves every figure for you.
| Preset | What it fills | What it leaves for you |
|---|---|---|
| Snow plow | Per-push pay, the trigger and response lines, a salt and ice melt line, a site log per visit, the additional insured line, mutual indemnity with a review note | Trigger depth, response hours, the per-push rate, insurance amounts, the log deadline |
| Lawn care | Per-visit pay, mowing, trimming and edging scope, the equipment the sub brings, a service record per visit | The rate, the properties, the schedule details |
| Cleaning | Per-visit pay, a checklist-based scope, key and alarm-code rules in site access, a service record per visit | The rate, the sites, the time windows |
None of the presets suggests a rate, a trigger, or an insurance limit. Those numbers are yours, and a template that offered one would be making it up.
The snow clauses carry your client’s promise down
The risk in subcontracting snow is a gap between two documents: the customer was promised one trigger and response window, and the sub was held to another, or to none. The snow preset closes that gap in the order the work happens.
Trigger and response. Copy the trigger depth and the response window from the client contract, or set them tighter. The sentence the document writes says the trigger is measured the way your client contract measures it, so the two documents cannot quietly disagree about where the ruler goes.
Per-push pay. The snow preset switches the rate line to “Rate per push”. The rate itself is the figure you and the sub agree; set your own price first with the snow removal pricing calculator so you know the margin you are protecting.
Salt supply. The materials clause names who supplies salt and ice melt (you, the sub billed separately, or the sub inside the rate) and, for snow work, adds the line that every application goes on the site log by product and quantity.
A site log for every visit. The records clause asks for a log per visit and lets you hold payment for any visit until its log is handed in. The Utah Division of Risk Management’s guide for state facilities gives the reason in one line: “Logs are a valuable record-keeping tool that helps property managers match up and verify invoices from snow removal subcontractors.” The snow and ice service log template is a ready-made format to hand your subs.
Insurance: a certificate and, where required, additional insured
The insurance clause has blank fields for general liability per occurrence, commercial auto liability, and workers’ compensation, and two fixed lines. The first asks for a current certificate of insurance before work starts and again whenever a policy renews or changes. The second, switched on by the snow preset or the checkbox, has the sub name you, and any property owner or manager your client contract requires, as additional insured on their general liability policy. A certificate is evidence of a policy; the additional insured status is granted by the endorsement on the policy itself, so ask to see the endorsement as well as the certificate.
This page does not suggest coverage amounts. The figure that matters is usually already written in your client contract, and your sub’s policy has to answer it.
Indemnity is the clause to take to a lawyer
The template offers two plain-language forms, mutual (each party covers claims from its own negligence) and subcontractor to contractor, and under both it prints the same note: some states limit or void indemnity and hold-harmless terms, including in snow and ice removal agreements.
Colorado is one documented example. According to the Colorado General Assembly’s summary of SB18-062, the Snow Removal Service Liability Limitation Act “applies when a snow and ice removal service provider is prohibited, by express contract terms or in writing, from mitigating a snow, ice, or other mixed precipitation risk and makes void provisions of snow removal agreements that require one party to indemnify the other party for damages, hold the other party harmless for damages, and provide for the defense of the other party in a liability lawsuit.” Other states have their own rules, and this page does not characterize them. Have a lawyer licensed where the work is done read this clause before anyone signs it.
A contract does not decide 1099 status
The independent contractor clause says the sub is an independent business that decides how the work is done and supplies its own crew and equipment. That is what the agreement can say. It cannot settle classification on its own. The IRS describes the general rule this way: “an individual is an independent contractor if the person for whom the services are performed has the right to control or direct only the result of the work and not what will be done and how it will be done.” It groups the evidence into behavioral control, financial control, and the type of relationship, and adds that “no one factor stands alone in making this determination.” A signed agreement is one fact among several, which is why the document prints a note saying so. The guide to 1099 vs W-2 for service businesses covers the rest. Once the relationship is clear, collect a W-9 before the first payment: every unincorporated subcontractor you pay $2,000 or more for services in 2026 generally gets a 1099-NEC by February 1, 2027.
When to sign it
Sign before the season, not during the first storm. The guide on how to get snow removal contracts walks through the bidding calendar, with subcontractor commitments locked in before the calendar fills up; by the time the first event arrives, the season is largely sold. Set the term end date to the end of your season if that is the deal (it defaults to 12 months from the effective date), and note that the agreement does not renew on its own.
Lawn and cleaning
The same structure works for a mowing sub or a cleaning crew. The lawn care preset keeps fertilizer, seed, and pesticide or herbicide work outside the agreement unless both parties add it in writing and name who holds the applicator license that work needs. The cleaning preset writes key, fob, and alarm-code handling into the site access clause: issued per site, logged out and back in, never shared, and a lost key reported the same day. Both keep a service record per visit.
This template is a starting point and is not legal advice. Have a lawyer review it for the state where the work is done before anyone signs it.
Frequently asked questions
What should a snow plow subcontractor agreement include?
Does a signed subcontractor agreement make my sub a 1099 contractor?
Can I make a snow subcontractor indemnify me?
How much insurance should I require from a subcontractor?
Sources
- SB18-062 Snow Removal Service Liability Limitation (bill summary, as enacted; session law effective 2018-08-08). Colorado General Assembly. Retrieved .
- Independent contractor defined. Internal Revenue Service. Retrieved .
- Independent contractor (self-employed) or employee?. Internal Revenue Service. Retrieved .
- Protecting People and Property from Snow and Ice. Utah Division of Risk Management. Retrieved .