What is a hackathon participation agreement?
A hackathon brings strangers together for a weekend to build something, often with a sponsor's data or APIs and a prize at the end. That mix raises questions that are easy to answer before the event and hard to answer after it: who owns a winning prototype, can the organiser show it at the next event, what can teams bring with them, what happens to confidential sponsor data, and who pays tax on a prize.
This template names the event, dates, venue and challenge, sets a minimum age, team size and any extra eligibility rules, and lays out building rules on pre-existing and open-source code. It points to your code of conduct and lets you disqualify rule-breakers. You choose whether each team owns its entry, all entries are open-sourced under a licence you name, or a sponsor may acquire winning entries under stated prize terms. It gives the organiser and sponsor a time-limited licence to demo entries, sets judging criteria and prizes, and covers confidentiality, publicity with an opt-out, responsibility and changes to the event.
- Best for
- Company, university, community and sponsor-backed hackathons and build challenges
- Signed by
- The organiser and each participant
- Ownership options
- Teams own, open-source release, or sponsor acquires winning entries
- Length
- 3 pages
When to use a hackathon participation agreement
- A city running a weekend civic-tech hackathon with a cash prize
- A company hosting a sponsor challenge using its APIs and test data
- A university running a student build challenge open to enrolled students
- A game jam where every entry is released under an open-source licence
- An internal innovation week that also invites outside participants
What you fill in
20 blanks, then the name and email of each person who signs: organiser, participant.
1 The event
- Agreement date*
- Event name*
- Organiser (legal name)*
- Challenge sponsor
- Dates and times*
- Where*
- The challenge*
2 The participant
- Participant's full name*
- Participant's email
- Team name
3 Rules
- Minimum age*
- Maximum team size*
- Other eligibility rules
- Code of conduct*
4 Ownership
- Who owns what teams build* Each team owns what it builds. · Each team owns what it builds, and every entry is released under the open-source licence below. · The sponsor may acquire winning entries under the prize terms below.
- Open-source licence
- Organiser may show entries for (months)*
5 Judging and prizes
- Judging criteria*
- Prizes*
- Governing law*
6 Who signs
- Organiser signature and date, job title · A person authorised to sign for the organising company, school or group.
- Participant signature and date · The person taking part. Each team member signs their own copy.
What the hackathon participation agreement covers
- The challenge
- Eligibility
- Teams and building rules
- Conduct
- Ownership of entries
- Licence to demonstrate
- Judging and prizes
- Confidentiality
- Publicity
- Responsibility and data
- General
Using the hackathon participation agreement, step by step
1 Describe the event
Enter the event name, organiser, optional sponsor, dates, venue and the challenge itself.
2 Set the rules
Choose the minimum age and maximum team size, add any eligibility rules and point to your code of conduct.
3 Decide on ownership
Choose who owns entries, name the open-source licence if used, and set how long you may demo entries.
4 Add judging and prizes, then send
List the judging criteria and prizes, and send the agreement to each participant to sign before the event starts.
Tips before you send it
- Each team member signs their own copy — a team name alone doesn't bind anyone.
- If a sponsor wants rights in winning entries, say exactly which prize carries the transfer and what is transferred, and let teams decline it.
- Prize competitions are regulated in some places; check rules on skill contests, registration and tax reporting before you advertise prizes.
- Under-age participants need a separate consent from a parent or guardian; this agreement says so but doesn't provide one.
Sign it online in minutes
- Fill in the blanks. Names, dates and amounts go straight into the agreement — the preview shows exactly where.
- Name who signs. Tick “This is me” for your own part. FileIt builds the PDF with every signature, date box on the right line, and you can check or move anything before sending.
- Send it. Each signer gets a secure link and signs from any device — no account needed. The signed PDF, with an audit trail and a Certificate of Completion, is filed in your vault and emailed to everyone.
Hackathon participation agreement: frequently asked questions
Who owns what a team builds?
By default, the team members own their entry and neither organiser nor sponsor gets ownership. You can instead require every entry to be open-sourced, or let a sponsor acquire winning entries under prize terms you set out.
Can teams use code they wrote before the event?
Teams may prepare ideas and research, and use existing open-source software, public APIs, libraries and the materials provided, as long as they follow the licences and list them. The entry itself must be substantially built during the event.
Can the organiser show entries after the event?
Yes, for the number of months you set: a non-exclusive licence to show and demonstrate entries in connection with the event and the organiser's or sponsor's promotion, not to sell them or build products from them.
Who pays tax on prizes?
Each winner is responsible for any tax on their prize. Winners may be asked for payment or tax details.
Can it be signed electronically?
In most countries, including the US (ESIGN Act and UETA), the UK, the EU (eIDAS) and Canada, an electronic signature is generally valid for an agreement like this one. FileIt keeps an audit trail and a Certificate of Completion with the signed PDF as evidence of who signed and when.