New York Model Release Template

What a New York model release is for

New York has one of the oldest statutory rights of publicity in the country. Sections 50 and 51 of the Civil Rights Law make it a misdemeanor to use a living person's name, portrait, picture, likeness or voice for advertising or trade without their written consent, and let the person sue for an injunction and damages, including exemplary damages for knowing use. A model release is that written consent, and its scope decides what the photographer, brand or agency may actually do with the images.

This release is written for New York. It records the consideration and grants consent for the purposes, media, territory, term and brands the parties choose. It allows ordinary editing but rules out identity-changing alterations, implied endorsements and sensitive uses without further consent. Because New York now treats digital replicas separately, the release excludes them unless the model signs a separate digital replica consent that sets out the specific uses, purpose, duration, rate and deletion. A parent or guardian consent page covers models under 18, and an optional schedule records the shoot details.

When to use it

Use it for any shoot in New York, or with a New York model, where images or recordings will be used to advertise or sell something: brand campaigns, product and e-commerce photography, social media advertising, stock photography, packaging, and portfolio work that may later be licensed. Have it signed before or at the shoot, not afterwards.

Editorial and newsworthy uses generally do not need a release, though many publishers still ask for one. Models represented by a model management company may also have an agency agreement that affects payment and usage terms, and union members may have collective agreement terms that apply.

What's inside

The full list of sections and fields in this template, in the order they appear.

1. Parties and shoot

   • Releasee
   • Model
   • Shoot date and location
   • Project or client

2. Consent and scope

   • Consideration
   • Purposes
   • Media
   • Territory
   • Term
   • Brands
   • Name use

3. Limits and ownership

   • Ordinary editing
   • No identity-changing alterations
   • No implied endorsements
   • Sensitive uses
   • No digital replica without separate consent
   • Copyright
   • Approval
   • Credit

4. Release and statements

   • Privacy
   • publicity and defamation release
   • Age confirmation
   • New York law
   • Signatures

5. Minor and digital replica pages

   • Parent or guardian consent
   • Child performer note
   • Digital replica uses
   • Purpose
   • Duration
   • Rate
   • Deletion
   • Representation

Preview pages

How to complete the release

1. Name the parties. Enter the releasee's legal name and the model's full legal name and contact details.
2. Describe the shoot. Record the date, location and project or client.
3. State the consideration. Enter the payment or other value the model receives.
4. Set the scope. Tick the purposes and media, and fill in the territory, term and brands.
5. Decide on name use, approval and credit. Choose whether the model may be named, can review images and is credited.
6. Keep the limits. Leave the sensitive-use and digital replica restrictions in place.
7. Use the parent page for minors. Have a parent or guardian sign, and check child performer rules if the minor is paid.
8. Add the digital replica consent only if agreed. Describe each use, duration and rate specifically.
9. Sign and give a copy. Both parties sign, and the model receives a copy.

Example: a completed release excerpt

A fictional Brooklyn photographer, Harbor Lane Studio LLC, shoots a spring campaign for a fictional skincare brand:

Consideration: $1,200 day rate. Purposes: advertising and trade. Media: website, social media and in-store print. Territory: United States. Term: 2 years from the shoot date. Brands: Fernwood Botanicals only. Name use: not permitted. Approval: the model may review selected images within 5 days before first publication. Digital replica: not granted; the separate consent page was not signed.

When the brand later asks to use the images for a third year, the studio negotiates an extension in writing rather than relying on the original term.

New York rules to know

These are the New York rules this release is built around.

• Civil Rights Law section 50. Using a living person's name, portrait, picture, likeness or voice for advertising or trade without written consent, or a parent's or guardian's consent for a minor, is a misdemeanor.
• Civil Rights Law section 51. An action for an injunction and damages, with exemplary damages for knowing use; photographers may display work samples at their establishment unless the subject objects in writing.
• General Obligations Law section 5-302. Digital replica provisions in services contracts are void without a reasonably specific description of the intended uses, unless the individual had counsel or union representation.
• Fashion Workers Act (in effect June 19, 2025). Separate written consent for a model's digital replica, covering scope, purpose, rate and duration.
• Child performers. Paid minors may need a permit and a trust account under New York's child performer rules.

Mistakes that lead to claims

The common problems are relying on a verbal OK or an email, using a release signed only by a minor, letting images drift into uses or brands the model never agreed to, keeping images in circulation after the term ends, using a photo to imply the model endorses a cause or has a condition, and assuming a general likeness clause covers AI-generated replicas. Setting the scope carefully, honoring the limits and using the separate consent page for replicas avoids each of them.