Above BoardFor creators and models
Free tools and plain advice for choosing an agency, TikTok LIVE network or studio. You never pay, and nothing you check leaves your device.
Check a contract
Paste or upload a contract in English or Spanish. We point out password demands, permanent rights, fines, lock-ins and exit fees.
Check a seal
An agency shows the Above Board seal? Enter its seal ID to see whether it's real and current.
Before you sign anything, ask for three things in writing: the company's legal name, its commission and what it's calculated on, and a copy of the contract.
Twelve questions to ask before you sign
A good agency will answer every one of these in writing. If they won't, that is your answer.
- What is your registered company name, and where is it registered? You need to know who you'd be suing if it came to that.
- Will you ever need my password? On Fansly and Fanvue, no: Management Sessions and Manager Accounts let a manager help without it. OnlyFans has no manager access, so insist that you keep the account email, two-factor authentication and payout details, and can change the password at any time.
- Where do my payouts go? Into your own account, always. The agency invoices you for its share.
- What is your commission, and is it on gross or net? 40% of what fans pay is far more than 40% of what the platform pays you.
- Do you take a share of tips? Many fair agencies don't, or take less.
- How long is the contract, and how do I leave? Look for three to six months and no more than 60 days' notice.
- Is there any fee or penalty for leaving? There shouldn't be, beyond commission already earned.
- Who owns my content and my account if I leave? You do. Any license should end with the contract.
- Will anyone message fans as me? If they use chatters, ask how it is disclosed and how they're paid.
- Can you make AI versions of me? Your face, body and voice are yours. Say no, or limit it in writing to uses you approve one by one. In California, New York and Illinois, an AI clause can be unenforceable if the uses aren't described specifically and you had no lawyer or union negotiating it.
- Will I get a monthly statement? You should see what was earned and what was taken, every month.
- Can I speak to three creators you manage now? Not ones they choose for you: ask for creators who joined in the last year.
If a TikTok LIVE network recruits you
TikTok runs an official Creator Network program. Networks in it get TikTok training and tools and can earn monthly bonuses from TikTok's own incentive programs. Before you join one:
- Accept invitations only inside the TikTok app. Recruiters on social media often claim to be "official" when they aren't.
- You should never pay to join, and you shouldn't need to hand over your login.
- Ask in writing whether the network also takes a share of your gifts or diamonds, and what it does for that share.
- You can ask to leave from the app (Creator tools, then Creator Network). Any waiting period comes from the network's own contract, so read it before you sign.
If you are joining a studio
- Your account should be yours. If the studio owns the account, you lose your followers when you leave.
- Your percentage should be written down and paid on fixed dates, with a statement.
- No fines. Fines for being late, missing hours or refusing something are a common way pay is taken away.
- No surprise costs. Room, internet, make-up or equipment charges should be agreed in writing, not deducted later.
- You can always say no to any act, without punishment, and take breaks.
Human Rights Watch's 2024 investigation of Colombian webcam studios found studios keeping up to 70% of earnings, controlling models' accounts, and fining workers for breaks. These are the practices the Studio Certified audit checks for.
If something has already gone wrong
You are not the first, and it is not your fault.
Common questions
Is the contract checker really private?
Does Above Board recommend agencies?
Can Above Board get my money or account back?
Secure your accounts
Change your passwords and your email password, turn on two-factor authentication, and remove any agency access in the platform's settings.
Check where payouts go
Make sure the payout method on every platform is yours. If it was changed, contact the platform's support straight away.
Keep records
Save the contract, messages, statements and payment records before anything is deleted.
Get advice
A lawyer where you live can tell you whether a clause can be enforced. Many clauses that sound final are not.
Tell us
Report it to us. We keep it confidential. If the agency holds the Above Board seal, a confirmed serious complaint triggers a re-audit.
Know the law, in brief
- Unlicensed agencies in California. In 2024 California's Labor Commissioner voided an OnlyFans agency's contract, finding the agency had acted as an unlicensed talent agency by arranging paid custom content for the creator.
- AI likeness. In California, New York and Illinois, a contract clause letting someone use a digital replica of you in place of work you would have done in person can be unenforceable if it lacks a reasonably specific description of the uses and you weren't represented by a lawyer or union in negotiating it.
- Fake testimonials. In the US, the FTC's rule on reviews and testimonials, in force since October 2024, bans fake testimonials; invented creator success stories can violate it.
General information, not legal advice. Laws differ by country and state, and change.