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Confidentiality Form

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CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT

This Confidentiality Agreement is made and effective the (date) by and between (owner) and (recipient)

1. Confidential Information.

Owner proposes to disclose certain of its confidential and proprietary information (the “Confidential Information”) to Recipient. Confidential Information shall include all data, materials, products, technology, computer programs, specifications, manuals, business plans, software, marketing plans, financial information, and other information disclosed or submitted, orally, in writing, or by any other media, to Recipient by Owner. Confidential Information disclosed orally shall be identified as such within five (5) days of disclosure. Nothing herein shall require Owner to disclose any of its information.

2. Recipient’s Obligations.

A. Recipient’s agrees that the Confidential Information is to be considered confidential and proprietary to Owner and Recipient shall hold the same in confidence, shall not use the Confidential Information other than for the purposes of its business with Owner, and shall disclose it only to its officers, directors, or employees with a specific need to know. Recipient will not disclose, publish or otherwise reveal any of the Confidential Information received from Owner to any other party whatsoever except with the specific prior written authorization of Owner.

B. Confidential Information furnished in tangible form shall not be duplicated by Recipient except for purposes of this Agreement. Upon the request of Owner, Recipient shall return all Confidential Information received in written or tangible form, including copies or reproductions or other media containing such Confidential Information, within ten (10) days of such request. At Recipient’s option, any documents or other media developed by the Recipient containing Confidential Information may be destroyed by Recipient shall provide a written certificate to Owner regarding destruction within ten (10) days thereafter.

3. Term.

The obligations of Recipient herein shall be effective from the date Owner last discloses any Confidential Information to Recipient pursuant to this Agreement. Further, the obligation not to disclose shall not be affected by bankruptcy, receivership, assignment, attachment, or seizure procedures, whether initiated by or against Recipient, nor by the rejection of any agreement between Owner and Recipient, by a trustee of Recipient in bankruptcy, or by the Recipient as a debtor-in-possession or the equivalent of any of the forgoing under local law.

4. Other Information.

Recipient shall have no obligation under this Agreement with respect to Confidential Information which is or becomes publicly available without breach of this Agreement by Recipient; is rightfully received by Recipient without breach of this Agreement; provided, however, such Confidential Information shall not be disclosed until thirty (30) days after written notice of intent to disclose is given to Owner along with the asserted grounds for disclosure.

5. No License.

Nothing contained herein shall be construed as granting or conferring any rights by license or otherwise in any Confidential Information. It is understood and agreed that neither party solicits any change in the organization, business practice, service or products of the other party, and that the disclosure of Confidential Information shall not be construed as evidencing any intent by a party to purchase any products or services of the other party nor as an encouragement to expend funds in development or research efforts. Confidential Information may pertain to prospective or unannounced products. Recipient agrees not to use any Confidential Information as bases upon which to develop or have a third party develop a competing or similar product.

6. No Publicity.

Recipient agrees not to disclose its participation in this undertaking, the existence or terms and conditions of the Agreement, or the fact that discussions are being held with Owner.

7. Governing Law and Equitable Relief.

This Agreement shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of the United States and the State of and Recipient consents to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state courts and U.S. federal courts located there for any dispute arising out of this Agreement. Recipient agrees that in the event of any breach or threatened breach by Recipient, Owner may obtain, in addition to any other legal remedies which may be available, such equitable relief as may be necessary to protect Owner against any such breach or threatened breach.

8. Final Agreement.

This agreement terminates and supersedes all prior understandings or agreements on the subject matter hereof. This Agreement may be modified only by a further writing that is duly executed by both parties.

9. No Assignment.

Recipient may not assign this Agreement or any interest herein without Owner’s express prior written consent.

10. Severablity.

If any term of this Agreement is held by court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unenforceable, then this Agreement, including all of the remaining terms, will remain in full force and effect as if such invalid or unenforceable term had never been included.

11. Notices.

Any Notice required by this Agreement or given in connection with it, shall be in writing and shall be given to the appropriate party by personal delivery or by certified mail, postage prepaid, or recognized overnight delivery services.

If to Owner:

If to Recipient:

12. No Implied Waiver.

Either party’s failure to insist in any one or more instances upon strict performance by the other party of any of the terms of this Agreement shall not be construed as a waiver of any continuing or subsequent failure to perform or delay in performance of any term hereof.

13. Headings.

Headings used in this Agreement are provided for convenience only and shall not be used to construe meaning or intent.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this Agreement as of the date first above written.

Owner Signature

Recipient Signature

Enter text✕

What a Confidentiality Form Is and when it applies

A Confidentiality Form (often called an NDA or nondisclosure agreement in many contexts) is a written record that identifies information treated as confidential, the parties who will protect that information, the permitted uses and recipients, and the term of confidentiality. In commercial settings it documents trade secrets, technical data, pricing, or business plans; in healthcare it links to HIPAA obligations; in education it may restrict student data sharing. In the United States electronic execution is generally valid under ESIGN and UETA when the signature, consent, attribution, and retention requirements are met.

Why use a Confidentiality Form

A clear Confidentiality Form reduces legal uncertainty by defining what is confidential, who may access it, and what remedies apply after a breach. It protects trade secrets, supports contract enforcement, and helps comply with sector rules such as HIPAA for health data or FERPA for education records.

Why use a Confidentiality Form

Typical users and participants

The form suits any scenario where one party must limit another party’s use or redistribution of nonpublic information.

  • In-house legal and contracts teams who draft and approve confidentiality language for business deals.
  • HR and recruiting when sharing candidate information or conducting background checks.
  • Vendors, consultants, and contractors who receive access to proprietary operational or technical data.

Common signer roles

Disclosing Party — Representative

Typically a company officer, counsel, or authorized manager who defines protected materials and signs on behalf of the organization. The representative should have authority to bind the entity and must state the organization name, title, and contact details for notices.

Receiving Party — Signer

An individual or organization that will receive confidential materials and agree to restrictions. The signer must accept obligations, identify permitted disclosure exceptions, and provide a contact for compliance and dispute notices.

Essential security and compliance items

Encryption: TLS in transit; AES-256 at rest
Access controls: Role-based access limits recipients
Audit trail: Record timestamps, IPs, actions
HIPAA BAA: Business associate agreement required
Retention policy: Defined retention and deletion rules
Multi-factor auth: Optional two-factor signer verification

Penalties and key legal risks

Breach liability: Monetary damages possible
Injunctive relief: Courts may issue injunctions
Statutory exposure: Trade-secret statutes may apply
Contract void risk: Ambiguous terms can weaken enforceability
Regulatory fines: HIPAA or other fines possible
Reputational harm: Loss of trust and business

Common mistakes to avoid

  • Vague definitions of Confidential Information that admit any information without objective limits, creating enforcement challenges and uncertainty.
  • Failing to specify permitted disclosures and required protective measures, which can leave employees confused and increase inadvertent leaks.
  • Using an outdated signatory — signing without corporate authorization or failing to name the legal entity rather than an individual.
  • Neglecting required sector disclosures, such as HIPAA consumer notices for health data or FERPA limitations for student records.

Step-by-step: completing a Confidentiality Form

Follow these steps in order to prepare a complete, enforceable Confidentiality Form suitable for electronic signing.

  • 01
    Identify parties: Enter legal entity names and authorized signers, avoid trade names only.
  • 02
    Define confidential data: Specify categories, examples, and exclusions clearly and narrowly.
  • 03
    Set term and scope: State duration, geographic scope, and permitted uses explicitly.
  • 04
    Sign and retain: Collect signatures, date them, and store the executed copy securely.

Where to send or file a completed Confidentiality Form

After execution route the fully signed copy to relevant business units and retain a secure master copy for compliance and dispute response.

  • Central repository: Store signed documents in a secure records system or document management platform.
  • Legal department: Provide counsel with the executed form for contract tracking.
  • Project owner: Send signers’ copies to business owners and contract managers.
  • Regulatory filing: File only if a regulation requires submission to an agency.

Core elements to include in a professional Confidentiality Form

A well-drafted Confidentiality Form contains discrete clauses describing scope, duration, permitted disclosures, remedial measures, and operational safeguards that support enforcement and regulatory compliance.

Parties

Identify each legal entity, the authorized signer, and the contact for notices; include company legal names rather than trade names to avoid ambiguity during enforcement.

Definition of Confidential Information

List categories and examples plus a clause excluding public information and items independently developed or received from third parties without breach.

Permitted uses

Specify exactly how the receiving party may use the information and under what circumstances limited disclosures (e.g., to advisors) are allowed with confidentiality obligations.

Term and return/destruction

State the length of the confidentiality obligation and post-term requirements for returning or securely destroying confidential materials and copies.

Remedies and limitations

Describe injunctive relief, damages, indemnities, and any liquidated damages or caps while noting enforceability limitations under state law.

Security obligations

Allocate minimum security measures such as encryption, access controls, audit logs, and specify whether a BAA or other addendum is required for regulated data.

How to configure an online Confidentiality Form workflow

Set field types, authentication, routing, and retention before sending to maintain chain-of-custody and compliance in electronic execution.

Workflow Field and Configuration Settings Field | Setting
Primary Signature Authentication Method (email/SMS) Email link with optional SMS code for stronger verification
Conditional Fields and Logic Rules Configuration Show NDA addendum only if checkbox selects regulated data
Bulk Send and Batch Processing Options Bulk distribution with personalized fields for many recipients
Document Retention and Audit Trail Settings Automatic retention, exportable audit logs, tamper-evident PDF

Technical requirements for secure eSignature and eSubmission

Confirm the platform can retain legally admissible audit evidence, meet applicable regulations, and export executed documents in an industry-standard format for long-term storage.

  • File formats: PDF, Word DOCX supported
  • Integrations: CRM and cloud storage integrations
  • Signer authentication: Email, SMS, KBA, or SSO

Typical timing and critical deadlines

Different processes impose timing needs—issue, execution, and retention milestones should be tracked to meet contractual and regulatory obligations.

Issue and acceptance timeframe:

Provide a reasonable signing window; many businesses set 7–30 days for execution.

Effective date vs. signature date:

Specify whether obligations start on the effective date or upon the last signature.

Notice periods for disclosures:

Define how quickly a permitted disclosure must be reported to the disclosing party.

Retention trigger dates:

Retention often counted from execution or last effective date depending on regulation.

Contract renewal and review cycles:

Schedule periodic reviews of confidentiality obligations and security addenda.

E-signature vendor pricing and feature snapshot for Confidentiality Forms

Typical buyer criteria include per-user pricing, trial availability, bulk send, audit trails, HIPAA support, and any envelope or session caps — signNow is listed first for neutral comparison.

signNow DocuSign Adobe Sign PandaDoc HelloSign
Starting Price $8/user/mo $15/user/mo $14/user/mo $19/user/mo $15/user/mo
Free Trial 7-day free trial, no credit card Varies by vendor Varies by vendor Varies by vendor Varies by vendor
Bulk Send Yes (Business Premium) Yes Yes Yes No
Audit Trail Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
HIPAA Compliant Yes (BAA available) Yes (BAA available) Yes (BAA available) No No

Frequently asked questions about Confidentiality Forms

Answers to common execution, enforceability, and post-signature handling questions for U.S. users, with references to relevant legal frameworks and practical steps.


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