Master/slave Contract Template: TPE Clauses + Sample

This guide draws on consent frameworks from the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom, abuse-prevention work from Network La Red and RAINN, and legal commentary from attorney Sergei Tokmakov, Esq. (California Bar #279869). It is educational, not legal or mental-health advice.

What a Master/slave Contract Actually Is (and Isn't)

A Master/slave contract is a written record of a 24/7 total power exchange — an ongoing, identity-level, service-oriented dynamic in which authority is transferred continuously rather than switched on for a scene and off again afterward. It documents how far that authority reaches, the protocols and rituals that structure daily life, what the slave commits to provide, what the Master commits to provide in return, the limits both partners hold, the aftercare, and the conditions under which the dynamic ends. Some couples sign it formally, sometimes alongside a collaring ceremony. That does not make it legally stronger.

California attorney Sergei Tokmakov, Esq. — who covers kink-related contract questions in his practice — puts it directly: a BDSM agreement "should be thought of as a written record of negotiations, not a binding contract." That is doubly worth repeating for M/s, because the word "total" tempts people to read the document as a permanent surrender. It is not. A written agreement does not override criminal or civil law, and it cannot pre-consent to future harm on either partner's behalf.

A usable M/s contract does one job: it turns the broadest, most consequential set of assumptions a couple can make about each other into sentences both people can point to later. People write these documents for the negotiation they force, not for the signature at the bottom.

"Total" describes the breadth of the agreed dynamic, not a surrender of the right to stop. Consent stays revocable at every moment — that is the one clause no collar overrides.

Who Writes an M/s Contract — and Who Probably Shouldn't

An M/s contract is the right tool when:

• You and your partner already have an established power-exchange dynamic and are moving deliberately into a 24/7 arrangement
• The authority involved reaches into daily life, not just scenes, and you want its scope written down rather than assumed
• A collar and a title carry identity-level meaning for you both, and you want their meaning made explicit instead of implied
• Service is the organizing principle of the dynamic, and the service expectations deserve to be concrete
• You're a long-term M/s couple writing a refresher after years, because the original verbal terms stopped describing the relationship

An M/s contract is the wrong tool when:

• You haven't done a single scene yet — a 24/7 framework is the last document to start with, not the first; begin with safe words
• Your dynamic is genuinely scene-bounded or role-bounded — the BDSM contract or basic D/s contract fits without overreaching into territory you don't actually occupy
• Either partner reads "total" to mean consent can no longer be revoked — that framing is unsafe, and this template rejects it
• The "contract" question is really an attachment or trust issue dressed up as a procedural one — when a partner wants a 24/7 contract because they don't feel safe, the answer is therapy and ongoing conversation, not a signature

How an M/s Contract Differs from a Basic D/s or BDSM Contract

The difference is one of scope and weight. A basic D/s contract is role-bounded — it governs who is in charge, when. A BDSM contract is practice-first and often scene-bounded. An M/s contract is identity-level and ongoing: it assumes the dynamic is always on, organizes around service, and carries the heaviest stakes for getting the exit terms right.

If your relationship is mostly about who's in charge when, the basic D/s contract is the cleaner starting point. If it's mostly about what you do together scene by scene, the BDSM contract fits better. The M/s contract below is for the narrower case where authority is ongoing, service is the organizing principle, and the collar means something — and where, precisely because the dynamic is total in breadth, the exit terms have to be unmistakable.

What Should Be Included in an M/s Contract?

Eight clauses cover the repeat failure points of a total power exchange. The summary table is the framework; the sections below are the detail.

Clause 1 — Authority Scope

The authority scope clause is the spine of an M/s contract. It names which domains of life the slave hands over to the Master's authority — and, just as importantly, which domains stay self-governed. "Everything" is not a scope; it is an abdication of the work. Health, finances, family obligations, and employment are common carve-outs even in deep arrangements. Whatever is not explicitly transferred remains the slave's own.

Example. The slave transfers authority over: daily schedule and protocols, dress and presentation, household service tasks, and play. Reserved to the slave at all times: medical decisions, employment, finances above an agreed threshold, and contact with family. Authority outside these named domains is not transferred by implication.

Clause 2 — Protocols and Rituals

Protocols are the visible structure of an ongoing dynamic: how the slave greets the Master, the rituals that open and close the day, forms of address, posture, permissions. They make authority legible rather than arbitrary. A protocol that lives only in one partner's head is not a protocol; it is a trap. Write them down, and treat adding one as a renegotiation.

Example. Morning protocol: the slave prepares coffee and reports the day's schedule for approval. Address: "Master" during dynamic time. Permissions: the slave asks before making plans that affect shared time. Adding or changing a protocol requires mutual agreement at a check-in, not a unilateral instruction.

Clause 3 — Service Expectations

Service is the organizing principle of an M/s dynamic, which is exactly why it has to be made concrete. "I'll serve well" is a hope, not a clause. The contract should describe specific, observable forms of service so that both partners can evaluate the dynamic against reality rather than mood.

Example. The slave's service includes: maintaining the household to an agreed standard; preparing meals on agreed days; keeping the shared calendar current; and attending to the Master's stated needs within the negotiated scope. Service that falls outside the authority-scope clause is offered freely or not at all, never compelled.

Clause 4 — Collar and Title Meaning

In many M/s dynamics the collar and the title carry identity-level weight — they are the symbols that mark the dynamic as ongoing rather than situational. Collaring with no shared definition is how two people end up meaning different things by the same object. The contract should state what the collar signifies, when it is worn, and what the title means to each partner.

Example. The collar signifies the ongoing M/s dynamic and is worn during agreed dynamic time and at community events. It is the Master's to offer and the slave's to accept; it is not a symbol of ownership in any legal sense. The title "Master" applies during dynamic time and does not extend to authority over the reserved domains above.

Clause 5 — Hard and Soft Limits, Both Partners

A total power exchange does not erase limits — it makes naming them more important, not less. The contract documents the slave's hard limits, the Master's hard limits, and either partner's soft limits, plus health disclosures the 24/7 scope makes easy to overlook. Top-side limits exist; skipping them produces an asymmetric document that ages badly.

Example. slave hard limits: blood play, breath restriction, degradation about appearance. Master hard limits: discipline applied in anger; any practice not negotiated in advance; protocols that interfere with the slave's employment. Health disclosures: prior shoulder injury (no overhead suspension); carries an inhaler. Soft limits (either partner): public protocol — only at vetted events.

Clause 6 — Mutual Aftercare

Aftercare belongs to both partners, and under the sustained load of an ongoing dynamic the Master's drop is real and easy to neglect. The contract should describe what each partner needs immediately after intense scenes and what they need over the longer arc of a 24/7 arrangement — rest days, time out of role, decompression.

Example. Immediately after intense scenes: shared blanket, water, twenty minutes of quiet proximity. Ongoing: one agreed day per week out of protocol entirely; the Master takes solo decompression time after high-intensity scenes; a processing conversation within twenty-four hours, in both directions.

Clause 7 — Check-In Cadence

An always-on dynamic drifts silently if nobody schedules the conversation. The contract should say when the partners step out of role to talk about how the dynamic is actually going, and through what channel. "We'll talk about it" tends to mean "we'll talk about it when something breaks."

Example. Structured check-in: every Sunday evening, out of role and outside dynamic time. Topics: what's working in the protocols and service, what isn't, anything either partner wants to add, remove, or pause. Either partner may call an unscheduled check-in at any time.

Clause 8 — Exit: Decollaring and Termination

This is the highest-stakes clause in any M/s contract, and the one people skip most often because naming the exit feels like inviting it. The opposite is true: an exit that is written down is one both partners can actually use. Decollaring is the formal end of the dynamic; either partner may initiate it at any time, in writing, with no obligation to justify the decision. The roles end; the relationship between two equal adults remains.

Example. Either party may pause the dynamic at any time by saying so; all protocols suspend until both agree to resume. Either party may initiate decollaring at any time, in writing, with no obligation to justify it. On decollaring, the collar is returned, protocols and titles end, and the relationship between two equal adults continues. This agreement is reviewed monthly for the first three months, then quarterly.

How to Customize the Template for Your Dynamic

Three steps, in order:

1. Name the carve-outs before the transfers. Start the authority-scope clause by writing down what stays self-governed — health, finances, employment, family. Couples drawn to M/s reach for "everything," and the discipline of naming the exceptions is what turns "total" into something safe and specific rather than abdication.

2. Make consent's standing exit unmistakable. Write, in plain language, that consent is revocable at any moment regardless of the contract, and define auto-withdraw triggers — alcohol above a threshold, active mental-health crisis, recent injury, an unresolved fight from outside the dynamic. These don't require a safe word; the dynamic pauses by default until both partners agree otherwise.

3. Write the exit clause before you sign. Decollaring should be on the page from the first draft, not added after a crisis. An M/s dynamic that can only be ended by rupture is not a safer dynamic; it is a more dangerous one.

Common Mistakes When Writing Your First M/s Contract

Related Reading

• BDSM contract template — for scene-by-scene practice negotiation
• submissive contract template — for role-centred, mutual-offering negotiation
• Safe words guide — the conversation that has to happen before any contract
• BDSM aftercare guide — what aftercare looks like in practice
• All contract templates — browse the full set

Sources & Further Reading

Research

1. Sagarin, B. J., Cutler, B., Cutler, N., Lawler-Sagarin, K. A., & Matuszewich, L. (2009). Hormonal changes and couple bonding in consensual sadomasochistic activity. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 38(2), 186-200.
2. Wismeijer, A. A., & van Assen, M. A. (2013). Psychological characteristics of BDSM practitioners. The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 10(8), 1943-1952.
3. Connolly, P. H. (2006). Psychological functioning of bondage / domination / sado-masochism (BDSM) practitioners. Journal of Psychology & Human Sexuality, 18(1), 79-120.
4. Holvoet, L., Huys, W., Coppens, V., Seeuws, J., Goethals, K., & Morrens, M. (2017). Fifty shades of Belgian gray: The prevalence of BDSM-related fantasies and activities in the general population. The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 14(9), 1152-1159.

Books

• Hardy, J. W., & Easton, D. (2003). The New Bottoming Book. Greenery Press.
• Wiseman, J. (1996). SM 101: A Realistic Introduction. Greenery Press.

Legal & Community Resources

• National Coalition for Sexual Freedom — Consent Counts
• Network La Red — partner abuse prevention for LGBTQ+ kink communities
• RAINN — sexual assault support (1-800-656-HOPE)
• Tokmakov, S. (2024). BDSM relationship contracts and NDAs. terms.law.

Author Note

The clause people defer in an M/s contract is the exit, because writing down how the collar comes off feels like a betrayal of the thing you're building. It isn't. The strongest total power exchanges I've seen are the ones where both partners knew, in writing, exactly how to end it — and chose to stay anyway. "Total" is only safe when the door is clearly marked.

— Ren Vale