Creator Legal Compliance Checklist

The unglamorous checklist that saves creators from expensive surprises. Do the one-time items once, review the annual items every April.

One-time setup

• PAN in place; income from all platforms and brands reported under it
• A separate bank account for creator income (proprietors: a current account once brand volume grows)
• MSME/Udyam registration taken (free, useful for vendor onboarding and delayed-payment protection)
• Standard freelancer agreement with IP assignment clause signed by every editor, designer and collaborator
• Your own collaboration/sponsorship agreement template ready for deals where the brand has none
• Trademark search done on your channel/brand name — and filing initiated if the name matters to your future
• High-value original works (music, courses, formats) registered with the Copyright Office
• Platform account recovery details (email, phone, 2FA) owned by you, not an agency or editor

Every deal

• Written agreement exists (even a clear email trail beats nothing)
• Paid promotions carry ASCI-compliant disclosure — #ad / #sponsored / platform paid-partnership label, visible without "see more"
• Claims you make about products are ones the brand has substantiated in writing
• Invoice raised with correct details (GST details if registered)

Annual review (every April)

• Total service turnover checked against the ₹20 lakh GST threshold (₹10 lakh in special-category states) — register if you're approaching it
• If GST-registered with foreign income (AdSense, international brands): LUT filed for the new financial year — it does not carry over automatically
• Advance tax being paid quarterly if your tax liability exceeds ₹10,000/year
• Trademark registrations checked — renewals due? New classes needed for new activities (merch, courses)?
• Contract templates reviewed against how you actually work now
• Business structure sanity-check: has your income, team or risk outgrown your current setup?

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More unchecked boxes than you'd like? Most of these take under a week to fix with the right help. Start with a free discovery chat.

General information, not legal or tax advice.