Screen Time Contract Template for Couples (Free, Copy-Paste)
Search “screen time contract template” and almost everything that comes back is written for a parent to hand to a child — chore charts, gold stars, a parent’s signature at the bottom as the enforcer. If you’re two adults trying to set a written agreement about phone use between yourselves, none of that fits, and there’s very little built for you instead. This is that template: adult language, no parent/child framing, no PDF to download and print — just the full text below, ready to copy into a notes app, a doc, or an actual printed page you both sign.
Why bother writing it down
A conversation about phone boundaries is easy to have and easy to forget. Three weeks later, neither of you remembers exactly what you agreed to, and the boundary quietly stops existing. A written agreement doesn’t fix that by itself, but it does two things a conversation alone doesn’t: it forces you to get specific (vague agreements are impossible to keep, because nobody agrees on what they meant), and it gives you something to point back to when memory gets fuzzy or motivation dips.
None of this is enforceable in any legal sense, and it’s not meant to be — think of it the way you’d think of a roommate agreement about dishes, not a legal contract. Its job is to make the boundary concrete enough that “keeping it” and “breaking it” both have clear meanings.
The template
Copy everything below, fill in the blanks together, and adjust anything that doesn’t fit your situation — this is a starting structure, not a fixed set of rules.
# Screen Time Agreement
Between: _____________________ and _____________________
Date: _____________________
Review date (2–4 weeks out): _____________________
## 1. Apps in scope
We are agreeing to limit or lock the following apps:
- _____________________
- _____________________
- _____________________
We are NOT limiting: calling, texting, maps, banking, or anything
either of us needs for work or safety, unless specifically listed above.
## 2. Hours
These apps are locked during the following windows:
- [ ] Every day, all day
- [ ] Daily window: from ______ to ______
- [ ] Specific times only: _____________________
(e.g., during meals, after 9pm, weekday mornings)
Outside these windows, the apps are open — this isn't a total ban,
it's a boundary around specific times.
## 3. Unlock rules
If one of us wants access during a locked window, here's what happens:
- [ ] We ask each other directly and the other person can say no
- [ ] We get one no-questions-asked unlock per day
- [ ] Emergencies only (phone dying, need to navigate somewhere, work
requires it right now)
- [ ] Other: _____________________
Whoever is asked is allowed to say no. Saying no is not a punishment
and doesn't need to be justified beyond "not right now."
## 4. What happens on a slip
Everyone breaks the agreement sometimes. Deciding in advance what
happens keeps a slip from turning into a fight.
If one of us breaks the agreement (uses a locked app outside the
rules, or bypasses the lock entirely):
- We tell each other, honestly, within 24 hours — no hiding it
- We talk about *why* it happened, not just that it happened
- We do NOT use it as ammunition in an unrelated argument later
- Repeated slips mean we revisit Section 2 or 3, not that we give up
## 5. Why we're doing this
(Optional, but worth filling in — this is the part you'll actually
reread when motivation dips.)
We're doing this because: _____________________
## 6. Review
On the review date above, we'll sit down and ask:
- Did this help?
- Did we actually follow it?
- What should change?
Signed: _____________________ & _____________________That’s the whole thing. It fits on one page, it’s specific enough to actually follow, and every section maps to a real decision you and your partner need to make anyway — the template just makes sure you make it together, on purpose, instead of by accident.
A few notes on filling it out
Keep Section 1 short. Two to four apps, not everything on your phone. A contract that tries to cover everything gets ignored within a week; one that targets the two or three apps that actually eat your time together gets followed. How to Run a 7-Day Phone Pact has more detail on picking the right apps if you’re not sure which ones matter most.
Be honest in Section 4. The instinct is to skip the “what happens on a slip” section because it feels like planning for failure. Don’t skip it — the couples who actually stick with agreements like this are the ones who decided in advance that a slip is a conversation, not a crisis. Deciding that ahead of time, when you’re calm, is much easier than deciding it in the moment, when you’re not.
Section 5 matters more than it looks. “Why we’re doing this” sounds like filler, but it’s the line you’ll reread on day 10 when the whole thing feels like a hassle. Write down the actual reason — more presence at dinner, less doom-scrolling before bed, whatever it honestly is — not a generic one.
Making it enforceable with a pact
A written agreement solves the “we forgot what we agreed to” problem. It doesn’t solve the harder one: at 9:47pm, tired, bored, alone with your phone, nothing on this page stops you from just opening the app anyway. That’s not a flaw in the template — no piece of paper can hold a lock. Enforcement needs a second person in the moment, not just an agreement made in advance.
That’s the gap LockPact is built to close. You each lock the apps from Section 1 on your own phone, using the hours from Section 2 as your schedule. When one of you wants in during a locked window, the request goes to the other person — the unlock rules from Section 3 stop being a promise you’re relying on your own memory to keep, and become something your partner actually enforces in real time. If either of you tries to sidestep it by turning off Screen Time access, the app detects that and tells the other person, which is Section 4 handling itself instead of relying on someone confessing. It’s free, with no subscription required to use the core lock-and-approve mechanic.
The contract is the plan. The pact is what makes the plan hold on a bad night.
Related reading
If you want the reasoning behind why written, mutual agreements beat solo willpower in the first place, Couples and Phone Boundaries: A Field Guide covers the psychology and a handful of specific boundary examples beyond what’s in this template. And if you’re comparing tools that could actually enforce Section 3, Best Screen Time Apps for Couples breaks down the real options, including where LockPact does and doesn’t fit — or, if you’re setting this up with a friend rather than a romantic partner, Apps That Let a Friend Control Your Screen Time (2026) covers the same mutual-lock idea for that pairing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a screen time contract for couples actually legally binding?
No, and it isn’t meant to be. It’s a written agreement in the same spirit as a roommate chore chart — its value is making the boundary specific and giving you something to point back to, not legal enforceability.
Where can I find a screen time contract template that isn’t for kids?
That’s what this page is — most templates online are written for a parent-child dynamic (chore charts, a parent’s signature as enforcer). The template above uses adult language and assumes two equal partners agreeing to the same rules, with neither one positioned as the enforcer of the other.
How do we make sure we actually stick to the contract?
Writing it down helps, but the honest answer is that a piece of paper can’t stop you from opening a locked app at 11pm — only another person, in the moment, can. Pairing the written agreement with a tool where your partner has to approve your unlock (like LockPact) turns the contract’s unlock rules into something enforced in real time instead of remembered on your own.
What apps should we put in the contract?
Two to four, not everything. Pick the ones that actually eat time you’d rather spend together — usually the same one or two apps come up if you’re honest about it. A contract that tries to cover your whole phone gets ignored within a week.
What if one of us breaks the agreement?
Decide that in advance, which is exactly what Section 4 of the template is for. Most couples do best with a simple rule: tell each other honestly within 24 hours, talk about why, and don’t use it as ammunition later. Repeated slips are information that the rules need adjusting, not a sign to give up.