Understanding Upwork’s Opt-Out and Conversion Fee Process

Raul

7.3 OPTING OUT

If the Client and Freelancer have had an Upwork relationship for at least two (2) years, the Conversion Fee is a nominal $1 USD for administrative purposes.

How does this apply to the freelancer?

Here’s what I found out about this: In the TOS, there’s no mention of how this works, and it doesn't clarify what the actual “Upwork Relationship” refers to or how it applies.

You might think this refers to the first transaction, the first meeting, or the first time a client hires you. But that’s not the case.

According to Upwork support, it actually means that if you’ve had a single contract open for over two years and it has never been closed, you can opt out with that client. The client must also hire the talent full-time in that contract, and then the process will allow you to pay a $1 fee.

I had to use ChatGPT and Upwork AI to help me understand this part, and both sources mentioned that the TOS doesn’t explicitly state that a relationship refers to a single contract open for over two years and still active after those two years in order to qualify for opting out.

So, keep an eye on this and try to let your clients know, because if they end up paying too much to Upwork in the long run, it may be much cheaper to hire you outside of Upwork than to keep the contract open for over two years. If the client wants to pull you out before that time, they’ll have to pay the Conversion Fee. Here’s how: Upwork Conversion Fee

I hope you find this helpful!
🙃

Ravi

Glad you finally looked up the $1 fee.

Raul

Ravi

I ran it through their Chat AI and Chat GTP (because, you know, double-checking with a typo is the scientific method) and got the same answers.

I had to be sure. It’s supposed to be more practical! They really need to work on making the information clearer for people who aren’t attorneys or fluent in legalese, because not everyone speaks "lawyer." 😂

Ravi

Question to ChatGPT: Even when a freelancer and a client have interacted (on and off) for two years, does the client have to pay a $1 conversion fee to Upwork?

ChatGPT's answer:

After a freelancer and a client have interacted on Upwork for two years, the client can take the relationship off-platform by paying a nominal $1 conversion fee. This reduced fee applies specifically to relationships that have met or exceeded the two-year threshold. Prior to reaching two years, the standard conversion fee is 13.5% of the freelancer's estimated earnings over a 12-month period.
SUPPORT.UPWORK.COM

To initiate this process, the client typically starts the contract conversion by navigating to Jobs > All Contracts, selecting the specific contract, and choosing Request Contract Conversion from the options menu. It's essential to complete this process and pay the conversion fee before making any payments outside of Upwork to comply with Upwork's Terms of Service.
SUPPORT.UPWORK.COM

Please note that taking a relationship off Upwork without paying the required conversion fee is a violation of Upwork's Terms of Service and can result in account suspension.
SUPPORT.UPWORK.COM

Sources

[Emphasis added}

Ravi

Raul I had to be sure. It’s supposed to be more practical! They really need to work on making the information clearer for people who aren’t attorneys or fluent in legalese, because not everyone speaks "lawyer." 😂

That is the whole idea: make it obscure so simple nonlegal folk are lost.

TopRatedTroll

It used to say on first contact on Upwork, so I always used the first day they contacted me. It's kinda ambiguous but I feel like your Upwork relationship starts when they first contact you even though they removed the wording.

Gant

Unless something has changed, I do not believe it requires you to have a single open contract for 2 years. It's from first contact. We lost the posts from the UW forums, but I had provided a process there when I took two long-term clients off of the platform in January of last year after UW raised their fee to 10%. They make the process obtuse and the client is the one that has to pay the $1. However, if you had a client 2 years ago, you should be able to take them off-platform regardless of whether you have an active contract today with them.