Do you need a written referral agreement for a paid introduction?

The short answer

You may not be legally required to put every referral arrangement in writing, but for a paid introduction to a data license you should. Written terms settle the three questions behind most referral disputes: when the payment is earned, who gets the credit, and what you must tell the person you introduce. With SourceX those terms already exist in writing: the published program terms and any signed agreement set the details, so you do not need to rely on a spoken understanding.

Data licensing makes the case for writing stronger than most referrals. The path from introduction to payment runs through qualification, a data inventory, agreement on price and terms, buyer review, closing and delivery, and the company is typically paid within about 60 days of invoicing once a buyer selects the data. Your reward becomes payable only after the buyer pays and SourceX receives its fee. Over that span, nobody's memory of a phone call is a reliable record.

What does a verbal referral deal leave open?

Most of what matters. The table sets what a spoken promise usually leaves undefined against what the SourceX program states in writing.

The definitions behind the first row are unpacked in what is a qualified referral, and the general shape of these contracts is covered in what is a referral fee agreement.

Is a verbal referral agreement enforceable?

Sometimes, but that is the wrong test. State contract law decides whether an oral promise to pay for an introduction can be enforced, some kinds of agreement must be in writing, and those rules differ from state to state. Even where an oral promise is binding, you still have to prove its terms, which is hard when the payment depends on a deal closed many months later between two other parties.

A written arrangement replaces that argument with a document. If you already have an informal understanding with someone about paid introductions, ask a lawyer in your state before relying on it.

How the written arrangement works with SourceX

1. Read the current program terms before you introduce anyone; together with any signed agreement, they govern the details beyond the headline facts.
2. Register as a partner. Anyone can join from any supported country, and the companies you introduce must be US companies.
3. Ask what tax paperwork applies to you before you are paid. As general background, a US person uses Form W-9 to give a correct taxpayer identification number to a payer that files information returns (IRS: About Form W-9); a foreign individual gives Form W-8BEN to the payer when one is requested (IRS: About Form W-8 BEN).
4. Introduce the company with your referral link, which sends the owner to apply with your referral code attached, or submit it through the referral form. Either way the introduction is on record.
5. Share only basic fit information. You never export, upload or describe confidential records; the company deals with SourceX directly.
6. Keep your own disclosure record: a dated email or file note showing what you told the owner about your compensation.

The introduction email builder drafts the first note to an owner, and who qualifies lists the company baseline, so you introduce companies that can reach a verified application.

Why licensed professionals need the terms in writing

For many advisers, the written terms are exactly what their firm or professional body will ask to see.

• CPAs. The AICPA's commissions and referral fees rule (ET 1.520) bars a member in public practice from accepting a commission for recommending a product or service to a client when the firm also performs an audit, review, certain compilations or an examination of prospective financial information for that client, and permitted commissions and referral fees must be disclosed to the client (AICPA Code of Professional Conduct). State boards can be stricter.
• Registered representatives. FINRA reports that the SEC approved new Rule 3290 (Outside Activities) on September 15, 2026, replacing Rules 3270 and 3280, with the effective date to be announced in a Regulatory Notice; until then the existing rules apply (FINRA weekly update). Your compliance team will want to read the terms.
• Lawyers. The ABA Model Rules on fees, conflicts and professional independence are a template that each state adopts in its own version (ABA Model Rules index), so check the rules where you are licensed.
• Anyone recommending SourceX publicly. FTC staff guidance says a connection between an endorser and a marketer that readers would not expect should be disclosed clearly and close to the recommendation, and that a label such as affiliate link may not be understood on its own (FTC: What People Are Asking). The FTC disclosure examples page has wording to adapt.

If your firm must approve before you join, the internal memo template structures that request.

This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm with your own counsel, tax adviser or professional body before acting.

What a written agreement does not settle

• Whether you may accept the fee. That depends on your professional rules, your employer and your firm's policy, not on the program terms.
• Whether a company qualifies. The baseline is a US company with 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded), several years of documented operations, rights to license the data and an authorized sponsor.
• Whether a deal closes. Rewards are not guaranteed, and an introduction may never reach a paid license.
• Anything said outside the terms. A conversation that describes different economics is not part of the program until it is in a signed agreement.

Next step

Read the program terms once, end to end, then register as a partner and make your first introduction with your referral link so it is on record from the start.