# What is a normal notice period with an agency?

**Short answer.** Three to six months is common, and the length should follow from how many people the agency dedicates to you. Insist on reciprocity: a notice period that binds only you is not an agreement, it is a penalty.

Three to six months is common in the Belgian market. That is practice, not law: there is no statutory notice period for a services agreement between businesses, so whatever your contract says applies.

## What the length should follow from

How many people the agency dedicates to you. An agency with three people full time on your account cannot redeploy them in a month; an agency serving you two days a month can. Six months is therefore reasonable on a large retainer and excessive on a small contract.

A second consideration is the time you need to find a successor. A selection takes two to four months, plus handover on top. A one-month notice period means you will be left without an agency.

## The rule never to drop

**Reciprocity.** The same period for both parties. A contract where you must give six months and the agency one is not an agreement, it is a penalty. Check it explicitly: it is one of the most common imbalances in standard contracts, usually with no bad intent.

## What to settle alongside it

- **What still happens during the notice period.** An agency that knows it is leaving puts its best people elsewhere. Write down which team stays on your account.
- **What happens to running projects.** Finish, hand over, or stop with a settlement.
- **When handover starts.** Preferably at notice rather than in the final week. See [how to make sure the handover goes well](https://www.ikag.be/en/factsheets/faq/goede-overdracht).
- **An exit for non-performance**, with a definition of what that is. Without that clause you are tied to a relationship that does not work.

## The practical tip

Say it in person before the letter goes out, even when you are contractually not obliged to. It costs you nothing and changes everything about how the final months run. See [how to end things with an agency properly](https://www.ikag.be/en/factsheets/faq/een-bureau-opzeggen).

A notice period that is not reciprocal is one of the things IKAg straightens out when we put a contract next to the scope and the remuneration. See [Agency evaluation & remuneration](https://www.ikag.be/en/agency-evaluation).

See also: [how long an agency contract should run](https://www.ikag.be/en/factsheets/faq/looptijd-bureaucontract) and [what to put in a contract](https://www.ikag.be/en/factsheets/faq/wat-in-een-bureaucontract).

## Related questions

- [How long should an agency contract run?](https://www.ikag.be/en/factsheets/faq/looptijd-bureaucontract): Long enough to earn back the investment in learning, short enough not to be stuck: one to three years, with a review after the first. An open-ended contract is not freedom, it is postponement.
- [How do I end things with an agency properly?](https://www.ikag.be/en/factsheets/faq/een-bureau-opzeggen): Yourself, in person, before the letter goes out, and with the reason attached. The agency world is small: how you leave decides who shows up for your next pitch.
- [What do I put in a contract with an agency?](https://www.ikag.be/en/factsheets/faq/wat-in-een-bureaucontract): Six things decide everything later: the scope, who works on it, how you order more, who holds the rights, how you terminate, and how handover works. The rest is boilerplate.

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IKAg is the business consultant for marketing and agencies in Belgium and the Netherlands. Market figures come from the Agency Barometer, calculated on the annual accounts agencies filed with the National Bank themselves. Figures on pitches and satisfaction come from IKAg-guided processes, and are always presented as such.

- All questions: https://www.ikag.be/en/factsheets/faq
- Last updated: 2026-08-19