Questions to Ask a UGC Agency Before You Sign

The questions to ask a UGC agency fit on one page: 25 questions in five groups, covering how results are measured, where creators come from, who signs and pays them, who owns the content, and what the whole thing costs. An agency that answers all 25 in writing is easy to compare with any other; one that answers ten and asks for a call on the rest is telling you something too, and both reactions are useful information.

If you have two or three agency proposals open and they read as the same document with different logos, this post is for you. Below are the questions, why each one matters, what a strong answer sounds like, and a simple way to score the replies so the comparison takes an hour instead of a week.

The short answer

Two caveats before you screenshot that table.

First, a vague answer is not always a bad agency. Some answers really do depend on scope, and a good agency will say what they depend on. The warning sign is an answer that never gets more specific, even after you share your brief.

Second, these questions work on any model, not only agencies. You can send the same list to a managed service, a marketplace with a managed tier, or a platform. The answers will show you which steps each one actually takes off your team.

Questions to ask a UGC agency, grouped

1. Results and measurement

1. What will you report on, and how often? Views and cost per view describe reach; conversions, CAC and ROAS describe customers. Ask for a sample report.
2. What does the first month look like? A good agency can tell you how many creators, how many videos and which tests run first.
3. How do you decide what to scale and what to cut? Listen for a rule, not a feeling: which numbers move a creator or a hook up or down.
4. How do you connect a video to a sale or an install? Tracked links, codes, platform ad data or a conversion import are all real answers. "We look at engagement" is not.
5. What happens if the first month underperforms? A clear plan for changing creators, hooks or offers is a better sign than a promise.

2. Creators and sourcing

1. Where do your creators come from? A creator community, outreach, a network that creators apply to, or a mix. Each has strengths; you want to know which.
2. How do you vet a creator before I see them? Ask what is checked: recent work, category fit, on-time history. How to vet UGC creators lists what a thorough check covers.
3. Do I approve every creator? You should. An agency that assigns creators without your approval is making brand decisions for you.
4. Do creators post on their own accounts, or deliver files to me? These are different products. Make sure the agency sells the one you need.
5. How many creators will run at once, and who keeps them on schedule? Ask who sends the reminders and answers creator questions day to day.

3. Contracts and creator pay

1. Whose agreement is each creator signing? With the brand, with the agency, or with both. It decides who owns the relationship and the content.
2. Who pays creators, and when? Creators who are paid late stop answering. Ask for the payment schedule.
3. Who sets the creator's rate? Ask whether the rate is set by you, by the agency, or by the creator, and whether it is fixed for the campaign.
4. Does the creator receive the full rate, or a share of it? Some agencies add a markup on creator pay. Ask what the creator receives and what you pay, as two numbers.
5. What happens if a creator misses a deadline or disappears? Replacement, a reshoot, or a refund of that slot are all workable answers. When a UGC creator stops responding covers the options.

4. Content and usage rights

1. What usage rights come with each video? Organic only, paid ads, whitelisting, or all of them. Ask for the license window and territories.
2. Can I run videos as Spark Ads or Partnership Ads? If paid social is the plan, ask how ad codes or ad access are handled.
3. Who owns the raw footage? Raw files make new cuts cheap later. Ask whether you get them.
4. How many revision rounds are included? And what counts as a revision versus a reshoot.
5. What happens to the content if we stop working together? Your licenses should outlast the agency relationship for the window you paid for.

For the clauses behind these questions, see UGC usage rights explained and UGC contract red flags.

5. Fees and terms

1. What is every fee line? Retainer or project fee, markup on creator pay, usage add-ons, editing, setup. Ask for all of them on one page.
2. What is the minimum term? A monthly fee with a three-month minimum is a three-month commitment.
3. What is included, and what is billed as extra? Extra hooks, cutdowns and new formats are often priced separately.
4. How is pricing set? A published price list, a quote per project, or a scope agreed on a call. Each is fine if you get it in writing.
5. What would make you say this is not a fit for us? An agency that can name who it is not for is usually honest about who it is for.

The question that sorts agencies fastest is not about price. It is "what will you report on?", because an agency's answer tells you what it is actually trying to achieve with your money.

How to compare the answers

A workable approach, in order:

1. Send the same 25 questions to every agency. In writing, before any call. The comparison only works when every agency answers the same list.
2. Score each answer 0, 1 or 2. Zero for no answer, one for a vague answer, two for a specific answer in writing.
3. Weight the groups by your risk. If paid social is the plan, double the content and rights group. If you have no one to manage creators, double the creators group.
4. Read the lowest scores first. The weakest group is where the relationship will strain first.
5. Take the top two to a call. Use the call to test the specific answers, not to repeat the pitch.

A concrete example. A brand scores two agencies on the 25 questions, with the creators group doubled:

• Agency A: results 8, creators 9 (×2 = 18), contracts 7, rights 8, fees 6. Total: 47 of 60
• Agency B: results 4, creators 10 (×2 = 20), contracts 9, rights 9, fees 9. Total: 51 of 60
• Agency B scores higher overall, but its results group is the weakest of either agency at 4 of 10.
• The call with B should open on questions 1 to 5. If the answers get specific, B wins; if not, A's measurement may be worth more than B's paperwork.

The score is not the decision. It tells you which questions to spend the call on.

Questions to Ask a UGC Agency FAQ

What should I ask a UGC agency before hiring?

Ask how results are measured, where creators come from, whose agreement each creator signs, what usage rights come with each video, and every fee line with the minimum term.

What is the most important question to ask a UGC agency?

Ask what the agency will report on and how often, because the answer shows whether it is aiming at views or at customers.

How do I know if a UGC agency is a good fit?

A good fit answers in writing, names the kind of brand it is built for, and can say which brands it is not a fit for.

Should a UGC agency mark up creator pay?

Some do and some do not; ask what the creator receives and what you pay as two separate numbers so you can see any markup.

What are red flags when hiring a UGC agency?

No written fee stack, creators assigned without your approval, no clear usage rights, and reporting that stops at views are the most common red flags.

How Scouty fits

Scouty welcomes this list. Our programs are measured like paid media, on customers (conversions, CAC and ROAS) rather than views alone, you approve every creator, creators are recruited from the Scouty Creators Club and through outreach on TikTok and Instagram, and every video is reviewed against the brief before it ships. Winners get more creators and spend; the rest get cut.

Scouty is a creator and UGC marketing services company, so the team runs the program and pricing is scoped on a call, with no plans or subscriptions. You pay Scouty for the service, and we recruit and manage the creators and pay them on your behalf; each creator's agreement is with you, and creators keep 100% of the rate you set. Read how Scouty works, see the best UGC agencies in 2026 for the others worth asking, or read how much UGC agencies charge before you compare fees.

If you would rather ask us all 25 questions directly, book a call and tell us about your program.

This checklist is general guidance, not legal advice. Contract terms, usage rights and creator payment obligations vary by agency, country and platform; have your own counsel review any agreement before you sign. The scores in the example are illustrative.