What do Getty Images, Shutterstock and Adobe Stock require on a model release

The core fields every agency asks for

Strip the three forms down and they share a spine. Each wants the model's full name, date of birth, a way to reach them, the model's signature and the date it was signed, and the photographer's name. Shutterstock's adult checklist is exactly that: first name and surname, mailing address or email address, date of birth, signature and signature date, plus the photographer's first name and surname or business name.

Getty Images and Adobe Stock ask for more contact detail. Getty's March 2026 English model release has lines for residence address, town or city, state or province, country, postal code, phone and email. Adobe Stock's form has address, phone and email lines. Both forms also have a box for a visual reference of the model.

Shoot details appear on every form in some shape. Getty's release asks for the shoot date, the shoot country and state or province, and an optional description. Adobe Stock asks for the date and location of the shoot, noting that some customers need that information to use an asset, and says one release may not be used for multiple shoots.

Shutterstock

Shutterstock's checklists split by age and content: an adult release for models 18 and over, a minor release for ages 0 to 17, and a mature content release for nude models or sexual or suggestive concepts. On the minor release, the parent or guardian's name and signature replace the model's signature. The mature content release adds the model's government-issued photo ID, with the whole ID visible and legible.

Its April 2023 update changed three things. Every model release must include the model's date of birth. Every minor release must include a parent or legal guardian's name, so the older Shutterstock minor forms without that field are no longer accepted. Witness information is no longer required, although older releases with a completed witness section are not rejected. Releases submitted after April 1, 2023 that are missing the required information are rejected.

Some rules are about the document rather than the data. Signatures must be handwritten, in ink or with a stylus or finger on a touch screen. Only Gregorian calendar dates are accepted. Non-English releases are accepted only on Shutterstock, Getty, iStock, Adobe or Easy Release forms, with email addresses and phone numbers in Latin script and western Arabic numerals. Releases with crossed-out, whited-out or pasted-in information are rejected, and each release is uploaded on its own as a JPEG of up to 20 MB.

Adobe Stock

Adobe Stock is the most flexible about the form itself. It offers its own template but accepts releases from other sources if they are filled out correctly and are substantially similar to its form. It publishes its release in nine languages besides English and accepts nine more, including Chinese, Dutch and Swedish, on the same condition.

Its checklist is strict elsewhere. Names should be printed in capital letters. The photographer's name must match the Adobe Stock account holder's name, though companies and agencies may submit work by several photographers. Each person in a group needs a separate release, and a release that appears digitally stitched together is not accepted. All signatures must carry the same date, and if a witness signs, the witness date must match the model's.

On witnesses, Adobe does not require one when the model is 18 or older, and its Acrobat Sign option needs no witness at all. The witness can never be the model or the photographer. For a model who was and still is under 18, a parent or legal guardian signs, and Adobe suggests one parent sign as guardian and the other as witness. A parent photographing their own child prints their name and signs twice, as artist and as parent. If you collect signatures through Acrobat Sign, a visual reference image of the model is required.

Getty Images and iStock

Getty Images and iStock share one contributor program. Getty asks contributors to use its latest approved 2026 releases, including an enhanced model release it describes as offering increased legal protection and licensing opportunities. Paper releases are printed and signed in ink for each shoot. Digital releases must come from an approved app: Getty lists the Model Release App with its Getty Images Release template and Easy Release with its Enhanced Model Release Template, both as subscription purchases. It says other Model Release App releases are not Getty-approved or enhanced releases, and that standard Easy Release releases are not enhanced releases.

The March 2026 English form collects the creator's full legal name, signature, signing date, shoot date, and shoot country and state or province; the model's full legal name and date of birth; the model's or guardian's contact details, signature and signing date; the guardian's full legal name when the model is a minor or lacks capacity where they live; and a visual reference that shows the model's face clearly, which can be a portrait or a screenshot. It has no witness section. Older Getty forms, such as the December 2008 English release, did have one.

Two parts of the 2026 wording are worth explaining to the model before they sign. The release allows the content to be used to develop and improve machine learning models, AI and other technologies, and it covers biometric data derived from the content, except for unique identification. Descriptive information such as gender identity and ethnicity is voluntary. Getty also notes that its French release for use inside France is required for models photographed in France, and that its Brazilian Portuguese release covers the authorization needed for minors under 16 on shoots in Brazil.

Mistakes that get releases rejected

Missing dates of birth and outdated forms. Shutterstock rejects releases submitted after April 1, 2023 without a date of birth and no longer accepts its old minor form. Getty warns that release forms change from time to time and that contributors are responsible for making sure their app uses the version in effect when they submit.

Dates and people that do not line up. Shutterstock wants release dates to match the photo dates, and Adobe wants every signature dated the same day, witness included. Both require a separate release per person, and Adobe requires a new release for each shoot.

A preset that has drifted from the agency's page. Any tool that builds releases from agency field lists is only as current as the guidelines it was written from. ReleasePad's presets for Shutterstock and Adobe Stock follow each agency's public contributor guidelines at the time they were written, so compare the finished release with the agency's current requirements. It does not offer a Getty preset, because Getty accepts digital releases only from the apps it has approved.

This summary is general information, not legal advice. It was checked against each agency's contributor pages and forms in September 2026, and agencies revise their forms, so confirm the current version before you shoot.

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