FAQs

A contract is a written agreement between two or more parties that creates a legally binding obligation—financial or otherwise. Common examples include: affiliation agreements, intellectual property, nondisclosure, events, medical director and professional service agreements, leases and purchase orders for goods or services.

According to Regents Rule 03.900 all contracts involving the UNT System or any of its Institutions must:

Be in writing
Be approved and signed by someone with proper delegated signature authority

If someone without this authority signs a contract, it may not be legally binding on the UNT System or Institution. In such cases, the individual who signed it could be held personally responsible.

NOTE: The delegation for CONTRACTS is separate and different from delegations/authorizations for budgetary Chart of Accounts or DeptIds.

The Office of General Counsel has developed Standard Addendums that can be attached to any contract between third parties and the System or an Institution. When both parties sign the Standard Addendum, its terms become part of the contract. This ensures the agreement complies with State of Texas contracting requirements. Please see the Contracting Handbook on OGC’s website for more information. https://www.untsystem.edu/offices/general-counsel/contracts/index.php

Contracts are reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis. Processing time can range from one day to several weeks, depending on required contract approvals, the number of contracts currently in the queue, availability of University staff to review and process, and availability of authorized signatories to finalize the contract.

You can help lessen delays by ensuring information is provided with the contract submission, such as:

Correct legal name of the parties filled in
Correct contact & email address for external party
Estimate or actual (cumulative) value of the contract filled in
Completed Statements of Work and/or description of services
Blanks on the contract document filled in (if there are questions or assistance needed, request assistance by adding a note to the “Special Instructions” or “Additional Information” field of the Contract Request

Requests for Rush/Priority processing will be accommodated on a case-by-case basis.

Planning ahead is key for when to start the contract process! To help with timing, you can use the “FAQ When Should I Start My Contract” tool for general guidance. This tool is optional and intended for informational purposes only—it does not replace any official deadlines outlined in University policies or procedures.

Only individuals who have been formally delegated contract signature authority in writing by the UNT System Board of Regents, the UNT System Chancellor, or a campus President (or their designee) are authorized to sign contracts.

These delegations are documented by memorandum and outlined in Regents Rule 03.900.