The agency commission refers to the portion of the model’s fee that a modeling agency retains for securing jobs. It forms a central pillar of the agency’s business and covers services such as job placement, organization, administration, and strategic consulting. The commission is calculated as a percentage of the agreed-upon fee as well as any buyouts. The model receives their compensation after the client’s payment is received, minus this commission. In Germany, the agency commission is typically around 25%, while it is often higher in other European countries—in cities like Milan or Paris, it can be as high as 40%.

Furthermore, the commission is the fee that a parent agency charges for placing a model with a partner agency in another city or abroad. It is common practice for agencies to charge a commission of usually 10% of the model’s fee for the models they place. However, the model does not receive a double agency commission in this process.