Can I put client work in my portfolio if I signed an NDA?

You have finished a client project and want to show it to your next customer. There is an NDA in your folder, a confidentiality clause in the project agreement, and perhaps a public launch. Can you post a screenshot and name the client?

Start by identifying exactly what you want to share. A final public homepage, an unreleased concept, a case study with sales figures and a private presentation to a prospective employer are different disclosures. Removing the client's logo may still leave identifying or confidential details.

Check three separate permissions

On a narrow screen, scroll the table sideways to read all columns.

The UK Intellectual Property Office's NDA guidance recommends defining the protected information, permitted purpose, recipients and duration. Use those as reading questions; the guidance does not decide what your particular NDA permits.

Copyright ownership does not answer every confidentiality or publicity question. The UK IPO's ownership guidance explains that creators working under contracts for services usually retain copyright unless agreed otherwise. That UK-specific starting point does not override your actual restrictions or establish a universal portfolio right. The editable-files guide separates delivery from rights ownership.

Map the exact disclosure

Make a list before asking for approval. Here is a fictional example, not a statement of what any contract allows.

Do not assume a private call or password-protected portfolio falls outside a restriction. It still involves sharing with someone. Similarly, a public launch may resolve one fact without making your internal research, drafts or results public.

Read any public-information exclusion in its actual terms. Check how information became public and whether the exclusion applies to the material you intend to disclose. An agreed confidentiality period and a project's completion date may also be different dates.

Ask for a narrow, easy-to-answer approval

Use links or attachments containing only the material the recipient is authorised to receive. This is a fictional communication template, not a contract amendment.

I'd like to include this project in my portfolio. Could you confirm whether I may publish the attached [two screenshots and short description], naming [client name], on [website/profile] from [date]? I would exclude internal documents, unused concepts, customer information and performance figures. Please let me know whether you need a different version or an additional approval under our NDA or publicity terms. I will wait for confirmation before publishing.

Ask the appropriate contact to arrange approval from someone with authority. Save the approved version and any limits, including launch timing, attribution, channels and duration. If the agreement requires a signed amendment or a particular approval process, follow it; an informal “looks good” may leave the important question unanswered.

If approval is declined, you can ask whether a narrower, genuinely anonymised description is possible. You can also demonstrate your skills with a separate fictional project that uses no client material. Neither approach automatically creates an exception to an existing restriction.

Check permission before using AI too

Sending the NDA or project files to an AI service is itself a separate handling decision. Do not upload confidential client material to Contracts.money or another service just to find out whether you were allowed to share it. First check the agreement and applicable permission/data-handling requirements. The client no-AI guide has a workflow map for that check.

Once the permitted scope is clear, put the approved materials and limits in a small portfolio record. It makes the next post, interview or award submission easier to assess without guessing again.