Boilerplate Language, Uses, History, Examples, Pros & Cons

What Is Boilerplate?

Boilerplate language is standardized text that can be used repeatedly in similar documents without major changes.

Boilerplate language is used for efficiency and to increase standardization in the structure, language, and content of written or digital documents. In contract law, boilerplate language is used to ensure that all the necessary legal details are documented.

How Boilerplates Work

Boilerplate can be any text that is reused repeatedly without substantial changes to the original. Boilerplates are commonly used online and in written documents by a variety of entities including corporations, legal firms, and medical facilities.

Users can make slight changes to the language or certain portions of the text to tailor a document for different uses. For instance, a media release contains boilerplate language at the bottom, which is usually information about the company or product and may be updated for different situations before being disseminated to the public.

The term is also used by software writers to refer to coding that is created and reused over and over again. In this case, the IT specialist only has to rework some of the code to fit into the current need, without making major changes to the original structure.

Boilerplate can be described as the standard text portion of a template. It provides the user with a basic structure that can be altered to suit different needs.

History of Boilerplate

In the 19th century, a boilerplate was a steel slab used as a template in the construction of steam boilers. This term for standardization was adopted by editors to describe the often trite and unoriginal work that some writers submitted for publication.

The legal profession began using the term boilerplate as early as the mid-1950s when an article in the Bedford Gazette criticized boilerplate language as fine print designed to bury the unpleasant details of an agreement.

Businesses today use boilerplate clauses in contracts, purchase agreements, and other formal documents. Boilerplate clauses are designed not only to save time but to protect businesses from making errors or legal mistakes in documents.

The wording of these passages is generally not up for negotiation with customers, who will often sign boilerplate documents without actually reading or understanding them. This type of boilerplate, written by a party with superior bargaining power and presented to a weaker party, is often called an adhesion contract in the legal profession. Courts may set aside provisions of such contracts if they find them coercive or unfair.

Boilerplate Language in the Modern World

In contemporary times, the term boilerplate is applied to a wide variety of settings. It can refer to any standardized method, form, or procedure.

In marketing and public relations, boilerplate refers to blocks of language in marketing materials or press releases that rarely change. They may be written to express a company's mission or otherwise cast it in a positive light and are commonly added to a variety of its publications, press releases, or web pages, including the About Us page on many websites.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Boilerplate

Boilerplates are considered a time and money saver. Companies don't have to waste resources drafting up new documents or contracts. They can simply update existing documents or templates to suit their current purpose. Similarly, IT professionals can make a few alterations to existing code to create new text and documents online.

Boilerplates can help prevent mistakes. The language is already vetted to ensure it is error-free, which means fewer headaches in the future. This provides companies and individuals with protection from legal problems that can arise from sloppy work.

Standard forms provide consistency. They prevent inadvertent deviation from one contract or document to the next.

But there are disadvantages as well, and they usually fall on the recipient rather than the producer. In most cases, people don't read the fine print and aren't aware of conditions they must uphold.

Contractual boilerplates often contain language that favors one party—the writer. In these cases, companies rely on the fact that individuals will skip or skim through these sections.

Examples of Boilerplate Language

Banks use a standard contract for everyone who applies for a home loan. Bank employees and loan applicants may fill in the blanks or select from checkboxes rather than create an entirely new document for every applicant. These documents typically remain unchanged so that the parties using them are not misled into accepting unfavorable conditions that even small changes in the boilerplate text could cause.

Another example of a boilerplate is the fine print that appears on many contracts. This section is usually static, as is the case with many cell phone contracts. This indicates the fees, charges, and other rules that may apply to someone's service. Companies may make minor changes to the text when needed.

The Bottom Line

Boilerplates are a big part of the corporate, legal, and information technology sectors. These tools help save time and money, allowing standard text and documents to be created and approved for use over and over again. They are usually found in legal contracts and press releases, among other documents.

Boilerplate language serves a purpose but it's important for those who receive it to read it carefully. Just because it's standardized doesn't mean it isn't important.