A union commercial actor earns a session fee of $855.20 for an on-camera day, then a use fee every time, and every place, the ad runs. The use fees are where commercial money is made, and they stop when the ad stops running. Non-union commercials usually pay one flat buyout instead. Here are the current SAG-AFTRA figures and what our commercial experts told us about the deals.
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The session fee pays you for the shoot itself. Under the 2025 SAG-AFTRA Commercials Contract, these are the Year 2 minimums from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027, per SAG-AFTRA's 2026-2027 commercials cheat sheet (as of November 2026):
| Who | Session minimum |
|---|---|
| On-camera principal | $855.20 for 8 hours |
| Off-camera (voice-over) principal | $643.00 for 2 hours |
| Extra | $466.60 for 8 hours |
On camera, the 9th and 10th hours are paid at time and a half ($160.35 an hour) and the 11th hour onwards at double time ($213.80). The producer must pay your session within 15 business days of the last day worked. The producer also pays 23.5% on top into the SAG-AFTRA pension and health plans. Extras have their own bumps, covered on our extras pay page.
Not royalties, but something similar. On a union commercial you are paid a use fee for each period, market or platform the ad runs in. Actors usually call these residuals. You don't get a cut of the product's sales.
The catch is that only the session fee is guaranteed. Shaan Sharma told us that if a commercial never airs, the session fee may be all you ever see. If it runs, the use fees start.
Non-union commercials are different. Ben Whitehair's answer was blunt: non-union projects basically never pay residuals, and that is one of the big benefits of union work.
What you earn after the shoot depends on where the ad runs and for how long. A few of the Year 2 minimums for an on-camera principal, from the official 2025 Commercials Contract rate sheet, Year 2 (as of November 2026):
| Use | On-camera principal |
|---|---|
| Network TV (Class A), first use | $783.10 |
| Class A, 13-use guarantee | $1,936.67 |
| Wild spot, all broadcast markets, 13 weeks | $2,184.00 |
| National cable, 13 weeks | $4,100.00 |
| Streaming platforms, 13 weeks | $3,000.00 |
| Streaming platforms, 52 weeks | $10,000.00 |
| Traditional digital (without paid YouTube), 13 weeks | $1,212.12 |
Class A means the major networks, paid per airing; a wild spot is paid by the cycle in local markets. Voice-over principals have a lower column on the same sheet. The Year 2 bulletin notes that Class A, cable, streaming and some digital use rates didn't rise in Year 2. Our commercial residuals guide explains the categories.
A union commercial runs in 13-week cycles. Per SAG-AFTRA's 2025 Commercials Contracts page, a holding fee is due 13 weeks from the first day of on-camera production. It pays for the advertiser's right to keep the ad and, usually, to keep you off competing brands.
The maximum period of use is 24 months, starting 10 working days after the first on-camera shoot day. After that the advertiser has to renegotiate with you to keep using the ad. So commercial income arrives over months, and it ends when the advertiser stops paying to run the spot.
There is no minimum. A non-union commercial pays whatever is negotiated, usually as one flat buyout that covers the shoot and the usage. Kym told us many non-union buyouts are small, which is part of why agents charge more on them.
Our commercial casting expert listed the risks: fewer safety protections, no pension or health contributions, usage that can run in perpetuity, and a product conflict that lasts as long as the ad is online. Shaan Sharma added that without the union, enforcing the agreed term is up to you. Ask where a buyout will run, for how long, and what you're agreeing not to do.
On union work, SAG-AFTRA's commission limits bulletin says agents often negotiate scale plus 10 for a commercial's first run, so the 10% is paid on top of your fee rather than out of it. In the worst case an agent may commission a commercial at scale.
Non-union is different. Kym and Shaan both said 20% is the norm, taken from your fee. Shaan warned that some agencies also collect a separate fee from the client on non-union jobs, so ask how yours is paid. Kym added that your theatrical agent doesn't commission your commercials, but a manager usually does.
Usually, but not always. Shaan explained that not every type of residual is commissionable, and that your agency normally receives the payment, takes its share and forwards the rest with a line-by-line breakdown. If money comes to you directly, check which parts your agent is owed and talk to them.
Kym's rule: a new agent or manager doesn't commission residuals from jobs you booked before signing. Shaan added that an agent only commissions work they found for you, so a job booked through your agent back home is theirs.
When an advertiser holds you, you can't appear for a competing brand. That is the trade behind holding fees. Shaan said a voice-over job doesn't usually clash with an on-camera spot where you don't speak, but some advertisers pay more for exclusivity that rules out any competing work, including voice-over. Know exactly what your contract covers before you take the next audition.
Session fee, plus use fees for every cycle and platform, plus overtime, minus commission. A spot that runs nationally for a year pays many times the session fee; one that never airs pays the session fee alone. That's why commercial actors think in bookings and cycles, not hourly rates. Our commercial acting guide covers how to get the auditions, and SAG-AFTRA rates has the film and TV minimums.
General information only, checked November 2026. Rates change every 1 April under this contract. Check the current rate sheet and ask the union or your agent about your own deal.
On a SAG-AFTRA commercial the minimum session fee is $855.20 for an on-camera principal and $643.00 for a voice-over principal, from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027. Use fees are paid on top each time and place the ad runs.
Not royalties on sales. Union commercial actors are paid use fees, often called residuals, for each cycle, market or platform the ad runs in. Non-union commercials usually pay a single buyout instead.
From 1 April 2026 the Year 2 rates apply: $855.20 for an on-camera principal session, $643.00 for an off-camera principal and $466.60 for an extra. A 52-week streaming use pays an on-camera principal $10,000.
It depends on where the ad runs. For an on-camera principal, a first Class A network use is $783.10 and 13 weeks of national cable is $4,100, as of November 2026.
On union commercials agents usually negotiate scale plus 10, so commission sits on top of your fee. On non-union work our experts said 20% taken from your fee is the norm.
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All rates current from sagaftra.org and jointpolicycommittee.org as of 3 November 2026.