For new models in the US
Modeling agencies for beginners that are legit
A legit agency never charges you to join, and it signs only a handful of beginners a year. Check any agency in ten minutes, submit to the two or three that sell your type, and put a reviewed profile in front of the brands that book models directly while you wait.
Adults only. A person reads every profile before it goes public.
Agency check
10 minutes
- State license on file CA Labor Commissioner, FL DBPR
- Nothing to pay before a booking Paid by commission only
- Board of working models Faces you can find in real campaigns
- "Required" photo package Due before they will submit you
- Sign today, no copy to take home Pressure is the pitch
Three passes and two fails. Walk away from this one.
The short answer
Which agencies take beginners
Legit modeling agencies for beginners are the same agencies that represent working models. Almost every one of them has a new faces process and an online submission form, and none of them charges you to be considered. They earn 10 to 20 percent of what you are paid on jobs they book, so they only sign people they expect to book soon.
That is the whole problem for a beginner. A fashion board in New York may take a few new faces a season from thousands of submissions, and most of them are 5 ft 9 in or taller. A regional commercial board is more open, but it still signs to fill gaps on its board, not because you applied. Few big agencies still run weekly walk-ins, so check which modeling agencies hold open calls before you travel. So submit, and do not wait on the answer: most commercial, catalog, fit and lifestyle work in the US is booked by the client directly, without any agency in the middle.
Legit modeling agencies, and the ones that only borrow the name
Three doors a new model walks up to
Mother and fashion agencies
The boards you have heard of, plus the strong one in your nearest big city. They scout, develop and place you with other agencies worldwide. Open to beginners, but with fixed height and measurement ranges for fashion, and a tiny intake.
Asks of you
Photos, height, sizes. Never money.
Commercial and regional boards
Agencies that book catalog, e-commerce, TV commercials, trade shows and lifestyle work in one market. The most realistic door for a beginner under fashion height, older, curvy or with a specific look.
Asks of you
Photos, availability, reliability. Never money.
Schools, studios and "management"
Businesses that use an agency-sounding name but make their money from you: classes, a portfolio shoot, a convention trip or a membership, sold after an "audition" almost everyone passes.
Asks of you
A card number, before any work exists.
Door C is where beginners lose money. If you were told you "passed" and were then quoted a package, read our record on John Casablancas, IMTA, Explore Talent, Nine9 and NV Models before you pay anything.
How to check a modeling agency is legit
The ten-minute check before you submit
- Look up the license California requires every talent agency to hold a license from the Labor Commissioner (Labor Code 1700.5), post a $50,000 bond and print its license number in talent ads. Florida requires a license from the DBPR to call yourself a talent agency. Both states publish a lookup. No license in a state that requires one ends the check.
- Follow the money A real agency is paid a commission from jobs it books. In California, the Krekorian Talent Scam Prevention Act makes it illegal for a talent service to take a fee up front for finding you work. Anywhere in the US, a registration fee or a "required" class is the clearest sign you are the customer, not the talent.
- Read the board Open the agency's board and find three of its models in real campaigns, catalogs or ads for brands you can name. Beginners on the board is fine. A board of nobody working is not.
- Search the complaints Search the exact name with BBB, complaint and refund. Read what people paid and what they got. One angry review means little; the same story about a package fee ten times means everything.
Modeling agencies near me for beginners, and what happens next
The reply you will probably get, and the one you want
Re: New faces submission
Thank you for your interest. We have reviewed your photos and at this time you are not a fit for our board. We wish you the best of luck.
The usual answer, often weeks later, and often no answer at all. It says nothing about whether brands would book you.
E-commerce day, spring basics
We found you under commercial models in your city. Are you free on the 18th, 9 to 4? Website and email use for one year. Your listed day rate works for us.
The email a MaxGirls profile exists to produce. No agency took 20 percent of it.
Best modeling agencies for beginners, side by side
What each route costs a new model
| Route | Takes beginners | What you pay | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fashion or mother agency | Yes, very few, with height and measurement ranges | Commission, usually 10 to 20 percent of each job, plus agreed costs out of earnings | Runway and editorial, 5 ft 9 in and up |
| Commercial or regional board | Yes, to fill a type the board is missing | Commission on each job, nothing to join | Catalog, TV, trade shows in one city |
| School, studio or paid "management" | Everyone who can pay | Package prices quoted in the thousands, before any work | Classes, if you want classes |
| Casting sites | Anyone, you submit to posted calls | A subscription, roughly $200 to $300 a year on the big two | Acting, extras, on-camera auditions |
| MaxGirls profile | Yes, reviewed by a person, adults only | $19 a month, no commission, cancel any month | Commercial, catalog, fit, lifestyle, parts, promo |
Casting site prices are the published plans we read for Backstage and Casting Networks. A profile is not an agency and does not promise work. It makes you findable by the clients who book models directly, which is the part an agency rejection does not change.
Online modeling agency
Applying online is normal, paying online is not
Nearly every real agency takes new faces through a form on its website, so applying online is exactly how beginners should start. What does not exist is a real agency that signs you without meeting you, then bills you for a listing, a portfolio or a membership. That is a paid service using the word agency.
A paid listing can be worth it when it says what it is. Ours costs $19 a month, promises no work, takes no commission, and puts your photos, sizes, city and rate where brands, content studios and photographers search. Profiles go live after a person reviews them.
Model agency requirements for beginners
What to send agencies and clients alike
- Three daylight photos A headshot, a full length and a profile, no filter and no heavy makeup, taken this month. Agencies call these digitals.
- Honest numbers Height, bust or chest, waist, hips, dress or suit size, shoe size. An agency measures you anyway, and a client trusts a profile that matches.
- Your city and dates Beginners book local work first. Say where you are and when you are free.
- A day rate you can say Agencies set rates for you. Clients who book direct ask for yours, so pick a range before the first email.
Need a card to attach? Build a model comp card from the same photos. Not sure you fit an agency's ranges? Agencies for plus size, petite and mature models are rarer still, and those pages show how clients book those looks directly.
Questions
Agencies for beginners, answered
Something missing? Write to support@maxgirls.com and a person will answer it.
Do modeling agencies accept beginners?
How do I know if a modeling agency is legit?
Do legit modeling agencies charge fees?
How do I find legit modeling agencies near me?
What is the best modeling agency for beginners?
Is an online modeling agency legit?
What do modeling agencies look for in beginners?
Can I model without an agency?
Get started
Be findable while the agencies decide.
Create your profile, and a person will review it before it goes live.