Medical writing teams are crucial in the pharmaceutical industry at every stage of drug development. With growing regulatory pressure and shrinking profit margins, outsourcing these activities is considered a viable option that provides multiple advantages such as high-quality documents produced in a shorter time and at a lower cost. Correct identification of an outsourcing partner is critical for success. We propose the following eight key criteria that a sponsor company should consider when choosing a medical writing service provider: types of services offered, organisational structure of the provider, resources, quality of services, communication, client relationship, contract, and cost-effectiveness.