Legal

1. Agreement

These API Terms of Use (“API Terms”) govern your access to and use of the DocketLayer API available at api.docketlayer.ai (the “API”). These API Terms are incorporated into and form part of the DocketLayer Terms of Service available at docketlayer.ai/terms (“Terms of Service”). Capitalized terms used but not defined here have the meanings given in the Terms of Service.

By making any request to the API, you agree to these API Terms and the Terms of Service. If you do not agree, do not access the API.

2. API Access

No registration required. Access to the API does not require account registration. Authentication is provided through the x402 payment protocol — successful payment of the per-query fee constitutes authorization to receive the requested data.

Wallet requirement. You must maintain a Solana-compatible cryptocurrency wallet funded with USDC to use the paid endpoints. See the quickstart guide at docketlayer.ai/quickstart for configuration instructions.

No API keys. DocketLayer does not issue API keys. Your Solana wallet address serves as your identifier for rate limiting and billing purposes.

3. API Endpoints

Free endpoints — no payment required:

• GET /v2/status — Returns current API status, covered courts, and system health information.
• GET /v2/courts — Returns the list of covered courts with identifiers and metadata.
• GET /v2/pricing — Returns current pricing information for paid endpoints.

Paid endpoints — $0.99 USDC per call:

• GET /v2/case — Returns normalized docket data for a specified court case.
• GET /v2/monitor — Returns a change indicator for a specified court case, suitable for polling workflows.
• POST /v2/cases/batch — Processes multiple case queries in a single request. Charged at $0.99 per case in the batch.

DocketLayer reserves the right to add, modify, deprecate, or remove endpoints at any time. We will provide advance notice of breaking changes through the /v2/status endpoint and our GitHub organization where operationally feasible.

4. Request Format

Required parameters and full request schema for each endpoint are documented at docketlayer.mintlify.app. Paid endpoints require a case_id and court_code at minimum. The x402 payment credential is handled automatically by x402-compatible client libraries.

5. Response Format

All API responses are returned as JSON objects. Paid endpoints return normalized case and docket entry data including filing type, description, date, filing party, and document number where available. The API does not return the full text or content of court documents. To access document content, you must access the source court portal directly. For US federal courts, this is PACER at pacer.uscourts.gov. For state and Canadian courts, access requirements vary by court.

Full response schema documentation is available at docketlayer.mintlify.app.

6. Data Limitations and Disclaimers

Data is not real-time. DocketLayer maintains a continuously updated cache of court docket data. The standard polling interval is 60 minutes per court; select high-volume courts are refreshed every 15 minutes. Data returned by the API may lag behind the official record, and potentially longer during maintenance windows, outages, or periods of high system load.

Data is not certified or official. Data returned by the API is sourced from public court portals and normalized by DocketLayer’s processing pipeline. It is provided for informational and monitoring purposes only. It is not a certified court record, an official copy of any filing, or a substitute for direct court portal access. Do not use API data as the authoritative source in any legal proceeding, regulatory filing, compliance certification, or other context requiring official records.

Data may contain errors. Source court data may itself contain errors, omissions, or inconsistencies. DocketLayer’s normalization layer may introduce additional errors. We make no warranty that data returned by the API is accurate, complete, or error-free.

Coverage is limited. The API covers only the courts listed in our coverage map. Queries for cases in courts not covered by DocketLayer will return an appropriate error response and will not be charged. Coverage may change without notice.

Sealed and restricted cases. Cases that are sealed, restricted, or otherwise not publicly accessible through official court record systems will not be accessible through the DocketLayer API.

Data is not legal advice. Information returned by the API is not legal advice. DocketLayer is not a law firm and does not provide legal services.

7. Rate Limits

The following rate limits apply per Solana wallet address: 60 requests per minute and 10,000 requests per day. Requests that exceed these limits will receive a 429 Too Many Requests response. You will not be charged for rate-limited requests.

Systematic attempts to circumvent rate limits — including through the use of multiple wallet addresses, IP rotation, or other means — are prohibited and may result in permanent suspension of API access without refund.

8. Error Responses

The API uses standard HTTP status codes:

• 200 OK — Successful query. You are charged for this response.
• 402 Payment Required — x402 payment challenge, handled automatically by x402 client libraries.
• 400 Bad Request — Malformed request, invalid case ID format, or missing required parameters.
• 404 Not Found — Case not found in DocketLayer’s coverage for the specified court.
• 422 Unprocessable Entity — Court is recognized but carries planned status; queries are not yet open.
• 429 Too Many Requests — Rate limit exceeded. Not charged.
• 503 Service Unavailable — DocketLayer or source court portal temporarily unavailable. Not charged.

You will not be charged for 400, 404, 422, 429, or 503 responses. Implement exponential backoff when retrying on 503.

9. Prohibited Uses

In addition to the prohibited uses set out in the Terms of Service, the following uses of the API are specifically prohibited:

• Using the API to monitor individuals for purposes that would violate applicable privacy laws, stalking laws, or harassment laws
• Using the API to build a competing docket monitoring or court data resale service without prior written permission from DocketLayer
• Using API output as the sole basis for adverse action against any individual or entity without independent verification from official sources
• Automated bulk querying of large numbers of cases for the purpose of building a comprehensive database of court data for resale or redistribution
• Using the API in connection with any debt collection activity that violates the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act or applicable state or provincial debt collection laws
• Sharing wallet private keys or payment credentials with unauthorized third parties

10. Commercial Use and Derivative Products

Permitted. You may use data returned by the API to build your own commercial products and services, including AI agents, compliance tools, legal practice management software, and financial analytics products, subject to these API Terms and the Terms of Service.

Restricted. You may not resell, sublicense, or redistribute raw API responses as a standalone data product or competing API service without prior written permission from DocketLayer. Contact us at legal@docketlayer.com to discuss licensing arrangements for such use cases.

Attribution. When publicly displaying or publishing data derived from the DocketLayer API, you must not represent that data as certified, official, or authoritative court records. You must make clear that the data is sourced from official court systems via a third-party service and may not reflect the most current official records.

11. Changes to the API

DocketLayer reserves the right to modify, deprecate, or discontinue any aspect of the API at any time. We will endeavor to provide at least 30 days advance notice of breaking changes to existing endpoints through our GitHub organization and the /v2/status endpoint, maintain backward compatibility for non-breaking changes, and provide migration guidance when endpoints are deprecated. DocketLayer is not liable for any costs, losses, or damages arising from API changes, deprecations, or discontinuation.

12. Versioning

The current API version is v2. DocketLayer may introduce new API versions in the future. We will maintain v2 for a reasonable period following the introduction of any new version, with advance notice of the v2 deprecation timeline.

13. Support

DocketLayer provides best-effort support for API integration questions via email at help@docketlayer.com. We aim to respond to integration questions within 3 business days but do not guarantee response times. Community support and integration examples are available at github.com/DocketLayer.

14. Liability

Your use of the API is subject to the limitation of liability provisions in the Terms of Service, which are incorporated here by reference. In particular, DocketLayer’s total liability arising from your use of the API shall not exceed the greater of (a) the total amount you paid to DocketLayer in the 30 days preceding the claim, or (b) one hundred US dollars ($100.00).

15. Governing Law

These API Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Wyoming, without regard to its conflict of law principles, consistent with the Terms of Service.

16. Contact

API integration questions: help@docketlayer.com
Legal and compliance: legal@docketlayer.com