Legal
These Terms of Service ("Terms") constitute a legally binding agreement between you ("User," "you," or "your") and DocketLayer LLC, a Wyoming limited liability company ("DocketLayer," "we," "us," or "our"), governing your access to and use of the DocketLayer website at docketlayer.ai and docketlayer.com, the DocketLayer API available at api.docketlayer.com, and all related documentation, content, and services (collectively, the "Service").
By accessing or using the Service in any way — including making API queries, visiting our website, or reading our documentation — you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree to these Terms, you may not access or use the Service. If you are accessing the Service on behalf of an organization, you represent and warrant that you have authority to bind that organization to these Terms.
DocketLayer provides a pay-per-query API that delivers normalized federal court docket data sourced from the Public Access to Court Electronic Records system ("PACER") and the federal judiciary's Case Management/Electronic Case Files system ("CM/ECF"). The Service is designed for use by developers, AI agents, and organizations building automated legal monitoring workflows.
The Service is intended for programmatic access by software systems, including AI agents. It is not a consumer-facing legal research tool and is not a substitute for direct PACER access, legal counsel, or official court records.
You must be at least 18 years of age to use the Service. The Service is intended for commercial and professional use.
The Service does not require user accounts or subscriptions. Access is granted on a per-query basis through the x402 payment protocol. To use the Service, you must maintain a Solana-compatible cryptocurrency wallet funded with USDC sufficient to cover your intended query volume, and configure the x402 payment protocol in your application in accordance with our documentation.
You are solely responsible for the security of your wallet, private keys, and payment credentials. DocketLayer has no ability to recover lost wallet access or reverse completed on-chain transactions.
The current price per query is $0.99 USD, payable in USDC on the Solana blockchain via the x402 protocol. DocketLayer reserves the right to change pricing at any time upon notice posted to docketlayer.ai. Successful payment of the per-query fee constitutes authorization to access the requested data.
You will not be charged for queries that fail due to DocketLayer system errors, PACER unavailability, or cases not found in covered courts. All payments are final. DocketLayer cannot process refunds for completed on-chain transactions. If you believe you were charged for a failed query in error, contact [email protected] with your wallet address and query timestamp.
You agree to use the Service only for lawful purposes and in accordance with these Terms. Prohibited uses include:
Federal court docket data is a public record of the United States government and is not subject to copyright. DocketLayer does not claim copyright in the underlying docket data. DocketLayer's normalization layer, data schema, API design, documentation, and software are proprietary to DocketLayer LLC and are protected by applicable intellectual property laws.
Subject to your compliance with these Terms and payment of applicable fees, DocketLayer grants you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to access and use the Service for your internal business purposes. This license does not include the right to sublicense, resell, or redistribute the Service itself.
All data provided through the Service is sourced from PACER and CM/ECF as-is. DocketLayer applies normalization and change detection processing but cannot guarantee the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, or fitness for any particular purpose of the data returned. Data returned by the Service is provided for informational purposes only and is not a certified or official court record.
DocketLayer maintains a continuously updated cache with a maximum polling interval of 15 minutes per court. Data may lag behind the official PACER record during periods of PACER maintenance or outages. Coverage is limited to the federal courts listed in our Coverage Roadmap — check api.docketlayer.com/v1/status for current coverage.
The Service is subject to rate limits of 60 queries per minute and 10,000 queries per day per wallet address. Queries exceeding these limits will return an error response. DocketLayer reserves the right to adjust rate limits at any time.
DocketLayer aims to maintain high availability but does not guarantee uninterrupted access. The Service may be temporarily unavailable due to scheduled maintenance, infrastructure failures, PACER outages, or force majeure events. DocketLayer is not liable for any loss or damage arising from Service unavailability.
THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, DOCKETLAYER DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY, OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT, AND WARRANTIES THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE.
TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, DOCKETLAYER LLC SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, DATA, OR BUSINESS. IN NO EVENT SHALL DOCKETLAYER'S TOTAL CUMULATIVE LIABILITY EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE TOTAL AMOUNT YOU PAID TO DOCKETLAYER IN THE 30 DAYS PRECEDING THE CLAIM, OR (B) $100.00.
You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless DocketLayer LLC and its members, managers, employees, and agents from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, costs, and expenses arising out of your use of the Service in violation of these Terms, your violation of any applicable law, or any claim by a third party arising from your use of data provided through the Service.
Your use of the Service is governed by our Privacy Policy. The Service collects minimal data — primarily your Solana wallet address and query metadata for billing and rate limiting purposes.
DocketLayer may update these Terms at any time. Updated Terms will be posted at docketlayer.ai/legal/website-terms with a revised effective date. Your continued use of the Service after posting constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Wyoming, without regard to conflict of law principles. Any dispute that cannot be resolved informally shall be submitted to binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Commercial Arbitration Rules, in Cheyenne, Wyoming or by remote proceedings. You waive any right to participate in a class action lawsuit or class-wide arbitration against DocketLayer.
DocketLayer is an independent commercial service and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the Administrative Office of the US Courts, the federal judiciary, or any government agency. PACER® is a registered service of the Administrative Office of the US Courts. Use of DocketLayer does not constitute direct access to PACER and does not fulfill any legal obligation to access court records through official channels.
Questions about these Terms: [email protected]
DocketLayer LLC · Wyoming limited liability company · [email protected] · docketlayer.ai