DocketLayer

Terms of Service

DocketLayer LLC  ·  Effective May 13, 2026

1. Agreement to Terms

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, the DocketLayer API available at api.docketlayer.ai, 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, and references to “you” include that organization.

2. Description of Service

DocketLayer provides a pay-per-query API that delivers normalized court docket data from US federal courts, all 50 US state court systems, and Canadian federal and provincial courts. US federal court data is sourced through PACER and CM/ECF; state and Canadian court data is sourced from their respective public portals. 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 designed as a consumer-facing legal research tool and is not a substitute for direct court portal access, legal counsel, or official court records.

3. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years of age to use the Service. By using the Service, you represent and warrant that you meet this requirement. The Service is intended for commercial and professional use. Use of the Service for personal, non-commercial purposes is permitted but not the primary intended use case.

4. Account and Wallet Requirements

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
  • Configure the x402 payment protocol in your application or agent in accordance with our documentation
  • Ensure your wallet address and payment credentials are kept secure

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.

5. Payment Terms

Pricing. 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.

Payment is the authentication. Successful payment of the per-query fee constitutes authorization to access the requested data. No additional authentication credentials are required.

Failed queries. You will not be charged for queries that fail due to DocketLayer system errors, source court portal unavailability, or cases not found in covered courts. You may be charged for queries that fail due to malformed requests, invalid case identifiers, or other errors attributable to your implementation.

No refunds. All payments are final. Due to the nature of on-chain cryptocurrency transactions, DocketLayer cannot process refunds for completed queries. If you believe you were charged for a failed query in error, contact help@docketlayer.com with your wallet address and query timestamp.

Taxes. You are solely responsible for determining and remitting any taxes, duties, or other governmental charges applicable to your use of the Service and receipt of cryptocurrency payments.

6. Acceptable Use

You agree to use the Service only for lawful purposes and in accordance with these Terms.

Prohibited uses:

  • To violate any applicable federal, state, local, or international law or regulation
  • To harass, stalk, threaten, or harm any individual
  • To engage in any unauthorized scraping, data harvesting, or systematic extraction of data beyond your legitimate query volume
  • To resell, sublicense, or redistribute raw DocketLayer API responses as a competing data service without prior written permission from DocketLayer
  • To use the Service in connection with any fraudulent, deceptive, or misleading activity
  • To interfere with or disrupt the integrity or performance of the Service or its underlying infrastructure
  • To attempt to gain unauthorized access to any part of the Service, its infrastructure, or source court portal systems
  • To circumvent rate limits, payment requirements, or other technical controls
  • To use the Service in any manner that could damage, disable, overburden, or impair DocketLayer’s infrastructure or source court portal systems

Permitted uses include:

  • Monitoring court cases across covered US federal, state, and Canadian courts for docket changes in automated legal workflows
  • Integrating court docket data into AI agents, compliance systems, or legal practice management tools
  • Using DocketLayer data for commercial purposes in your own products and services, subject to these Terms
  • Academic and research use of docket data retrieved through the Service

7. Data and Intellectual Property

Source data. Docket data provided through the Service is sourced from public court portals, including PACER and CM/ECF for US federal courts and the respective public portals for US state and Canadian courts. Court docket data is public record and is not subject to copyright. DocketLayer does not claim copyright in the underlying docket data.

DocketLayer value-add. DocketLayer’s normalization layer, data schema, API design, documentation, and software are proprietary to DocketLayer LLC and are protected by applicable intellectual property laws. You may not copy, reproduce, modify, or create derivative works from DocketLayer’s software, documentation, or API design without prior written permission.

License grant. 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.

Feedback. If you provide DocketLayer with feedback, suggestions, or ideas regarding the Service, DocketLayer may use that feedback without restriction or compensation to you.

8. Data Accuracy and Limitations

As-is data. All data provided through the Service is sourced from public court portals 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.

Not a legal authority. Data returned by the Service is provided for informational purposes only. It is not a certified or official court record. It should not be relied upon as the authoritative source of court information in any legal proceeding, regulatory filing, or other context requiring official records. Always verify critical information directly with the relevant court or through official portal access.

Polling latency. DocketLayer maintains a continuously updated cache of docket data. The standard polling interval is 60 minutes per court; select high-volume courts are refreshed every 15 minutes. Data returned by the Service may lag behind the official court record during periods of source portal maintenance, outages, or high load.

Coverage limitations. The Service covers only the courts listed in our coverage map. Coverage is subject to change. Check api.docketlayer.ai/v2/status for current coverage and system status.

Source portal dependency. The Service is dependent on DocketLayer’s ability to access source court portals, including PACER for US federal courts and the respective public portals for state and Canadian courts. Maintenance windows, outages, policy changes, or access restrictions at any source portal may affect the availability and timeliness of data provided through the Service. DocketLayer is not responsible for interruptions caused by source court portals.

9. Rate Limits

The Service is subject to the following rate limits per wallet address: 60 queries per minute and 10,000 queries per day. Exceeding these limits will result in temporary throttling or blocking of requests from your wallet address. DocketLayer reserves the right to modify rate limits at any time. Systematic attempts to circumvent rate limits through the use of multiple wallet addresses or other means are prohibited and may result in permanent suspension of access.

10. Service Availability

DocketLayer aims to maintain high availability of the Service but does not guarantee uninterrupted access. The Service may be temporarily unavailable due to scheduled maintenance, unscheduled outages or infrastructure failures, source court portal maintenance windows or outages, or force majeure events. DocketLayer will endeavor to provide advance notice of scheduled maintenance through the /v2/status endpoint. DocketLayer is not liable for any loss or damage arising from Service unavailability.

11. Disclaimer of Warranties

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; WARRANTIES THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, OR FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS; WARRANTIES REGARDING THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, TIMELINESS, OR RELIABILITY OF ANY DATA PROVIDED THROUGH THE SERVICE; AND WARRANTIES THAT THE SERVICE WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS OR EXPECTATIONS.

SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES, SO THE ABOVE EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

12. Limitation of Liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL DOCKETLAYER LLC, ITS MEMBERS, MANAGERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, OR CONTRACTORS BE LIABLE FOR: ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES; ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, DATA, BUSINESS, OR GOODWILL; ANY DAMAGES ARISING FROM YOUR RELIANCE ON DATA PROVIDED THROUGH THE SERVICE IN ANY LEGAL, FINANCIAL, COMPLIANCE, OR OTHER PROFESSIONAL CONTEXT; OR ANY DAMAGES ARISING FROM SOURCE COURT PORTAL OUTAGES, DATA INACCURACIES, OR COVERAGE LIMITATIONS.

IN NO EVENT SHALL DOCKETLAYER’S TOTAL CUMULATIVE LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICE 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).

THESE LIMITATIONS APPLY REGARDLESS OF THE THEORY OF LIABILITY — WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE — AND EVEN IF DOCKETLAYER HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR CERTAIN TYPES OF DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU IN FULL.

13. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless DocketLayer LLC and its members, managers, employees, agents, and contractors from and against any and all claims, liabilities, damages, losses, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or relating to: your use of the Service in violation of these Terms; your violation of any applicable law or regulation; your infringement of any third-party intellectual property, privacy, or other rights; any claim by a third party arising from your use of data provided through the Service; or your breach of any representation or warranty made in these Terms.

14. Privacy

Your use of the Service is also governed by our Privacy Policy. The Service collects minimal data — primarily your Solana wallet address and query metadata for billing and rate limiting purposes. We do not collect personal information beyond what is necessary to operate the Service.

15. Modifications to the Service and Terms

Service modifications. DocketLayer reserves the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue the Service or any part thereof at any time, with or without notice. DocketLayer will not be liable to you or any third party for any modification, suspension, or discontinuation of the Service.

Terms modifications. DocketLayer may update these Terms at any time. Updated Terms will be posted at docketlayer.ai/terms with a revised effective date. Your continued use of the Service after the posting of updated Terms constitutes your acceptance of the updated Terms. If you do not agree to the updated Terms, you must stop using the Service.

16. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

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

Any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service that cannot be resolved informally shall be submitted to binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Commercial Arbitration Rules. The arbitration shall take place in Cheyenne, Wyoming, or, at your election, by remote proceedings. The decision of the arbitrator shall be final and binding. Each party shall bear its own costs and attorneys’ fees unless the arbitrator determines that the claim was frivolous or brought in bad faith.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, either party may seek emergency injunctive or other equitable relief in any court of competent jurisdiction to prevent irreparable harm pending arbitration.

You waive any right to participate in a class action lawsuit or class-wide arbitration against DocketLayer. If this class action waiver is found unenforceable, the arbitration clause in its entirety shall be null and void, and any dispute shall be resolved exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

17. General Provisions

Severability. If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect.

Entire agreement. These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and any applicable API terms incorporated by reference, constitute the entire agreement between you and DocketLayer with respect to the Service and supersede all prior or contemporaneous agreements, representations, and understandings.

No waiver. DocketLayer’s failure to enforce any provision of these Terms on one occasion does not constitute a waiver of its right to enforce that provision on any future occasion.

Assignment. You may not assign or transfer your rights or obligations under these Terms without DocketLayer’s prior written consent. DocketLayer may assign these Terms freely.

No agency. These Terms do not create any agency, partnership, joint venture, or employment relationship between you and DocketLayer.

18. Contact

Questions about these Terms can be directed to legal@docketlayer.com. General support inquiries can be directed to help@docketlayer.com.