Terms.

1. What PublicTrace does

These terms govern your use of the PublicTrace website, public company profiles, Explorer workspace, REST API, AI features, and email interface (together, the “Service”). By creating an account, making API calls, or otherwise using the Service, you agree to these terms. If you are using PublicTrace on behalf of a company, you represent that you have the authority to bind that company to these terms.

PublicTrace aggregates publicly available records from 27 US government sources across 18 agencies, including SEC (EDGAR, IAPD investment advisers, 13D/G beneficial ownership, executive compensation, directors & officers, and Exhibit 21 subsidiaries), OSHA inspections, DOL Wage & Hour, EPA (TRI, ECHO, ICIS FE&C), IRS Form 990, DOJ, FTC, CFPB, FDIC, OCC, FDA, HHS-OIG LEIE, OFAC SDN, SAM.gov, LDA lobbying, FJC IDB (civil and appeals), GLEIF LEI, and USAspending (contracts and assistance). We collect this data, resolve entities across sources, normalize it into a consistent format, and make it available through the website, the Explorer workspace, and the REST API.

PublicTrace also offers AI features, including natural language query translation, entity risk summaries, and alert narratives. These features use large language models to generate analysis based on the underlying government data.

We are a data aggregation, normalization, and analysis service. We do not create the underlying government records, and we do not make determinations about the legal or regulatory significance of any data we provide.

2. Data accuracy and limitations

Government agencies may publish data with errors, delays, or omissions. Records may be updated, corrected, or removed by the originating agency at any time. Our entity resolution process uses algorithmic matching, which may occasionally produce incorrect linkages between records.

AI-generated content (including entity summaries, natural language query interpretations, risk assessments, and alert narratives) is produced by large language models and is not reviewed or verified by humans. AI outputs may contain inaccuracies, omissions, or misinterpretations of the underlying data. AI-generated content reflects the data available at the time of generation and should be treated as a starting point for analysis, not as a definitive assessment.

PublicTrace data and AI-generated analysis are not a substitute for professional legal advice, compliance guidance, risk assessment, or any form of due diligence that requires verified information. You should always consult qualified professionals before making business decisions based on the data or analysis we provide.

We make reasonable efforts to keep data current and accurate, but we make no guarantees about refresh frequency, data completeness, or AI output quality for any particular source or feature.

3. Acceptable use

You may use the Service for any lawful purpose. This includes commercial applications, research, journalism, compliance workflows, and internal business intelligence.

You may not:

• Bulk-export the Service to create a competing data product or redistribute our entity-resolved, normalized, or AI-enriched outputs. You are free to use underlying public-domain facts obtained via the Service in your own work product.
• Exceed or attempt to circumvent published rate limits.
• Use the API in a way that interferes with service availability for other customers.
• Use the Service or its outputs to harass, stalk, threaten, defame, or unlawfully discriminate against any individual.
• Present AI-generated output to end users without a clear notice that it is AI-generated and may contain errors. You are responsible for any downstream use of AI output (EU AI Act Art. 50 transparency obligation applies where users are in-scope).
• Misrepresent the data as your own proprietary research or present it as verified fact without appropriate disclaimers.
• Attempt to reverse-engineer, scrape, or extract the underlying database through systematic API calls beyond your plan limits.

Export controls and sanctions. You represent that you (and any end user to whom you provide access) are not located in, and will not use the Service from, any country or region subject to comprehensive US sanctions (currently Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, Crimea, the so-called DNR and LNR), and are not listed on any US government restricted-party list (OFAC SDN, BIS Denied Persons List, Entity List, Unverified List). The Service is also not offered to users located in additional countries of concern subject to enhanced US export controls or sectoral sanctions, including China, Russia, and Venezuela; signup from these jurisdictions is blocked and existing accounts that are determined to operate from them may be suspended.

Bulk data rule (28 CFR Part 202). If you are a foreign person, you agree not to engage in any subsequent transaction that would transfer data obtained via the Service to a country of concern or covered person as defined in 28 CFR Part 202.

EEA/UK availability. PublicTrace is currently offered only to customers outside the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland. Signup is blocked from those regions. When we open EEA/UK availability we will publish an updated region-specific DPA and transfer terms.

4. Your API key

When you create an account, we issue you an API key. This key is tied to your account and your billing. You are responsible for keeping it secure.

Do not share your API key publicly, commit it to public repositories, or embed it in client-side code. If your key is compromised, rotate it immediately from your dashboard. You are responsible for all API calls made with your key, regardless of who made them.

We reserve the right to revoke API keys that are being used in violation of these terms.

5. Billing and payment

PublicTrace offers subscription plans billed in advance on a monthly or annual cycle that starts the day you subscribe. Credits cover all usage under a shared pool.

How credits work: Standard reads cost 1 credit. AI queries — including Ask, entity summaries, and alert narratives — cost 3 credits. Cached responses do not spend credits. Each plan includes a monthly credit allocation that resets each billing period; unused credits do not roll over.

Upgrades and downgrades: You can change plans at any time. Upgrades take effect immediately; downgrades take effect at the start of your next billing cycle.

Payment: We accept major credit cards via Stripe. A failed payment starts a grace period of 7 days, after which your API access may be suspended.

Refunds: We do not offer refunds for partial periods. If you cancel mid-cycle, your access continues until the end of the current billing period.

6. Termination

Either party can terminate this agreement at any time.

You cancel: You can cancel your subscription from your dashboard. Your API access continues until the end of the current billing cycle, then stops. We do not delete your account data immediately; see our Privacy Policy for details on data retention.

We cancel: We may suspend or terminate your account if you violate these terms, fail to pay, or if we reasonably believe your usage is harmful to the service or other users. We will make reasonable efforts to notify you before termination, except in cases of egregious misuse.

Upon termination, your API key is immediately deactivated, and you lose access to the API. Any outstanding overage charges remain due.

7. Disclaimer of warranties

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE SERVICE AND ALL DATA, ENTITY RESOLUTIONS, AND AI-GENERATED CONTENT ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, ACCURACY, OR COMPLETENESS. PUBLICTRACE DOES NOT WARRANT THAT ENTITY RESOLUTIONS ARE CORRECT, THAT AI-GENERATED SUMMARIES ARE FACTUALLY ACCURATE, OR THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE. NO ORAL OR WRITTEN STATEMENT FROM PUBLICTRACE CREATES ANY WARRANTY.

7a. Limitation of liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW: (a) IN NO EVENT SHALL PUBLICTRACE BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE, OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOST PROFITS, LOST REVENUE, LOST DATA, OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, WHETHER BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), OR ANY OTHER THEORY, EVEN IF PUBLICTRACE HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES; (b) PUBLICTRACE'S TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THIS AGREEMENT SHALL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (i) THE FEES PAID BY CUSTOMER IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS PRECEDING THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM OR (ii) USD $100.

The limitations in this section do not apply to: (x) Customer's payment obligations; (y) either party's indemnification obligations under Section 7b; or (z) liability that cannot be limited by law (e.g., gross negligence, willful misconduct, fraud).

7b. Indemnification

PublicTrace will defend Customer against any third-party claim alleging that Customer's authorized use of the Service infringes that third party's US patent, copyright, or trademark, and will pay damages finally awarded or agreed in settlement of such claim.

Customer will defend PublicTrace against any third-party claim arising out of or relating to: (a) Customer's breach of Section 3 (Acceptable Use), including any FCRA-covered use of the Service; (b) Customer's use of the data or AI-generated content in a manner that violates applicable law (including consumer-reporting, anti-discrimination, or privacy laws); (c) any decision Customer makes about an individual or business based on the Service; or (d) any claim by Customer's end users.

Each party's indemnification obligations are conditioned on the indemnified party (i) promptly notifying the indemnifying party in writing of the claim, (ii) giving the indemnifying party sole control of defense and settlement, and (iii) providing reasonable cooperation at the indemnifying party's expense.

8. Intellectual property

The underlying government data provided through the Service is in the public domain. You are free to use this data in any way permitted by law.

However, the following are proprietary to PublicTrace and may not be copied, reverse-engineered, or reproduced without written permission:

• Our entity resolution algorithms and matching logic
• The PublicTrace API design, documentation, and software
• Our data normalization schemas and enrichment processes
• The PublicTrace brand, logo, and website content

You retain ownership of any applications, analyses, or derivative works you build using data from the API.

9. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms from time to time. When we do, we will notify you at least 30 days in advance via the email address associated with your account. We will also update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page.

If you continue to use the Service after the updated terms take effect, you agree to the new terms. If you disagree with the changes, you may cancel your account before the new terms take effect.

For minor clarifications or formatting changes that do not affect your rights, we may update without advance notice. We may also implement changes required for security, fraud prevention, or legal compliance without advance notice; in each case, we will notify you promptly after the change takes effect.

10. Governing law and disputes

(a) Governing law. These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to conflict-of-laws principles, and — for the arbitration provisions below — by the Federal Arbitration Act (9 U.S.C. §1 et seq.).

(b) Informal resolution. Before filing any claim, the parties will attempt to resolve the dispute in good faith by email to [email protected] for at least 30 days.

(c) Binding arbitration. Any dispute not resolved under (b) will be resolved by binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Commercial Arbitration Rules, with a single arbitrator, seated in Wilmington, Delaware, in English. Judgment on the award may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction.

(d) Class-action waiver. Each party waives any right to bring or participate in a class, collective, or representative action. If this subsection (d) is held unenforceable with respect to any claim (including public injunctive relief under California law per McGill v. Citibank), that claim will be severed and heard in court; the remainder of Section 10 remains in force.

(e) Small claims. Either party may bring an individual action in small-claims court instead of arbitration.

(f) Mass-filing protocol. If 25 or more similar arbitration demands are filed against PublicTrace within any 60-day period by the same or coordinated counsel, the parties will stay all filings and select 10 bellwether cases to proceed. Remaining cases are stayed pending bellwether outcomes; filing fees for stayed cases are not owed.

11. General

Assignment. Customer may not assign this agreement without PublicTrace's prior written consent, except to a successor in a merger, acquisition, or sale of substantially all assets. PublicTrace may assign this agreement freely.

Survival. Sections 2 (Data Accuracy), 3 (Acceptable Use), 4 (final sentence), 7 (Warranties), 7a (Liability), 7b (Indemnification), 8 (IP), 10 (Governing Law), and 11 survive termination.

Force majeure. Neither party is liable for failure to perform obligations caused by acts of God, war, terrorism, pandemic, internet outage, or other causes outside its reasonable control, provided the affected party gives prompt notice and resumes performance as soon as reasonably possible.

Entire agreement. These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and any order form or Data Processing Addendum executed by both parties, constitute the entire agreement and supersede all prior discussions. If any provision is held unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in force.

Notices. Legal notices to PublicTrace: [email protected], or by mail to PublicTrace, 5227 N 7th St STE 50418, Phoenix, AZ 85014. Service of process is handled by the registered agent on file with the Delaware Division of Corporations. Notices to Customer: the email address on the account. Notices take effect on receipt.

12. Contact

Questions about these terms? Email us at [email protected].