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Terms of Service

Terms of Service

The rules for using the Better Vetters API, MCP server, and website.

Last updated November 10, 2026.These terms and this policy apply to the Better Vetters website, API, and MCP server.

Better Vetters (“Better Vetters”, “we”, “us”) is a contractor trust-check service operated by James Russell, a sole proprietor based in Waterford, PA. These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern your use of bettervetters.com, the API at api.bettervetters.com, the MCP server (including the hosted endpoint at api.bettervetters.com/mcp and the stdio server), and related documentation (together, the “Service”). Contact: james@fullyarmedmarketing.com.

By creating an API key or using the Service you agree to these Terms. If you use the Service for a company, you confirm you can bind that company. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

The Service answers one question: given a contractor’s name and optional identifying details, what do official public records say? A check returns a verdict, a trust score, match confidence, and the license, insurance and bond, permit, and discipline records that support them, along with the time each source was last refreshed.

Coverage is limited to Washington State, Texas (with Austin permits), New York City, Oregon, Connecticut, and the City of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as described on the Coverage page. We may add, change, or remove sources and coverage at any time.

The Service is provided as-is from public records published by government agencies. It is not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for verifying a contractor’s status with the relevant licensing agency or other official source. Public records can be stale, incomplete, or incorrectly matched. You are responsible for how you use the results.

Better Vetters is not a consumer reporting agency, and its output is not a consumer report as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), 15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq., or similar laws. We do not assemble or evaluate information to furnish consumer reports, and we do not offer the protections or processes the FCRA requires for them.

You must not use the Service, or any verdict, score, or record from it, for any FCRA purpose, or as a factor in deciding any person’s eligibility for:

  • employment, hiring, promotion, retention, or reassignment;
  • credit or lending;
  • insurance underwriting or pricing;
  • housing, including tenant screening.

You also must not use the Service to harass, stalk, or discriminate against anyone, to break any law or an upstream data source’s terms, to attack or overload the Service, to evade rate limits or billing (including by creating keys to avoid paying), to resell or republish substantial extracts of the underlying datasets as a competing data product, or to share your API key or let others use it. We may suspend access for any suspected violation.

Public records can be stale, incomplete, or wrong, and the publishers update them on their own schedules. Matching a contractor by name is probabilistic: a record may be attributed to the wrong business, or a real contractor may not be found. A verdict such as trusted or high_risk and a trust score are automated indicators, not statements of fact, endorsements, or advice. not_found means no matching record in the covered sources and is not evidence of wrongdoing.

Always read match.confidence and data_freshness, confirm the returned license number against the issuing agency’s own site (a verify_url is provided where available), and use human judgment before you rely on a result. Nothing in the Service is legal, financial, or professional advice.

You must be able to form a binding contract and must be at least 18 years old. You create an API key through the API. The key is shown once; keep it secret, because anyone who has it can spend your credits. You are responsible for all use of your key. Tell us promptly at james@fullyarmedmarketing.com if a key is compromised, or to request that we disable it. You may create keys only in line with the published limits (currently 5 per IP address per day). We may disable keys that violate these Terms.

If you provide an email address when creating a key, we may use it for receipts, low-balance notices, and service messages.

Each billable check costs $0.15 (US dollars), drawn from your key’s credit. New keys include twenty (20) free starter checks ($3.00 of starter credit at the current per-check price). Free starter credits have no cash value, are not transferable, and are non-refundable. The Pricing page and GET /v1/coverage list what is and is not charged; currently a check that returns not_found is charged, while out-of-coverage requests, server errors, and idempotent replays are not.

Credit packs (currently advertised at $10, $50, and $200, with bonus credit on the larger packs) are coming soon. When they are available, you will add credit by purchasing a pack through Stripe Checkout, and credit will be applied after Stripe confirms payment. Payments are processed by Stripe; we do not receive or store your card number. Stripe’s terms and privacy policy apply to the payment. Prices are in US dollars and exclude any applicable taxes. Stripe Tax is not enabled at this time. We may change prices or pack sizes; the price in effect at the time of a purchase is the price you pay for that purchase. Credits do not expire while your account is active.

All credit purchases are final and non-refundable, except where applicable law requires a refund, or to correct a duplicate or erroneous charge. Unused credits are not refundable. Credits do not expire while the account is active. Free starter credits have no cash value, are not transferable, and are non-refundable. If a refund is required by law or issued to correct a duplicate or erroneous charge, it will be returned to the original payment method where reasonably possible.

We aim to keep the Service available but do not promise uninterrupted or error-free operation. We may limit request rates, suspend access for maintenance or abuse, and change or discontinue features.

The Service builds on open-data feeds published by the State of Washington, the City of Seattle, the State of Texas (TDLR), the City of Austin, New York City (DCWP and DOB), the State of Oregon (Construction Contractors Board), the State of Connecticut (Department of Consumer Protection), and the City of Pittsburgh (Department of Permits, Licenses, and Inspections, published by the Western Pennsylvania Regional Data Center; permit data under CC BY 4.0), each under its own terms (listed on the Coverage page). Better Vetters is independent of those agencies and is not endorsed by or affiliated with any of them. The Service’s logo and name do not imply a government or regulator endorsement.

The Service, its code, design, name, and logo belong to Better Vetters. We grant you a limited, revocable, non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to call the API and use the MCP tools in line with these Terms. The underlying public records remain subject to their publishers’ terms. You may use individual check results in your own products and workflows. You keep rights to the inputs you send. You may not use our marks without permission.

You can stop using the Service at any time. We may suspend or end your access if you breach these Terms, if required by law, or if continuing creates risk for us or others. Purchased credits are non-refundable as described in section 8, including if your access ends. We may delete inactive keys after providing notice to any email on file, or sooner if you request deletion as described in the Privacy Policy.

THE SERVICE AND ALL DATA ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE”, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, TIMELINESS, MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT MATCHES AND TRUST SCORES ARE ACCURATE. YOU SHOULD VERIFY MATERIAL FACTS WITH THE LICENSING AGENCY OR OTHER OFFICIAL SOURCE.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, BETTER VETTERS AND JAMES RUSSELL WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, DATA, OR GOODWILL, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THE SERVICE OR THESE TERMS, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THE SERVICE OR THESE TERMS IS LIMITED TO THE AMOUNT YOU PAID US FOR THE SERVICE IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS BEFORE THE CLAIM. IF YOU HAVE ONLY USED FREE STARTER CREDITS AND HAVE PAID US NOTHING, OUR TOTAL LIABILITY IS ZERO, EXCEPT FOR LIABILITY THAT CANNOT BE LIMITED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW.

You are responsible for decisions you make using the Service, including hiring, paying, dispatching, or declining a contractor. You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless James Russell and Better Vetters against claims, damages, losses, and reasonable expenses (including attorneys’ fees) arising from your breach of these Terms or applicable law, or your use of the output in a prohibited way, including any use for a prohibited FCRA or eligibility purpose.

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, without regard to conflict-of-law rules. You and we consent to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in Pennsylvania, except that we may seek injunctive relief in any jurisdiction. If a court finds a provision unenforceable, the remaining provisions still apply.

We may update these Terms by posting a new version here with a new “Last updated” date. Material changes will be identified on the page. If you keep using the Service after the change takes effect, you accept it.

These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy, are the entire agreement between you and us about the Service. You may not assign these Terms without our consent; we may assign them in connection with a reorganization or transfer of the Service. Failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver. Notices to you may be sent to the email on your key, if any. Notices to us go to james@fullyarmedmarketing.com.

Better Vetters is operated by James Russell, a sole proprietor based in Waterford, PA. Email: james@fullyarmedmarketing.com.