PrairieCloud LLC — PrairieCloud API Terms of Service

Version: 1.2 Effective Date: 2026-05-02 Last Updated: 2026-05-02

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Plain-English Summary (Not a Substitute for the Full Terms)

We want to be upfront before you read the legal stuff:

• The Census data is yours to use freely. It's public domain. We just make it easier to access.
• Our platform — the API engine, the variable catalog, the docs — is proprietary. Don't scrape, resell, or reverse-engineer it.
• Free tier is genuinely free. No credit card required.
• We cap our liability at 12 months of fees you've paid us. For Free plan users, the liability cap is $100. We're a small company — that's standard for SaaS.
• Quotas are a hard stop. If you hit your monthly request quota, requests are blocked until your quota resets at the next UTC month boundary. We don't charge overage fees — just upgrade if you need more.
• Annual plans: If you cancel within 30 days after an annual charge, you can request a refund, but we'll deduct the regular monthly rate for the months you used. After that 30-day window, annual fees are non-refundable, but you keep access through the end of your paid period.
• Texas law governs. Disputes go to arbitration first.
• Beta users: If you're in the beta program, SLA guarantees don't apply to beta features. SLA terms for paid plans will be published separately.
• The Census data we serve is statistical in nature with published margins of error. We're a distribution layer; census.gov is the authoritative source.
• Derived metrics, if offered, are PrairieCloud calculations. They are not official government, academic, or third-party designations, and they require independent verification before consequential use.
• Our status page is informational, not a contract. If we ever publish a formal SLA, credits under that SLA are your only remedy for downtime — not lawsuits for lost business.
• We're not the Census Bureau. We're an independent company making their public data easier to use. Don't imply otherwise.

This summary is just context — the sections below are the actual terms.

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Table of Contents

1. Agreement Overview
2. Account Registration
3. API Keys and Authentication
4. Acceptable Use
5. Prohibited Conduct
6. Rate Limits and Quotas
7. Billing and Payment
8. Refund Policy
9. Intellectual Property
   • 9.1A Non-Endorsement and Non-Affiliation
   • 9.5 Customer Data Attribution Obligations
10. Warranty Disclaimer 10A. Government Data: Statistical Nature and Limitations 10B. Derived Metrics: Methodology and Limitations
11. Limitation of Liability (includes 11.4 Service Availability Remedy)
12. Indemnification
13. Termination
14. Force Majeure
15. Beta Program Terms
16. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution
17. Modifications to These Terms
18. Severability
19. Assignment
20. Waiver
21. Export Control and Sanctions
22. Notices
23. Entire Agreement
24. Contact Information

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1. Agreement Overview

These Terms of Service ("Terms") are a legal agreement between you ("you," "User," or "Customer") and PrairieCloud LLC, a Texas limited liability company ("PrairieCloud," "we," "us," or "our"), whose principal place of business is located at #1504 3333 Preston Road STE 300, Frisco, TX 75034, United States.

By creating an account, generating an API key, or otherwise accessing or using the PrairieCloud API, developer dashboard, documentation, MCP endpoints or servers we make available, or related services (collectively, the "Service"), you agree to these Terms. If you are accessing the Service on behalf of an organization, you represent that you have the authority to bind that organization to these Terms.

If you do not agree to these Terms, do not use the Service.

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2. Account Registration

2.1 Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years old, or otherwise legally able to use the Service under applicable law with any required parent or guardian consent. The Service is intended primarily for developers, data analysts, and organizations, and is not directed to children. If you build consumer-facing applications on top of the Service, you are responsible for complying with applicable laws for those applications.

2.2 Account Creation

To access paid features or generate API keys, you must register for an account through our developer portal at dashboard.prairiecloud.io. You agree to:

• Provide accurate, current, and complete information during registration;
• Keep your account information updated;
• Protect your account credentials and not share them with others;
• Promptly notify us at [email protected] if you suspect unauthorized access to your account.

2.3 One Account per Entity

Each individual or organization may maintain one active account. Creating multiple accounts to circumvent rate limits, access the free tier multiple times, or abuse promotional offers is prohibited.

2.4 Account Security

You are responsible for all activity that occurs under your account. PrairieCloud is not liable for losses resulting from unauthorized account access that result from your failure to maintain adequate credential security.

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3. API Keys and Authentication

3.1 API Key Types

The Service uses two types of API keys:

3.2 Key Issuance and Security

• API keys are displayed once at creation. You are responsible for copying and securely storing your key immediately.
• PrairieCloud stores only a SHA-256 hash of your key. We cannot recover or display a key after initial creation.
• If you lose a key, you must revoke it and generate a new one from the developer dashboard.

3.3 Key Usage

You may present your API key via either:

• The X-API-Key HTTP request header (preferred), or
• The ?api_key= query parameter.

Using the query parameter in production is discouraged as it may expose your key in server logs and browser history.

3.4 Key Limits by Plan

3.5 Responsibility for Key Use

All requests made with your API keys are attributed to your account, regardless of who made them. Keep your keys confidential. Sharing keys between organizations or users is prohibited unless explicitly allowed by your plan.

3.6 Dashboard Authentication

The developer dashboard uses JWT-based authentication with HTTP-only cookies. You must not attempt to extract, replay, or misuse JWT tokens.

3.7 Key Compromise

If you believe an API key has been compromised or is being used without your authorization, you must:

1. Revoke the compromised key immediately from the developer dashboard;
2. Notify PrairieCloud at [email protected] within 24 hours;
3. Generate a new key to continue service.

You are responsible for all usage charges and activity associated with a compromised key until it is revoked. PrairieCloud is not liable for unauthorized use of your API keys resulting from your failure to maintain key confidentiality or to promptly revoke compromised keys.

3.8 Key Transfer and Assignment

API keys are non-transferable. You may not sell, lease, lend, sublicense, or otherwise transfer your API keys or API access credentials to any third party. Keys are bound to the account that generated them.

If your organization undergoes a change of control (e.g., acquisition or merger), contact [email protected] to arrange account transfer. Unauthorized key transfers are a material breach of these Terms.

3.9 PrairieCloud's Right to Revoke Keys

PrairieCloud reserves the right to revoke any API key, with or without notice, if:

• The key is associated with activity that violates these Terms, including Section 5 (Prohibited Conduct);
• The key is being used in a manner that threatens the security, integrity, or availability of the Service;
• The key is associated with an account that is suspended or terminated under Section 13;
• PrairieCloud reasonably believes the key has been compromised.

Where practicable, PrairieCloud will provide notice before or promptly after revocation, along with the reason. Emergency revocations for security threats may occur without prior notice.

3.10 Automated and Agent Access

If PrairieCloud makes the Service available through machine-to-machine integrations, MCP-compatible clients, SDKs, or other automated interfaces, you may use those interfaces only as permitted by your plan, our documentation, and these Terms.

You are responsible for all actions taken using your credentials or environment, including actions taken by employees, contractors, agents, automated workflows, AI systems, bots, MCP clients, or third-party tools acting on your behalf. You must configure and supervise those systems responsibly and must not use automation to bypass rate limits, access controls, plan restrictions, or other technical or contractual limits.

Use of the Service through an automated or MCP-compatible client does not grant any right to sublicense, resell, or provide raw API or MCP access to third parties unless we expressly authorize that in writing.

3.11 Usage Monitoring

PrairieCloud monitors API key usage for billing, rate limiting, security, and compliance purposes. Monitoring includes request volume, endpoint patterns, error rates, originating IP addresses, and use of automated or MCP-compatible clients where applicable. By using the Service, you consent to this monitoring. See our Privacy Policy at prairiecloud.io/legal/privacy for details on how usage data is handled.

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4. Acceptable Use

You may use the PrairieCloud API to:

• Access U.S. Census Bureau data including American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year and 1-Year Estimates, geography lookup data, and such additional datasets as PrairieCloud may make available from time to time;
• Build applications, dashboards, research tools, and data products using the Census data you retrieve — the underlying Census data is in the public domain under 13 U.S.C. § 8(b) and 17 U.S.C. § 105, and you are free to use it in your own products and publications;
• Cache and store Census data you retrieve, subject to Section 9 (Intellectual Property);
• Display, publish, distribute, or sell products and analyses derived from the Census data itself;
• Use PrairieCloud-provided derived metrics, composite indices, eligibility flags, or similar calculated features if and when we make them available, subject to the additional limitations in Section 10B.

PrairieCloud serves pre-published U.S. Census Bureau summary tables (including ACS Data Profiles and related aggregate statistics). PrairieCloud does not access, store, or redistribute Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) files, restricted-use Census data, or any individual-level Census records.

To be clear: the Census data belongs to the public. We're just making it easier to access. Once you've retrieved it, it's yours to use freely.

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5. Prohibited Conduct

The following are prohibited:

5.1 Platform Abuse

• Scraping or crawling the API or developer dashboard in a way that circumvents rate limits or replicates the Service's dataset outside of normal API usage;
• Automated bulk downloading of data intended to replicate PrairieCloud's dataset, variable catalog, or geography catalog as a whole — you may retrieve what your application needs, but systematic full-dataset mirroring is not permitted through the API interface itself unless expressly authorized by your plan, our documentation, or a separate written agreement;
• Reverse engineering the API's underlying logic, infrastructure, scoring systems, request cost multipliers, or any proprietary algorithms;
• Reselling or white-labeling the API access itself — you may build and sell your own products using the Census data, but you may not resell raw API access or keys to third parties as a proxy service without a separate written agreement with PrairieCloud.

5.2 Security Violations

• Attempting to bypass authentication, rate limiting, or access controls;
• Probing, scanning, or testing the vulnerability of PrairieCloud's systems without prior written authorization;
• Introducing malware, denial-of-service attacks, or other harmful code or traffic;
• Intercepting, monitoring, or modifying traffic between other users and the Service.

5.3 Account Misuse

• Creating multiple accounts to circumvent the Free tier limits or trial terms;
• Sharing API keys with parties outside your organization;
• Misrepresenting your identity or organization during registration.

5.4 Unlawful Use

• Using the Service in violation of any applicable law, regulation, or third-party rights;
• Using the Service, Census data, or derived metrics obtained through the Service to facilitate discrimination, harassment, or harm to individuals based on demographic characteristics;
• Using Census data or derived metrics obtained through the Service as the sole or primary basis for fair housing, fair lending, employment, insurance, public-benefits, grant-eligibility, or other legally consequential determinations affecting individuals or protected classes without independent verification and appropriate professional review.

5.5 Proprietary Asset Misuse

The following PrairieCloud assets are proprietary, except to the extent we expressly make them available under separate license terms, open-source terms, or written permission:

• The PrairieCloud API platform itself;
• PrairieCloud's variable naming catalog and conventions;
• Non-public documentation, internal guides, and other reference materials not expressly published for public use;
• SDKs, client libraries, and tooling we provide, subject to any separate license terms that accompany them;
• Any PrairieCloud trademarks, logos, or branding.

You may not use the Service, PrairieCloud branding, or U.S. Census Bureau references in a manner that implies U.S. Census Bureau endorsement of your application or product, in violation of Section 9.1A.

Violations of this Section may result in warnings, key suspension, key revocation, or account termination, as described in Sections 3.9 (key revocation) and 13.2 (account suspension and termination). The severity of enforcement will be proportional to the nature and seriousness of the violation.

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6. Rate Limits and Quotas

6.1 Plan Limits

6.2 Rate Limit Disclosure

Each plan includes both a monthly request quota and a per-minute burst rate limit, as specified in Section 6.1. Requests that exceed either limit will receive an HTTP 429 (Too Many Requests) response with a Retry-After header. Some request types may consume more than one quota unit; details are published in our API documentation at docs.prairiecloud.io. PrairieCloud may adjust rate limits and burst caps with thirty (30) days' prior notice via email and updated documentation. Current rate limit details are always available in our API documentation and in the response headers of each API call.

6.3 How Rate Limiting Works

Rate limiting uses a token bucket algorithm. Your burst allowance replenishes continuously up to your plan's burst cap. Monthly quotas reset at the UTC month boundary (midnight UTC on the first day of each calendar month).

6.4 Free Catalog Reads

Requests to zero-cost catalog and service metadata endpoints identified in our documentation, including /v1/variables, /v1/geographies, /v1/topics, /health, and /, do not count against your monthly quota. PrairieCloud may update the list of zero-cost paths in its documentation from time to time.

6.5 Exceeding Limits

If you exceed your monthly quota, requests will return HTTP 429 (Too Many Requests) with a Retry-After header indicating when your quota resets. We do not automatically charge for overages on Free or trial plans.

For paid plans, overage behavior is:

• Pioneer, Pro, Business: Requests are blocked (HTTP 429) until your quota resets at the next UTC month boundary. We do not charge overage fees. If you consistently exceed your quota, consider upgrading to a higher plan.
• Enterprise: Per individual agreement.

6.6 Quota Abuse

Intentional circumvention of rate limits — including rotating API keys, using multiple accounts, or any technical method to exceed your plan's limits without paying — is a material breach of these Terms and may result in immediate account suspension.

For clarity, exceeding your plan's request quota results in rate limiting (HTTP 429 responses), which is temporary and resets at the start of your next billing period. This is not an enforcement action. Deliberately circumventing quota limits — through multiple accounts, key rotation schemes, or other technical methods to exceed your plan's limits without upgrading — is a ToS violation subject to key revocation under Section 3.9 and account suspension or termination under Section 13.2.

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7. Billing and Payment

7.1 Plans and Pricing

Subscription fees are for access to the PrairieCloud API platform, including our proprietary variable naming catalog, geography resolution, documentation, and developer tools. The underlying U.S. Census Bureau data is publicly available free of charge from census.gov; your subscription provides a value-added interface to that data.

7.2 Payment Processing

All payments are processed by Stripe. By providing payment information, you agree to Stripe's terms of service. PrairieCloud does not store your raw payment card data.

Payment must be made via credit card, debit card, or other payment methods made available through our payment processor, Stripe, as displayed on your billing page. Available payment methods may change from time to time without notice.

7.3 Billing Cycle

• Monthly plans bill on the same calendar day each month (the subscription anniversary date).
• Annual plans bill once per year on the subscription anniversary date.
• Charges are made at the start of each billing period (in advance).

7.4 Failed Payments

If a payment fails, we will:

1. Notify you by email immediately;
2. Retry the charge at 24 hours and again at 48 hours after the initial failure;
3. Grant a 3-day grace period during which your then-current paid plan remains active;
4. Restrict your account to Free plan limits if payment is not resolved within the grace period.

Your account will be restored to the paid plan immediately upon successful payment.

During the grace period, your API keys remain active and your then-current paid plan limits continue to apply. If payment remains unresolved after the grace period, PrairieCloud may downgrade your account to Free plan limits or terminate the account under Section 13.2 after reasonable notice. If your account is terminated, all API keys associated with your account will be revoked as a consequence of termination.

7.5 Cancellation

You may cancel your subscription at any time from the developer dashboard. Upon cancellation:

• You retain access to your paid plan until the end of the current billing period;
• At period end, your account automatically downgrades to the Free plan;
• You will not be charged for the next billing period.

Cancellation does not automatically delete your account or data.

7.6 Plan Changes

Upgrades: Take effect immediately. You are charged a prorated amount for the remainder of the current billing period.

Downgrades: Take effect at the end of the current billing period.

Business and Enterprise: Contact us at [email protected] if you need custom onboarding, contracting, or plan adjustments outside the self-serve flow.

7.7 Auto-Renewal Disclosure

Your paid subscription will automatically renew at the end of each billing period (monthly or annually) at the then-current rate for your plan unless you cancel before the renewal date. You may cancel at any time from your developer dashboard at dashboard.prairiecloud.io. Cancellation stops future renewals; you retain access through the end of your current paid period. For annual subscriptions, PrairieCloud will send a renewal reminder notice to the email address associated with your account between 15 and 30 days before the annual renewal date, informing you of the upcoming charge and how to cancel. By subscribing to a paid plan, you acknowledge and agree to this automatic renewal.

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8. Refund Policy

8.1 Monthly Plans

Monthly subscription fees are non-refundable. You may cancel at any time to prevent future charges; you will retain access through the end of the current billing period.

8.2 Annual Plans

If you cancel an annual plan within 30 days after the initial annual charge or a renewal annual charge, you may request a refund by contacting [email protected] within that same 30-day period. The refund amount equals the annual fee paid, minus the then-current monthly rate for each whole month of service used. Partial months count as whole months for this calculation. No refund is owed if the adjusted total meets or exceeds the annual fee paid. After that 30-day period, annual fees are non-refundable, but access continues through the end of the paid annual period.

8.3 New Subscriber Guarantee

First-time paid subscribers may request a full refund within 7 days of their first paid charge if unsatisfied with the Service. To request a refund, contact [email protected] with your account details. Limit: one guarantee per customer account.

8.4 Billing Errors

If PrairieCloud charges you in error (incorrect amount, duplicate charge, or charge after cancellation), we will refund the error in full within 5 business days of confirmed identification. Contact [email protected] with your account details.

8.5 Exclusions

Refunds do not apply to:

• Charges for Enterprise plans governed by a separate agreement;
• Amounts outside the timeframes specified above.

8.6 Refund Method

Refunds are issued to the original payment method. Bank processing time is typically 5–10 business days.

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9. Intellectual Property

9.1 Census Data — Public Domain

The underlying U.S. Census Bureau data accessible through this Service — including the American Community Survey (ACS), Decennial Census, and related geography data — is a work of the United States federal government and is in the public domain under:

• 13 U.S.C. § 8(b) (Census Bureau data)
• 17 U.S.C. § 105 (U.S. government works not subject to copyright)

You are free to use, reproduce, publish, distribute, modify, and build commercial products using the Census data you retrieve through this Service. No attribution to PrairieCloud is required for use of the underlying Census data (though attribution to the U.S. Census Bureau is standard academic and journalistic practice).

9.1A Non-Endorsement and Non-Affiliation

PrairieCloud LLC is an independent commercial company and is not affiliated with, sponsored by, endorsed by, authorized by, or officially connected to the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Department of Commerce, or any agency, department, or instrumentality of the United States federal government.

References to the U.S. Census Bureau and its data products in this Service, in our documentation, and in our marketing materials are made solely to identify the source of the underlying data that PrairieCloud makes available through its API platform. Use of the name "U.S. Census Bureau" or "Census Bureau" is descriptive only and does not imply any official relationship, approval, or endorsement. The U.S. Census Bureau has not reviewed, approved, or endorsed the PrairieCloud API platform, its variable naming conventions, its geographic resolution methodology, or any other proprietary feature of this Service.

As a user of this Service, you agree that you will not:

• Represent or imply to any third party that your application, product, or analysis is a U.S. Census Bureau product, service, or publication;
• Use PrairieCloud API access to claim or imply U.S. Census Bureau endorsement or authorization of your work;
• Use the U.S. Census Bureau name, seal, or official identifiers in a manner that implies affiliation with or endorsement by the Census Bureau, except as permitted by applicable law and Census Bureau guidelines.

When attributing data sources in your applications or publications, we recommend following the U.S. Census Bureau's standard citation guidelines available at census.gov. Attribution to the Census Bureau as data source, and to PrairieCloud as the API platform through which data was accessed, is accurate and appropriate.

9.2 PrairieCloud Proprietary Rights

The following are owned by PrairieCloud LLC and protected by copyright, trade secret, trademark, and other applicable laws, except to the extent a separate license or open-source notice expressly provides otherwise:

• The PrairieCloud API platform, software, and infrastructure;
• Our variable naming catalog — the conventions, identifiers, and labeling system we use to make Census variables human-readable and developer-friendly;
• Our derived metrics computations, including the specific algorithms, implementations, labels, documentation, and presentation of composite indices, eligibility flags, and other calculated features through the Service, except to the extent the underlying methodology or source data is public domain or separately owned by a third party;
• Our non-public documentation, internal guides, and proprietary reference materials;
• Our SDKs, client libraries, and developer tooling, subject to any separate license terms that accompany them;
• Our trademarks, service marks, logos, and brand assets (including the name "PrairieCloud" and the PrairieCloud API brand);
• All proprietary algorithms, data transformation pipelines, and platform features.

You may not copy, distribute, modify, create derivative works of, reverse engineer, or otherwise exploit PrairieCloud's proprietary assets except as expressly permitted by these Terms, by documentation we publish for permitted use, or by separate written or open-source license terms.

9.3 Your Content and Data

You retain ownership of any application code, data, or content you create that interfaces with the Service. You grant PrairieCloud a limited license to process your data as necessary to provide the Service.

9.4 Feedback

If you provide suggestions, feature requests, bug reports, or other feedback about the Service ("Feedback"), you grant PrairieCloud a perpetual, royalty-free, worldwide license to use, incorporate, and commercialize that Feedback without compensation or attribution obligation to you. You are never required to provide Feedback.

9.5 Customer Data Attribution Obligations

When you incorporate, display, or distribute Census data obtained through the Service in any externally published product, report, application, website, dashboard, or other publicly accessible medium ("Published Product"), you agree to:

(a) Identify the U.S. Census Bureau as the original source of the underlying data in a manner reasonably visible to end users of the Published Product;

(b) Not represent that the Published Product is an official publication of, endorsed by, or produced by the U.S. Census Bureau;

(c) Not use the U.S. Census Bureau's name, seal, logo, or official branding in any manner that implies official affiliation or endorsement;

(d) Not represent that PrairieCloud LLC is an official agent, contractor, or affiliate of the U.S. Census Bureau.

You shall not programmatically strip, suppress, or alter attribution metadata included in PrairieCloud API responses (HTTP headers or JSON metadata fields) when passing data to downstream API consumers, unless you replace it with equivalent or more detailed attribution of your own. This restriction does not apply to data presented in human-readable end-user interfaces where API response metadata is not user-visible.

You may not redistribute, resell, or sublicense access to the raw PrairieCloud API (including API credentials) to third parties without a separate written agreement with PrairieCloud. Customer-built products that incorporate Census data retrieved via the Service and present it in a transformed or value-added form to end users are permitted under this Agreement, subject to the attribution requirements of this Section 9.5.

Attribution obligations under this Section apply only to externally Published Products. You may use Census data obtained through the Service for internal analysis, internal reports, and internal systems without attribution.

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10. Warranty Disclaimer

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE."

PrairieCloud makes no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to:

• Data accuracy: See Section 10A (Government Data: Statistical Nature and Limitations) below for a complete description of data accuracy limitations specific to U.S. Census Bureau data.
• Derived metrics: See Section 10B (Derived Metrics: Methodology and Limitations) below for additional limitations applicable to calculated metrics, indices, eligibility flags, or similar features if made available through the Service.
• Availability: We use commercially reasonable efforts to maintain availability but do not guarantee uninterrupted access. Scheduled and unscheduled downtime may occur.
• Fitness for purpose: We make no warranty that the Service will meet your specific requirements.
• Merchantability: No implied warranty of merchantability applies.

Some jurisdictions do not allow disclaimer of implied warranties; in those jurisdictions, our liability is limited to the minimum extent permitted by law.

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10A. Government Data: Statistical Nature and Limitations

The Census data accessible through this Service is statistical in nature. Understanding its inherent limitations is essential to using it appropriately. This section describes what the data is, what it is not, and the boundaries of PrairieCloud's role.

10A.1 Nature of ACS Estimates

American Community Survey (ACS) data — including both 1-Year and 5-Year estimates — consists of statistical approximations derived from sample surveys, not complete population counts. Every ACS estimate comes with a published margin of error (MOE) reflecting the uncertainty inherent in survey sampling. Small-area estimates — those for county subdivisions, census tracts, and block groups — carry substantially higher uncertainty than estimates for larger geographies such as states or counties. ACS 5-Year estimates represent rolling averages of survey data collected over a 5-year period; they are not point-in-time snapshots.

You are responsible for consulting and accounting for published margins of error before relying on any ACS estimate. Margins of error for all estimates are published by the U.S. Census Bureau at census.gov and are available in the raw Census API. PrairieCloud does not currently surface margins of error through its API; do not interpret the absence of MOE data in our responses as an indication of precision.

10A.2 Geographic Data Suppression

The Census Bureau intentionally suppresses certain data values to protect the privacy of small populations. A null or missing value in a Census dataset may represent deliberate suppression — not a data error, a PrairieCloud processing failure, or unavailable data. Suppression typically occurs for small geographic areas or demographic subgroups where disclosure could identify individuals. You should consult the Census Bureau's data suppression policies at census.gov to interpret missing values correctly.

10A.3 Vintage-Year Methodology

Each ACS vintage year reflects the survey methods, variable definitions, geographic boundaries, and sampling frame in effect at the time of collection. ACS data from 2009 is not directly comparable to ACS data from 2024 without accounting for methodological differences. Geographic boundary revisions, variable definition changes, and survey redesigns can affect cross-vintage comparisons. PrairieCloud makes data from multiple vintages available as a convenience; we do not perform cross-vintage harmonization or flag methodological changes between vintages. You are responsible for evaluating vintage comparability for your use case.

10A.4 PrairieCloud's Role as Distribution Layer

PrairieCloud is a distribution mechanism, not a data verification authority. We retrieve Census Bureau data, normalize variable names, resolve geographies, and serve the data through a modern API interface. While we work to ensure our transformations are accurate, our variable normalization, geography resolution, and data formatting pipelines may introduce errors or discrepancies not present in the source data. The authoritative source for all Census data is the U.S. Census Bureau at census.gov. In the event of any discrepancy between data served by PrairieCloud and data available directly from the Census Bureau, the Census Bureau's published data controls.

10A.5 Prohibited High-Stakes Reliance

Do not use Census data retrieved through this Service as the sole or primary basis for:

• Regulatory filings or submissions to government agencies;
• Legal proceedings, litigation support, or evidentiary purposes;
• Civil rights determinations or fair housing, lending, or employment analyses where legal compliance is required;
• Medical, clinical, or public health decisions affecting specific individuals;
• Life-safety decisions of any kind.

For any such application, you must independently verify data against primary Census Bureau sources at census.gov and, where required, engage qualified experts in Census data methodology. PrairieCloud disclaims all liability for decisions made in reliance on Census data without appropriate independent verification.

10A.6 Data Currency and Update Schedule

PrairieCloud updates its datasets as new vintages and data releases are published by the U.S. Census Bureau. However, we do not guarantee that the data available through this Service reflects the most current Census Bureau releases at any given time. There may be a lag between a Census Bureau publication date and the availability of that data through our API. The length of any such lag is not guaranteed.

Data vintages available through the Service are identified by their Census Bureau publication year. It is your responsibility to determine whether a particular vintage is appropriate for your use case, and to verify that the vintage you are using is the most current available for your purposes. If currency of data is critical to your application, we recommend verifying current vintage availability directly at census.gov before relying on data retrieved through this Service.

PrairieCloud has no obligation to:

• Ingest any specific Census Bureau dataset, vintage, or variable set;
• Update to new vintages on any particular schedule or timeline;
• Add new datasets to the Service on any specific schedule;
• Maintain access to historical vintages indefinitely.

We will endeavor to provide advance notice of the removal of any currently available dataset or vintage, but removal of historical data is at PrairieCloud's discretion and does not constitute a breach of these Terms.

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10B. Derived Metrics: Methodology and Limitations

PrairieCloud may make available pre-calculated derived metrics, composite indices, scores, eligibility flags, rankings, or similar calculated features derived from Census data or other public datasets (collectively, "Derived Metrics"). This Section applies only if and when those features are available through the Service.

10B.1 Nature of Derived Metrics

Derived Metrics are PrairieCloud calculations based on published source data and documented methodologies. They may involve normalization, weighting, aggregation, thresholds, rounding, geographic joins, or other transformations. They are provided as a developer convenience and are not a substitute for reviewing the underlying source data, methodology, or official program rules.

10B.2 Not Official Calculations

Unless expressly stated in a separate written agreement, Derived Metrics are not official calculations, designations, certifications, or determinations of the U.S. Census Bureau, any other government agency, any academic institution, or any third-party methodology owner. References to third-party methodologies, programs, or indices are descriptive only and do not imply endorsement, sponsorship, affiliation, or verification by those parties.

10B.3 Methodology Limits and Changes

Published methodologies may change, contain discretionary implementation choices, or require inputs that are not available in the same format through PrairieCloud's source datasets. PrairieCloud may update, revise, suspend, or remove Derived Metrics as source data, methodology, legal requirements, or product priorities change. We do not guarantee that any Derived Metric will match an official agency calculation, third-party implementation, academic reference implementation, or customer-specific calculation.

10B.4 Prohibited High-Stakes Reliance on Derived Metrics

Do not use Derived Metrics as the sole or primary basis for regulatory filings, grant applications, public-benefit eligibility, tax-credit eligibility, lending, insurance, employment, housing, civil-rights compliance, medical, life-safety, or other legally consequential determinations. For those use cases, you must independently verify the underlying source data and methodology against authoritative sources and consult qualified professionals where appropriate.

10B.5 Margin of Error and Compounded Uncertainty

Derived Metrics computed from ACS estimates or other statistical inputs may compound sampling error, margin-of-error uncertainty, geographic boundary differences, data suppression, vintage-year differences, and methodology assumptions. You are responsible for evaluating whether any Derived Metric is statistically appropriate for your use case, geography, and time period.

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11. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW:

11.1 Exclusion of Consequential Damages

PrairieCloud shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, punitive, or exemplary damages, including but not limited to: loss of profits, loss of data, loss of goodwill, business interruption, or cost of substitute services — even if PrairieCloud has been advised of the possibility of such damages.

11.2 Cap on Direct Damages

PrairieCloud's total aggregate liability to you for any claims arising out of or related to these Terms or the Service — regardless of the form of action — shall not exceed the total fees you paid to PrairieCloud in the twelve (12) months immediately preceding the event giving rise to the claim.

For Free plan users, PrairieCloud's total liability is capped at one hundred U.S. dollars ($100.00).

11.3 Essential Basis

The parties acknowledge that the limitations in this Section reflect a reasonable allocation of risk and are an essential basis of the bargain between the parties. These limitations apply even if any limited remedy fails of its essential purpose.

11.4 Service Availability Remedy

Service availability credits, if and when offered under a published Service Level Agreement (SLA), are your sole and exclusive remedy for any failure by PrairieCloud to meet an availability commitment. No availability failure — including any period of service interruption, degraded performance, or failure to meet a stated uptime target — gives rise to any right to consequential, indirect, incidental, special, or punitive damages, or to any remedy beyond the credits expressly provided in the applicable SLA.

Until PrairieCloud publishes a formal SLA for your plan, no specific availability level is guaranteed. The Service is provided on a commercially reasonable efforts basis. Our publicly available status page at status.prairiecloud.io reflects real-time and historical service metrics for informational purposes only. Status page data, historical uptime percentages, and incident reports are not contractual commitments and do not create any warranty, guarantee, or obligation with respect to future availability. Publication of status information is a courtesy and does not establish a course of dealing or implied service level.

For the avoidance of doubt, the exclusions in §11.1 (Exclusion of Consequential Damages) apply fully to any claim arising from service availability failures, and the aggregate liability cap in §11.2 applies to any direct damages claim arising therefrom. This Section 11.4 is an express statement of the parties' intent regarding availability remedies and shall be read consistently with, and not as a limitation on, §11.1 and §11.2.

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12. Indemnification

12.1 Your Indemnification of PrairieCloud

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless PrairieCloud, its members, officers, employees, and agents from and against any third-party claims, losses, damages, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from:

• Your use of the Service in violation of these Terms;
• Your violation of any applicable law or third-party right;
• Applications or products you build on top of the Service that harm third parties;
• Your use of Census data or Derived Metrics for regulatory submissions, official eligibility determinations, civil-rights compliance, or other legally consequential purposes without appropriate independent verification;
• Any misrepresentation you make in connection with the Service.

12.2 PrairieCloud's Indemnification of You

PrairieCloud agrees to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless you from and against any third-party claims alleging that the PrairieCloud API platform (excluding the underlying Census data) infringes a third party's intellectual property rights, provided that:

• You promptly notify us in writing of the claim;
• You give us sole control of the defense and settlement;
• You cooperate reasonably with our defense.

12.3 Carve-Outs

Neither party's indemnification obligations apply to claims arising from:

• The other party's negligence or willful misconduct;
• Intellectual property infringement claims where the allegedly infringing use was directed or required by the indemnified party;
• Data breaches caused by the indemnified party's failure to comply with agreed security requirements or applicable law (each party remains responsible for breaches within their own control).

Additionally, PrairieCloud's indemnification obligations under Section 12.2 do not apply to claims arising from modifications to the Service or materials made by anyone other than PrairieCloud.

12.4 Mitigation

If the Service becomes the subject of an infringement claim under Section 12.2, PrairieCloud may, at its option: (a) obtain a license allowing your continued use, (b) modify the Service to be non-infringing, or (c) terminate your access and provide a pro-rated refund of prepaid unused fees.

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13. Termination

13.1 Termination for Convenience

You may terminate these Terms at any time by closing your account or canceling your subscription through the developer dashboard. If you cancel a paid subscription, Section 7.5 governs the timing of downgrade and end of paid access.

PrairieCloud may terminate these Terms for convenience on 30 days' prior written notice. If PrairieCloud terminates for convenience, we will refund any prepaid fees for the unused portion of your current paid billing period on a pro-rata basis.

13.2 Immediate Termination for Cause

PrairieCloud may suspend or terminate your account immediately and without notice if:

• You violate Section 5 (Prohibited Conduct);
• We determine that your use of the Service poses a security risk to the platform or other users;
• You engage in fraudulent or illegal activity in connection with the Service;
• Your account remains past due beyond the grace period in Section 7.4 and payment is not resolved after reasonable notice.

In cases of immediate termination for cause, no refund is owed.

13.3 Effect of Termination

Upon termination:

• Your API keys are revoked immediately;
• Your access to the developer dashboard is suspended;
• Data you have retrieved and stored locally is yours to retain (it's public domain Census data);
• The following provisions survive termination: Sections 8 (Refund Policy, to the extent obligations remain outstanding), 9 (Intellectual Property), 10 (Warranty Disclaimer), 10A (Government Data: Statistical Nature and Limitations), 10B (Derived Metrics: Methodology and Limitations), 11 (Limitation of Liability), 12 (Indemnification), 13.3–13.5 (Effect of Termination, Data Retention, and Key Revocation), 14 (Force Majeure), 15.5 (Beta Confidentiality, until the applicable feature reaches general availability), 16 (Governing Law and Dispute Resolution), 18 (Severability), and 23 (Entire Agreement).

13.4 Account Data Retention

Following termination or account closure, PrairieCloud will retain and delete personal data in accordance with our Privacy Policy at prairiecloud.io/legal/privacy. In general, core account profile information is retained for the duration of the active account plus up to 30 days after account deletion or closure, while certain records such as billing records, support communications, security logs, and other operational records may be retained longer where required or permitted by law or legitimate business need. Where deletion applies, PrairieCloud will take reasonable steps to delete or anonymize applicable data within 30 days after the relevant retention period ends.

13.5 Relationship Between Key Revocation and Account Termination

For clarity, PrairieCloud may revoke individual API keys without terminating your account — see Section 3.9. Account suspension or termination under this Section will result in the revocation of all associated API keys as a consequence. The converse is not true: key revocation does not automatically trigger account suspension or termination unless the revocation reason is itself a basis for termination under this Section.

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14. Force Majeure

Neither party is liable for delays or failures in performance resulting from circumstances beyond their reasonable control, including but not limited to: natural disasters, acts of government, war, terrorism, labor disputes, internet or infrastructure outages, failures of third-party service providers (including Hetzner Cloud or Cloudflare), or other events outside the affected party's reasonable control ("Force Majeure Events").

If a Force Majeure Event prevents PrairieCloud from providing the Service for more than 30 consecutive days, either party may terminate the agreement with written notice. PrairieCloud will provide a pro-rated refund of prepaid fees for the period of material service interruption.

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15. Beta Program Terms

15.1 Beta Designation

PrairieCloud may, at its discretion, offer access to pre-release features, new datasets, or beta versions of the Service to selected users ("Beta Program"). If PrairieCloud designates your account as a Beta participant, this Section 15 applies to your use of beta features.

15.2 Pre-Release Nature

Beta features are pre-release software and services. They:

• May be incomplete, unstable, or subject to significant changes;
• May be discontinued at any time without notice;
• May not perform as described in documentation, which may itself be incomplete;
• Are provided without warranties of any kind (in addition to the disclaimers in Section 10).

15.3 No SLA During Beta

Service Level Agreements (SLAs), uptime guarantees, and response time commitments, if and when published for generally available (GA) features, do not apply to beta features. PrairieCloud will publish SLA terms for paid plans separately; until such publication, the Service is provided on a commercially reasonable efforts basis with service status available at status.prairiecloud.io.

15.4 Feedback

By participating in the Beta Program, you agree that:

• PrairieCloud may request your feedback on beta features;
• Any feedback you provide (including bug reports, feature requests, and usage patterns) may be used to improve the Service as described in Section 9.4;
• Feedback is voluntary — you are never required to provide it as a condition of continued access.

15.5 Confidentiality of Beta Features

Unless PrairieCloud indicates otherwise in writing, beta features are confidential. You agree not to publicly disclose, blog, tweet, post, or otherwise publicize the existence, features, or details of beta features without PrairieCloud's prior written consent. This confidentiality obligation expires when the relevant feature reaches general availability (GA).

15.6 Graduation from Beta

When a beta feature reaches GA:

• Standard Terms (including applicable SLAs) apply immediately;
• Any pricing changes for GA features will be communicated with at least 30 days' notice;
• Beta participants may be offered preferential pricing at PrairieCloud's discretion.

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16. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

16.1 Governing Law

These Terms and any disputes arising out of or related to them shall be governed by the laws of the State of Texas, without regard to its conflict of law principles.

16.2 Informal Resolution First

Before initiating formal proceedings, both parties agree to attempt in good faith to resolve any dispute through direct communication. Send a written notice of your dispute to [email protected] describing the issue and your proposed resolution. We will respond within 30 days. If the dispute is not resolved within 60 days of the initial notice, either party may proceed to arbitration.

16.3 Binding Arbitration

Except as provided in Section 16.5, any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service shall be resolved by binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA). If you are using the Service primarily for business or commercial purposes, the arbitration will proceed under the AAA Commercial Arbitration Rules. If you are an individual consumer using the Service primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, the arbitration will proceed under the AAA Consumer Arbitration Rules to the extent applicable. The arbitration shall be conducted:

• In Austin, Texas, or via video conference if agreed by both parties or required by applicable consumer rules;
• Before a single arbitrator;
• In English, unless applicable law requires otherwise.

Judgment on the arbitration award may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction.

16.4 Class Action Waiver

YOU AND PRAIRIECLOUD AGREE THAT EACH MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN AN INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION, TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW. No arbitrator may consolidate more than one person's claims or preside over any class proceeding except where applicable law prohibits that waiver.

16.5 Exceptions to Arbitration

Notwithstanding Section 16.3, either party may seek emergency injunctive relief in a court of competent jurisdiction in Travis County, Texas to prevent immediate, irreparable harm, particularly regarding intellectual property infringement, unauthorized access to systems, or breach of confidentiality obligations.

16.6 Mandatory Consumer Protection Laws

If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA), United Kingdom, Switzerland, or any other jurisdiction whose mandatory law limits arbitration or class action waivers, the dispute resolution provisions of this Section 16 apply only to the extent permitted by applicable law. Nothing in these Terms limits your rights under mandatory consumer protection laws of your jurisdiction, including your right to bring proceedings in the courts of your habitual residence where required by law.

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17. Modifications to These Terms

PrairieCloud reserves the right to update these Terms at any time. When we make material changes, we will:

• Post the updated Terms at prairiecloud.io/legal/terms;
• Update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this document;
• Send an email notification to the address associated with your account at least 30 days before the changes take effect (for paid accounts) or 14 days before (for Free accounts).

Your continued use of the Service after the effective date of the updated Terms constitutes your acceptance of the changes. If you do not agree to the updated Terms, you must stop using the Service and may close your account before the effective date.

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18. Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable or invalid under applicable law, that provision will be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary so that the remaining Terms continue in full force and effect. The parties agree to renegotiate in good faith any unenforceable provision to achieve as closely as possible the original intent.

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19. Assignment

You may not assign or transfer these Terms or your rights hereunder, in whole or in part, without PrairieCloud's prior written consent. PrairieCloud may assign these Terms in connection with a merger, acquisition, corporate reorganization, or sale of all or substantially all of its assets without your consent. Any attempted assignment in violation of this Section is void. Subject to the foregoing, these Terms bind and inure to the benefit of the parties and their respective successors and permitted assigns.

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20. Waiver

The failure of either party to enforce any provision of these Terms shall not constitute a waiver of that party's right to enforce that provision or any other provision in the future. No waiver of any provision of these Terms shall be effective unless made in writing and signed by the waiving party.

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21. Export Control and Sanctions

You represent and warrant that: (a) you are not located in, under the control of, or a national or resident of any country subject to U.S. trade sanctions or embargoes; (b) you are not identified on any U.S. government restricted parties list, including the Treasury Department's Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list or the Commerce Department's Entity List; and (c) you will comply with all applicable U.S. and international export control and sanctions laws and regulations in connection with your use of the Service. PrairieCloud may suspend or terminate your access if we reasonably determine that continued service would violate applicable sanctions or export control laws.

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22. Notices

All legal notices under these Terms must be in writing. Notices to PrairieCloud must be sent to [email protected] (or to our mailing address listed in Section 24). Notices to you will be sent to the email address associated with your account. Notices are deemed received: (a) if sent by email, on the date the email is sent (provided no bounce-back or delivery failure notice is received); (b) if sent by postal mail, five (5) business days after deposit with a nationally recognized carrier.

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23. Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with any applicable:

• Supplemental terms for Enterprise agreements;
• Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for paid plans, if and when published;
• Privacy Policy at prairiecloud.io/legal/privacy;
• Acceptable Use Policy (if published as a standalone document); and
• Data Processing Agreement (if executed between you and PrairieCloud),

constitute the entire agreement between you and PrairieCloud with respect to the Service and supersede all prior agreements, understandings, and representations. Any conflicting or additional terms in your purchase orders or other documents are hereby rejected unless signed by an authorized officer of PrairieCloud.

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24. Contact Information