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Independent · Est. 2026
THE PUBLIC RECORD · ORGANISED · SOS.CITY · SOS.cityThe public record of every place, organised.

Type a question, a place, a dataset or an agency. We answer from the record first, with sources. When we can't, Claude looks further.

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Terms of Use

Effective October 18, 2026

These terms are an agreement between you and 5arz Inc. ("SOS.city", "we", "us"). They cover sos.city, the SOS.city library, the API at api.sos.city, and any MCP or other connection to them (together, "the Service"). By using the Service you agree to these terms. If you use it for a business, you agree for that business.

The SOS.city store at shop.sos.city is run on Shopify and has its own terms and policies, which apply to purchases there.

1. What SOS.city is

SOS.city is an organised index of public information about cities: power, water, emergencies, public safety, laws, permits, funding, grants, businesses and more. Most of what we show comes from governments, utilities and other public sources. We find each source, sort it by place and department, check it, and link back to the original.

SOS.city is not an emergency service. If you are in danger, call 911 or your local emergency number. Alerts and records here can be late, incomplete or wrong. Always follow instructions from official authorities. See Emergencies.

2. Public records are not our facts

We report what public sources publish. We don't create the underlying records and we can't promise they are accurate, complete or current. Agencies change, remove and correct data without telling us.

  • Each record shows its publisher, a link to the original and when we last checked it. The original source controls.
  • We check every source on a schedule, but a check only tells us the page is there and whether it changed. It doesn't mean the agency's data is right.
  • Nothing on SOS.city is legal, financial, engineering, medical or safety advice. Confirm anything important with the agency or a qualified professional.

3. How you may use the data

The Data Use Policy is part of these terms. Its main points:

  • SOS.city is not a consumer reporting agency. You may not use the Service, or anything from it, to decide whether someone gets housing, a job, credit, insurance, a licence or a government benefit. That includes tenant screening, employment screening and background checks.
  • You may not use the Service to find, track, profile or harass any person.
  • Each source's own licence still applies. See Sources and Licences.

4. Accounts

  • You need an account for paid plans and API keys. Give us a real email address and keep your sign-in secure.
  • You're responsible for what happens under your account and your API keys. Tell us at once at support@sos.city if a key leaks. You can revoke keys at any time on your account page.
  • You must be 16 or older to make an account.
  • One person or organisation per account. Don't share accounts or keys to get around plan limits.

5. Plans, the API and limits

  • We offer free and paid plans. What each plan includes (questions a day, API calls a month, cities, archive access, bulk export) is shown on the Plans page when you sign up. Billing, renewal, cancellation and refunds are covered in Subscriptions and Billing.
  • Signed-out use is limited per day. We may change free limits at any time. We'll give paid subscribers at least 30 days' notice of any change that reduces what their plan includes.
  • API rules:
  • Use only your own keys.
  • Stay within your plan's limits.
  • Don't scrape the website to get around the API or its limits.
  • Cache responses as you need to, but refresh them so you aren't showing stale records as current.
  • Show the original publisher and link to the original source wherever you display a record (see Sources and Licences).
  • Bulk use and resale: you may build products and services that use SOS.city data. You may not resell or redistribute our index itself (our compilation, descriptions, categories, check results or archive) as a dataset or a competing service, unless your plan or a written agreement with us allows it. Public-domain data from the original sources stays free for everyone. This restriction covers only our work on top of it.
  • We may suspend or rate-limit keys or accounts that put the Service at risk, break these terms or run up unusual load. Where we can, we'll tell you first.

6. Questions, requests and deep searches

  • Questions you ask help us find gaps. A question that finds nothing may be added to our research list. It is turned into a neutral topic, such as "Short-term rental permits, Santa Monica", before it appears on the public gap board, and we remove names, addresses and other identifiers. Please don't put personal information about anyone in a question.
  • Data requests are free. We don't promise to find or add what you ask for.
  • Deep searches are paid research. We give you a quote before you pay. We deliver either the records we find or a written finding that no public source exists, with what we checked. If we can't deliver either, we refund you in full. Deep searches cover public information only. We don't do searches about private individuals.
  • By sending us a question or request, you allow us to use it to run, improve and research for the Service. We'll handle any personal information in it as our Privacy Policy describes.

7. The archive

The archive keeps records that have expired or dropped off a public portal, such as expired permits, closed lots, lapsed licences and withdrawn projects. It's available on the plans that include it. Archived records are historical: they show what a source said at the time we captured it, not what is true now. We remove archived records that must be removed by law, such as sealed, expunged or court-ordered records. See Removals and Corrections.

8. Things you may not do

  • Break any law, including privacy, fair housing, fair credit reporting, anti-discrimination and anti-stalking laws.
  • Probe, overload or attack the Service, or get past its limits, gates or security.
  • Pretend to be someone else, or misrepresent where data came from or what it shows.
  • Use the Service to build profiles of private individuals.
  • Use the Service to target people based on protected characteristics.
  • Upload or send malware, or use the Service to send spam.

9. Our content and yours

  • The underlying public records belong to their publishers or are public domain.
  • Our compilation, organisation, descriptions, categories, check results, software, design and brand ("SOS.city materials") belong to us. You may use SOS.city materials only as these terms allow.
  • If you send us feedback, we may use it without owing you anything.

10. Other sites

We link to government and other third-party sites. We don't control them and aren't responsible for their content, availability or privacy practices.

11. Disclaimers

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE". TO THE FULLEST EXTENT THE LAW ALLOWS, WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ACCURACY, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DON'T WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY OR ERROR-FREE, OR THAT ANY RECORD IS ACCURATE, COMPLETE OR CURRENT.

12. Limits on our liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT THE LAW ALLOWS, WE ARE NOT LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR LOST PROFITS, REVENUE OR DATA, ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE OR RELIANCE ON ANY RECORD. OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIM ABOUT THE SERVICE IS LIMITED TO THE GREATER OF (A) WHAT YOU PAID US IN THE 12 MONTHS BEFORE THE CLAIM AND (B) US $100.

Some places don't allow these limits, so they may not all apply to you. Nothing in these terms limits liability that can't be limited by law.

13. Indemnity

If someone brings a claim against us because of how you used the Service, including any use the Data Use Policy prohibits, you agree to cover our reasonable costs and losses from that claim.

14. Ending

  • You can stop using the Service and close your account at any time.
  • We may suspend or end your access if you break these terms, or if we have to for legal reasons.
  • If we close the Service entirely, we'll give paid subscribers at least 30 days' notice and refund any prepaid time you haven't used.
  • Sections 2, 3, 9, 11, 12, 13 and 15 continue after your access ends.

15. Law and disputes

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to its conflict-of-law rules. Disputes will be heard in the state or federal courts in Los Angeles County, California, and you and we consent to those courts. If you're a consumer, you keep any rights the law of your home state or country gives you.

Before filing a claim, please email legal@sos.city so we can try to resolve it. Most problems get fixed faster that way.

16. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms. If a change is material, we'll post it here with a new effective date, and we'll email account holders at least 30 days before it applies. If you keep using the Service after a change takes effect, you accept the new terms. If you don't agree, you can cancel before then.

17. Contact

5arz Inc. 16192 Coastal Highway, Lewes, DE 19958, USA legal@sos.city