Terms of use.

The short version: your state's notary law has the final word, you keep your own journal and its backups, Apple handles payment, and your records are yours.

The license

Countersign is licensed to you under Apple's Licensed Application End User License Agreement (the standard EULA). These terms are between you and IndieDeveloperJ LLC ("we", "us"), the Arizona company that makes the app. They add details about notary rules, your records and the subscription, and are part of that agreement. If they ever conflict, the standard EULA wins.

Your state's law decides

This isn't legal advice. Your state's notary rules decide what you must record.

Countersign is a record-keeping tool. It doesn't give legal advice, and using it doesn't by itself meet any state's journal requirements. You are responsible for performing each notarial act and keeping your journal as your state requires.
The state rules in the app (what to record, thumbprints, fee limits, how long to keep the journal) each name the law or the state office's text they come from and the date we last checked it. A rule we haven't checked against the law's own text is marked as not yet checked.
Laws change, and some depend on details only you or your commissioning office know. Check your state's current rules, your commissioning office's guidance and any requirements from your clients before you rely on the app.
In Arizona, California and Washington the law keeps the journal on paper. There Countersign works beside your paper book and isn't a journal of its own.
If a rule in the app looks wrong, please tell us. We'll check it against the law's text and fix it.

Your records

What you add to the app is yours. It stays on your devices and in your own iCloud if you turn sync on (see the privacy policy). We never have a copy, so we can't recover it.

Keep regular backups and exports somewhere safe, for as long as your state asks you to keep your journal. A lost device or a forgotten backup password can mean lost records.
Filed entries can't be edited or deleted. A correction is added as an amendment that points to the original, so the journal keeps its history.
You are responsible for the personal information of the signers you record, for keeping it secure, and for sharing it only as your state's law allows.

The subscription

Your first 10 journal entries are free. After that, filing new entries needs a subscription, monthly or yearly. Prices are shown in the app before you buy.
Reading your journal, exporting it, making copies and backups, and restoring a backup are always free, with or without a subscription.
Payment is charged to your Apple Account when you confirm the purchase.
Subscriptions renew automatically unless you turn off auto-renew at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Renewal is charged within 24 hours before the period ends.
Manage or cancel a subscription in your device's Settings › your name › Subscriptions. Refunds are handled by Apple at reportaproblem.apple.com.
If your subscription ends, nothing you filed is taken away.

Limits of our responsibility

We work hard to make Countersign accurate and reliable, but it is provided "as is". To the fullest extent the law allows, we aren't liable for indirect, incidental or consequential losses, including lost records, fines, claims against your commission or bond, or lost income, that come from using the app or relying on its rules. Our total liability for any claim about the app is limited to what you paid for it in the 12 months before the claim. Some places don't allow these limits, so they may not all apply to you.

Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Arizona, USA, except where the law where you live says otherwise.

Changes

We may update these terms; the date at the top says when they last changed.

Contact

[email protected]