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Service Level Agreement

99.9% Monthly Uptime · Paid Subscribers · Effective March 19, 2026

This Service Level Agreement ("SLA") is incorporated into and subject to the ZIP-Codes.com Terms of Service ("Terms"). Capitalized terms not defined in this SLA have the meanings set forth in the Terms. In the event of a conflict between this SLA and the Terms, this SLA shall control with respect to service level commitments and remediation.

1. Eligibility

1.1 This SLA applies exclusively to Customers on an active, paid Subscription plan (Developer, Professional, or Business) in good standing.
1.2 The following are not covered by this SLA:
  1. Free Tier accounts;
  2. Credit Pack-only accounts without an active Subscription;
  3. Accounts that are suspended, past due, or in breach of the Terms of Service;
  4. Beta, preview, or experimental features, if any.
1.3 "Good standing" means the Customer's account is current on all payments, is not suspended, and is not in breach of any provision of the Terms.

2. Uptime Commitment

2.1 ZIP-Codes.com commits to maintaining at least 99.9% Monthly Uptime for the API, as measured according to the methodology described in Section 3.
99.9%
Monthly Uptime Guarantee
No more than ~43 minutes of downtime per calendar month (~8.7 hours per year)
2.2 The 99.9% commitment corresponds to no more than approximately 43 minutes and 28 seconds of Downtime per calendar month.

3. Definitions & Measurement

3.1 Measurement Window. Uptime is measured on a calendar month basis, from 00:00:00 UTC on the first day of the month through 23:59:59 UTC on the last day of the month.
3.2 Valid Request. A "Valid Request" is any API request from an active, paid Subscription account that conforms to the API Documentation and would normally receive an HTTP 2xx or 4xx response. Requests that are malformed, exceed documented rate limits (HTTP 429), or originate from suspended accounts are not Valid Requests.
3.3 Failed Request. A "Failed Request" is a Valid Request that results in either: (a) an HTTP 5xx server error response, or (b) no response within 30 seconds (connection timeout).
3.4 Client Errors Are Not Failures. HTTP 4xx responses (including 400, 401, 403, 404, and 429) are not Failed Requests. A 404 response for a nonexistent ZIP code, a 401 for an invalid API key, or a 429 for exceeding rate limits are correct API behavior, not service failures.
3.5 Unavailable Interval. An "Unavailable Interval" is any consecutive five (5) minute period during which the error rate exceeds five percent (5%). The error rate for an interval is calculated as:
Error Rate = (Failed Requests in interval) / (Total Valid Requests in interval) × 100

If no Valid Requests are received during a five-minute interval, that interval is considered available.

3.6 Monthly Uptime Percentage. Monthly Uptime is calculated as:
Monthly Uptime % = ((Total Intervals − Unavailable Intervals) / Total Intervals) × 100

where "Total Intervals" is the total number of five-minute intervals in the calendar month (approximately 8,640 for a 30-day month).

3.7 Monitoring. Uptime is monitored using an independent third-party monitoring service. ZIP-Codes.com's monitoring data shall be the authoritative source for SLA calculations, supplemented by third-party monitoring data where applicable.

4. Exclusions

The following are excluded from Downtime calculations and do not count toward Unavailable Intervals:

4.1 Scheduled Maintenance

Planned maintenance for which ZIP-Codes.com provides at least forty-eight (48) hours advance notice via email to affected subscribers and/or posting on the public status page. Scheduled maintenance shall not exceed four (4) hours per calendar month.

4.2 Emergency Maintenance

Unplanned maintenance required to address security vulnerabilities, critical bugs, or imminent threats to data integrity. Emergency maintenance does not require advance notice but ZIP-Codes.com will provide notification within twenty-four (24) hours after the maintenance is performed.

Emergency maintenance shall not exceed two (2) hours per calendar month. Any emergency maintenance beyond two (2) hours in a calendar month counts as Downtime for SLA purposes.

4.3 Force Majeure

Events beyond ZIP-Codes.com's reasonable control, including but not limited to: natural disasters, acts of war or terrorism, pandemics, government actions, or court orders.

4.4 External Infrastructure

Failures of internet infrastructure, DNS systems, telecommunications networks, hosting infrastructure, or other third-party services outside ZIP-Codes.com's operational control, including distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks or other malicious third-party actions.

4.5 Customer-Side Issues

  1. Customer misuse, misconfiguration, or non-compliance with the API Documentation;
  2. Failures in Customer's own infrastructure, software, network, or equipment;
  3. Requests that exceed documented rate limits (HTTP 429 responses are correct behavior, not Downtime);
  4. Issues caused by Customer's use of unsupported or deprecated API features after reasonable notice of deprecation.

4.6 Account Status

Periods during which Customer's account is suspended for non-payment, is past due, or is otherwise not in good standing under the Terms.

5. Service Credits

5.1 Credit Amount. If the Monthly Uptime Percentage falls below 99.9% in any calendar month, eligible Customers may request a service credit equal to ten percent (10%) of the Customer's monthly Subscription fee for the affected month, issued as non-expiring credits applied to the Customer's account.
5.2 Credit Calculation. The credit is calculated based on the monthly Subscription fee for the plan in effect during the affected month:
Subscription Plan Monthly Fee Credit (10%) Approx. Credit Amount
Developer$49$4.90~10,000 Credits
Professional$149$14.90~35,000 Credits
Business$499$49.90~150,000 Credits

Credit amounts are calculated at the per-Credit rate of the Customer's current Subscription plan.

5.3 Maximum Credit Cap. Total service credits issued to a Customer shall not exceed twenty-five percent (25%) of the Customer's monthly Subscription fee for the affected month, regardless of the number of Unavailable Intervals or the severity of the Downtime.
5.4 Non-Expiring. Service credits issued under this SLA do not expire. Credits are applied to the Customer's account as bonus Credits and remain available until consumed, even if the Customer downgrades or cancels and later reactivates.
5.5 Credit Form. Service credits are issued exclusively as API credits. Credits have no cash value, are not transferable, and cannot be exchanged for refunds, invoice discounts, or any other form of compensation.
5.6 Sole and Exclusive Remedy.
Service credits described in this Section 5 constitute Customer's sole and exclusive remedy, and ZIP-Codes.com's sole and exclusive liability, for any failure to meet the Monthly Uptime commitment. Service credits are not an admission of liability and are not cumulative with any other damages or remedies under the Terms.

6. Claim Procedure

6.1 Customer-Initiated. Service credits are not issued automatically. Customers must submit a claim to receive credits.
6.2 Claim Deadline. Claims must be submitted within thirty (30) days after the end of the calendar month in which the Downtime occurred. Claims submitted after this deadline will not be honored.
6.3 How to Submit. Submit claims by email to sla@zip-codes.com with the subject line "SLA Credit Request" and include:
  1. Your account email address or account identifier;
  2. The dates and approximate times (UTC) of the experienced Downtime;
  3. A brief description of the impact on your use of the Service.
6.4 Evidence. Customer-side error logs are helpful but not required. ZIP-Codes.com will reference its own monitoring data and third-party monitoring data to validate claims.
6.5 Response Timeline. ZIP-Codes.com will acknowledge receipt of a claim within five (5) business days and will resolve the claim (approve or deny with explanation) within fifteen (15) business days of receipt.
6.6 Determination. ZIP-Codes.com will determine eligibility for service credits in good faith, based on its monitoring data and third-party monitoring data. If ZIP-Codes.com confirms that the Monthly Uptime Percentage was below 99.9% during the claimed period (excluding periods described in Section 4), the credit will be approved and applied to the Customer's account within one billing cycle.

7. Status Page

7.1 ZIP-Codes.com maintains a public status page that displays real-time operational status and historical uptime data. The status page URL is published in the API Documentation.
7.2 The status page is provided for informational purposes. In the event of a discrepancy between the status page and ZIP-Codes.com's internal monitoring data, the internal monitoring data shall be authoritative for SLA calculations.

8. Modifications

8.1 ZIP-Codes.com may modify this SLA from time to time. Material changes will be communicated to Subscribers with at least thirty (30) days' advance notice via email.
8.2 Changes that improve the uptime commitment or increase remediation amounts may take effect immediately without advance notice.
8.3 Continued use of the Service after the effective date of a modification constitutes acceptance of the modified SLA. If Customer does not agree to a material change, Customer may cancel their Subscription before the change takes effect.

9. Relationship to Terms of Service

9.1 This SLA is part of the Agreement as defined in the Terms of Service (Section 1.1). The limitations of liability, warranty disclaimers, and indemnification provisions in the Terms apply to this SLA.
9.2 Nothing in this SLA creates obligations or liability beyond those expressly stated herein. The warranty disclaimers in the Terms (including the disclaimer that the Service is provided "AS IS") apply to the extent not expressly contradicted by the specific uptime commitment in Section 2.
9.3 If any provision of this SLA is held to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue in full force and effect.

This Service Level Agreement is effective as of the date first set forth above. This document should be reviewed by qualified legal counsel before publication.

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