Virtual Airline Owner Terms
Last updated: July 5, 2026
This document is not yet in effect. It takes effect on 17 August 2026, alongside updates to our other legal documents. See /legal for the full list.
These Virtual Airline Owner Terms apply to Owners — the person who creates, runs and pays for a Virtual Airline (VA). They are additional to our Terms of Service, which apply to everyone (all Users, including Owners); together they form your agreement with vAMSYS. Where these Owner Terms and the Terms of Service conflict, the order of priority in the Terms of Service applies — these Owner Terms prevail on subscriptions, billing, ownership, transfers and the API, and the Terms of Service govern everything else.
Words defined in the Terms of Service (such as User, Pilot, Owner, Virtual Airline, Services and Team vAMSYS) have the same meaning here.
When you create a Virtual Airline you accept both the Terms of Service and these Virtual Airline Owner Terms. Pilots and VA Staff who are not Owners accept only the Terms of Service.
§1 How these Terms treat you
We treat every Owner as a consumer, and these Terms are written on that basis. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, a consumer is an individual acting wholly or mainly outside their own trade, business, craft or profession — and running a non-commercial flight-simulation hobby Virtual Airline is not a trade. So, whoever you are, you get the full benefit of these consumer Terms, and nothing in them takes away your statutory rights.
If you are buying as a business — for example, a company, a flight school, or any Owner contracting in the course of a business — and you need business terms (such as an invoicing arrangement or different liability terms), please contact us at help@vamsys.co.uk before you subscribe. Unless we agree business terms with you in writing, these consumer Terms apply to you in full.
Pilots and VA Staff who are not the Owner do not pay for the Services and are not the customer.
§2 VA ownership and transfers
2.1 One Owner of record — for administration and billing
vAMSYS recognises one Owner per VA — the person who created it, or to whom it was transferred. We do not recognise co-ownership, shared ownership or partnership at the platform level. More than one User may hold owner-level access within a VA, but vAMSYS deals only with the one recognised Owner for billing, legal and instruction purposes.
We recognise one Owner solely as the administrative and billing contact for the VA. This does not determine who, as between you and any other person, legally owns or is entitled to the VA.
2.2 Transferring ownership
Ownership of a VA can be transferred, but only through our verified process:
The current Owner contacts the helpdesk (help@vamsys.co.uk), identifying the VA and the email address of the new Owner.
The prospective new Owner — who must already be VA Staff of that VA — confirms, from that email address, that they accept ownership of the VA and responsibility for its billing. On transfer the VA moves to our current published pricing and any legacy prefix protection ends (§2.7), and the new Owner accepts the VA on that basis. The price the new Owner will pay is shown when they start the subscription.
We acknowledge each email, and once we have confirmation from both the outgoing and the incoming Owner and are able to act, we carry out the transfer. We do not impose a fixed waiting period — we act once both confirmations are in. We may require further verification, and we may refuse a transfer.
When the transfer completes, both Owners are notified, the previous Owner's stored billing details are deleted, and the new Owner becomes responsible for billing.
A transferred subscription is treated as a new subscription and is placed on our current published pricing (see §3.6). Legacy prefix protection ends on transfer.
2.3 Who is responsible for what, and when
The incoming Owner takes the VA as it is. Taking on a VA is voluntary and serious: satisfy yourself about its history and standing before you accept it, because vAMSYS gives no guarantee about its condition, value or history (see §2.5).
The operational risk transfers in full. The VA itself can be acted against for any breach — including suspension, removal or termination — whatever the breach is and whenever its underlying cause arose. For example, if a third party complains about names or branding the VA chose before the transfer, we may act against the VA under §8 of the Terms of Service. The incoming Owner and the VA are not immune from enforcement just because an issue predates the transfer — that is part of the risk of taking on a VA.
Money liabilities follow the period of ownership. The outgoing Owner is not released: they remain responsible for their own acts, omissions, charges, chargebacks and breaches (including the §2.8 branding warranty) during their period of ownership. The incoming Owner is responsible for liabilities arising from the transfer date. vAMSYS may pursue the Owner responsible for the relevant period — and, where both are genuinely responsible for the same liability, either or both. How the outgoing and incoming Owners allocate matters between themselves is their private arrangement (§2.5).
2.4 We are not an arbiter of ownership disputes — and there is no succession process
vAMSYS is not responsible for resolving who is entitled to own or control a VA. We act only on the Owner of record and the process in §2.2. Disagreements between co-founders, contributors or others are to be resolved between those people.
We do not operate any succession, inheritance or claim process for VAs. An Owner cannot transfer a VA except through §2.2, which the current Owner must start. If an Owner becomes uncontactable, the VA simply follows the normal non-payment path: the 14-day grace period, then removal, then the restoration window (up to 60 days, at our discretion — see §3.12 and §4). We will not appoint a new Owner, and we will not transfer a VA to anyone on the basis of a claim that the Owner is uncontactable, incapacitated or deceased.
2.5 We are not a party to any sale, and when we will and will not reverse a transfer
Any sale, payment or private arrangement behind a transfer is solely between the outgoing and incoming Owner. vAMSYS is not a party to it, is not made aware of it, and does not verify, guarantee or take responsibility for it — including for payment, for the condition or value of the VA, or for either party's performance. We verify only the identity of the parties and their consent to the transfer.
We will not reverse a completed transfer merely because of a dispute about the price, value or terms of a private arrangement. A transfer, once completed, stands as against that kind of dispute. However, we may reverse or suspend a transfer, or take other steps, where the transfer was procured by fraud or by account compromise, or where we are required to do so by a court order or other binding legal process, with which we will comply.
An incoming Owner gains no greater rights than the outgoing Owner had. In particular, Pilot data remains subject to the Terms of Service §11.
2.6 A VA's identifier and name
When a VA is created, it chooses a prefix (in the style of an ICAO or IATA code), which forms part of its Pilots' usernames. The prefix is fixed once chosen and cannot be changed through the platform. The VA's name is also set at creation; it can be changed only by a helpdesk request.
2.7 Prefix restrictions, impersonation, and legacy protection
We may refuse or restrict a prefix or name that duplicates, or appears to impersonate, an existing VA or a third party. New applications are automatically checked against our reserved prefixes, and we may also act after a VA has been created.
Separately, a small number of long-standing VAs hold a legacy prefix-protection arrangement. This arrangement is not currently offered to new VAs, is not guaranteed or foolproof, ends if ownership of the VA changes, and is not restored once given up.
2.8 Your responsibility for your VA's names and branding
Many VAs are modelled on real-world airlines, using names, prefixes, branding, logos, liveries and callsigns inspired by them. The choice of name, prefix, branding, logos, liveries and other content used by a VA is the VA's own choice. The Owner is responsible for making sure the VA has the rights and permissions it needs to use them.
As an Owner, you warrant that the VA has the necessary rights and permissions for the names, branding, liveries and content it uses. If you breach that warranty, you are liable for the loss we suffer that is directly and reasonably caused by the breach — for example, the legal costs, damages or settlement we reasonably incur in handling a third party’s claim. Because this is loss caused by your own breach, it is not subject to the liability cap in the Terms of Service §10.3; it excludes only indirect or consequential loss. This uncapped liability is in any event limited to what is fair and reasonable in the circumstances, and nothing in it removes the statutory rights preserved by the Terms of Service §10.2.
(If you are contracting in the course of a business and we have agreed business terms with you under "How these Terms treat you", any indemnity or other terms we agree in writing apply in addition to this clause.)
For how responsibility is split when ownership of a VA is transferred, see §2.3. In short: each Owner's uncapped liability under this warranty is for breaches during their own period of ownership — the incoming Owner is not uncapped-liable for the outgoing Owner's pre-transfer breaches, and the outgoing Owner is not released for theirs. The operational risk transfers in full, however: the VA can still be suspended or removed for a breach whose cause predates the transfer (§2.3).
2.9 Closing your account as an Owner
You cannot close your User account while you still own a VA. To leave, you must either transfer the VA to a new Owner (§2.2) or cancel its subscription — and cancelling brings the subscription to an end and the VA is removed (this takes effect at the close of the current paid period; see §3.9 and §4). Once the VA has been transferred or removed, you can close your User account. vAMSYS does not operate any succession, inheritance or claim process for VAs (see §2.4).
§3 Subscriptions, billing and payment
Key things to know (your rights as a consumer)
This box is a plain-language summary of the most important points in §3, §4 and §5. It does not replace the wording below, but nothing in these Terms takes away the statutory rights you have as a consumer.
- You get a free 14-day trial of every new Virtual Airline, with no card required. Some features are limited during the trial — in particular, you cannot recruit Pilots until you subscribe.
- 14-day cooling-off. You have 14 days to change your mind about a paid subscription. See §3.8. Email help@vamsys.co.uk to cancel. Because you ask us to start the paid Services straight away, what you get back depends on how much of the period you have used (see §3.8).
- Cancel any time. Voluntary cancellation takes effect at the end of the period you have already paid for, and you keep access until then. We do not refund the rest of that period when you cancel (§3.9).
- If we end your subscription and you did nothing wrong, you get a refund of the unused part of what you paid, to your original payment method (§3.11), and at least 30 days' written notice (§3.13).
- We provide the Services with reasonable care and skill. That duty under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 cannot be excluded, and no clause in these Terms removes your statutory rights.
3.1 The Virtual Airline is the customer; who is responsible
The subscription, the payment method and the billing relationship belong to the Virtual Airline (VA), and they are administered by its Owner. The Owner accepts these Terms both personally and on behalf of the VA, and is responsible for the subscription and for everything done through the billing account.
To take out and run a subscription, the Owner must be at least 18 years old and have the legal capacity to enter into a contract. The Owner is responsible for paying the subscription whether they pay it themselves or arrange for someone else to pay it.
We may decline or refuse to provide the Services. Operating a paid VA is not an absolute right. We may decline to accept a subscription, decline to let a trial VA continue or convert to a paid subscription, refuse a transfer (§2.2), or otherwise refuse to do business with a particular person — at our discretion, including on the basis of risk or reputation. The only limit is that we will not do this for an unlawful reason (for example, a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010). This is separate from ending an established paying subscription, which we do only under §3.13 (immediately for cause; on notice and with a refund where there is no fault); the general power to restrict or remove a User or Pilot is in the Terms of Service §8.
3.2 We treat you as a consumer
We treat every Owner as a consumer, so all of the consumer protections in these Terms — including the cooling-off right in §3.8 — apply to you. If you are buying in the course of a business and need business terms, contact us at help@vamsys.co.uk before you subscribe (see "How these Terms treat you").
3.3 Free trial
Every new VA begins with a free 14-day trial. You do not need to enter a card to start it.
During the trial, some features are limited. In particular, pilot registration is not available until you subscribe, so you cannot recruit Pilots during the trial. The trial is otherwise intended to let you properly evaluate the Services.
If the trial ends and you have not started a paid subscription, the VA is removed from public access. You can ask us to restore it for a limited time afterwards — see §4.
3.4 Subscription and automatic renewal
A paid subscription is recurring. You choose monthly or yearly billing, and we charge the subscription through our payment processor.
The subscription renews automatically on each renewal date — each month for monthly billing, or each year for yearly billing — until it is cancelled (by you under §3.9, or by us under §3.11 or the Terms of Service §8).
Charges appear on your statement as "vAMSYS LTD" or "vamsys.co.uk". Some banks shorten or change how this looks.
3.5 Switching between monthly and yearly billing
You can switch your billing frequency at any time. The two switches work differently:
Monthly → yearly. You are charged the yearly price straight away. Your renewal date moves to one year from that charge, and any unused part of the month you have already paid for is credited towards the yearly charge.
Worked example: you pay £X per month, with a renewal date on the 10th. On the 25th you switch to yearly. We charge the yearly price on the 25th. You had already paid for the month running to the 10th of next month, so we credit you for the unused part — from the 25th up to that 10th — against the yearly charge. Your new renewal date becomes the 25th, one year later.
Yearly → monthly. There is no refund to your payment method for switching down from yearly to monthly part-way through a year. Instead, the amount you have already paid is held as account credit, which is used to cover your monthly charges until it runs out. This credit does not expire, and you do not lose it by simply continuing as a customer. We will refund any remaining credit to your original payment method only if we end your subscription for a reason that is not your breach (§3.11 and §3.13), or where you exercise your cooling-off right (§3.8).
3.6 Pricing, plans and price changes
Our prices and plans are as published on our website at the time. There is currently a single full-access plan.
Price-lock. While your subscription continues without interruption, your price is held even if our published prices rise. Your subscription is interrupted if it lapses — for example, a renewal goes unpaid through the grace period (§3.12) and the VA is removed — or if it is transferred to a new Owner. After an interruption, the subscription (including any restoration of a removed VA) goes on our current published pricing. A lapse caused by us — for example, a payment-processor failure on our side, or a removal or termination we initiate other than for your non-payment or breach — does not count as an interruption, and you keep your price-lock.
We may change our prices, plans or tiers in future, and we may (but are not obliged to) move existing subscriptions onto a new plan. Any change to an existing subscription comes with at least 30 days' notice and a right to cancel before it takes effect. If you do not cancel, the change applies. Whether we keep any Owner on older "grandfathered" pricing is at our discretion, and any such arrangement ends if the subscription is interrupted (using the same definition and carve-outs as above) or transferred.
3.7 Pilots are free
There is no charge to Pilots or VA Staff. We do not charge per Pilot, per seat, per add-on, or for cosmetics, donations or one-off items. The subscription is the only charge.
3.8 Cooling-off period; immediate-supply consent
Because we treat every Owner as a consumer (see §3.2), this 14-day cooling-off right applies to you.
Your right to cancel. You have a statutory right to cancel a paid subscription within 14 days. The 14 days run from the day you enter into the paid subscription — for example, the day you subscribe after the free trial. This 14-day right applies the first time you take out a paid subscription for a VA (and, separately, if you take over a VA by transfer — see the paragraph below). It does not start again each time you resume or restore a subscription you previously held — for example, when you come back after a lapse for non-payment — because that reinstates your own earlier subscription rather than being a new consumer purchase.
If you take over a VA by transfer. If you become the Owner of a VA by transfer (§2.2), this 14-day right also applies to you and runs from the date of the transfer, wherever that falls in the billing period. Because the VA may already be paid up for the current period by the previous Owner, exercising this right is mainly a way to release yourself from the ownership you have taken on: if you withdraw within those 14 days, your takeover is unwound and you are released from the responsibilities and liabilities you assumed. We refund only amounts you have paid since you took over (pro-rata); we do not refund anything the previous Owner paid, and a period the previous Owner has already paid for is not refunded. After you withdraw, the VA runs out any period already paid for and then follows the normal removal and restore process (§4) unless it is resubscribed.
How to cancel. Tell us clearly that you have decided to cancel, by emailing help@vamsys.co.uk before the 14 days are up. A clear statement is enough — for example, "I am cancelling the subscription for my VA".
Immediate supply and what you consent to. When you start a paid subscription, you ask us to begin providing the paid Services to you straight away, within the cooling-off period. By subscribing you:
(a) expressly consent to us beginning to supply the paid Services immediately; and
(b) acknowledge that, to the extent any part of the Services is exceptionally treated in law as digital content supplied immediately at your request, you lose the right to cancel that part once supply has begun.
What you get back if you cancel in time. The Services are a service. If you cancel within the cooling-off period, we will charge you a fair, pro-rata amount for the part of the subscription period you actually received up to the moment you cancel, and refund the rest. The digital-content acknowledgement in paragraph (b) above is subordinate to this: nothing in this section removes your statutory right to a pro-rata refund where the Services are treated as a service, and it applies only to the limited extent (if any) that a part of the Services is properly treated as digital content.
In plain terms: because you ask us to switch the paid features on straight away, you pay for the part of the period you have actually used, and you get the rest back; you may not get a full refund once you have started using the paid features.
Nothing in this section affects your other statutory rights, including the non-excludable rights listed in the Terms of Service §10.2, or your rights if we change or remove a feature (§3.11 and the Terms of Service §9) or end your subscription other than for your breach (§3.11 and §3.13).
3.9 Cancellation by the Owner
You cancel your subscription from your Billing page in the VA dashboard — which is also where you can switch between monthly and yearly billing, update your card details, and download invoices. Cancelling stops your next renewal: it takes effect at the end of the period you have already paid for, and your VA keeps full access until then. To avoid being charged for the next period, cancel before your renewal date (see §3.12). If a renewal has already been taken, cancelling stops the following renewal — it does not refund the period that has just started.
We do not refund the remaining part of a paid period when you cancel voluntarily or end the subscription early. (This is separate from the cooling-off right in §3.8 and from refunds where we end your subscription, in §3.11.)
3.10 Payment processing
Payments are taken by a third-party payment processor. We do not store full card numbers or card security codes — the processor holds your card details. We hold limited billing details, such as your billing address and a card descriptor (for example, the card type and last four digits).
3.11 Refunds
No refunds, except where we end your subscription for a reason that is not your breach. If we terminate your subscription other than for your breach (see §3.13), we will refund the pro-rata unused part of the period you have paid for. This refund is made to your original payment method, through our payment processor (not as account credit), and includes any remaining account credit under §3.5. Refunds are always returned to the payment method originally used; we do not pay refunds by cash, bank transfer or any other means.
No refund where we end your subscription for your breach. If we terminate for your breach (for example, breach of these Terms or the AUP, suspected ban evasion, a false or fake identity, or breach of the one-account rule), termination is immediate and no refund is due (see §3.13).
No refund on your own voluntary cancellation — see §3.9.
If we change or remove a feature. Your subscription is to vAMSYS as an evolving platform, not to any particular feature, and we may add, change or remove features — this alone does not entitle you to a refund. If we, acting reasonably, consider that a change means the Services no longer substantially provide what you pay for, we will first restore the feature or offer a reasonable alternative; only if we cannot will we let you cancel and refund the pro-rated unused part of the period you have paid for, to your original payment method (see §3.9). Nothing in this clause affects your statutory rights.
Your statutory consumer rights are not affected by this section, including your rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and your cooling-off right in §3.8.
3.12 Non-payment, grace period and renewal dates
Grace period. If a renewal payment fails, we will try to take payment again and remind you by email. You will have a grace period of at least 14 days to bring the subscription up to date. If the subscription is still not paid at the end of the grace period, the VA is removed from public access (you can ask us to restore it for a limited time afterwards — see §4).
Tell us if you are struggling. If you think you will have trouble paying, contact us at help@vamsys.co.uk before your grace period ends — we would much rather help than remove a VA, and we can sometimes give a little extra time or work something out. This is at our discretion and not guaranteed, but being proactive gives us the best chance to help.
Pilots are not cut off for a late VA payment. A VA's Pilots do not lose access merely because the VA's payment is late.
Renewal date does not move for a late-but-recovered payment. Your renewal date is fixed when your subscription starts. Paying late but within the grace period does not move your renewal date.
Months without your renewal day, and leap years. Your renewal date stays the same from month to month and year to year. If a month does not contain your renewal day, the renewal is taken on the last day of that month, and then returns to your usual day in the next month that has it. The same approach applies across leap years.
Worked example: if your monthly renewal day is the 31st, then in a month with only 30 days (such as April) we take the renewal on the 30th, and in February we take it on the 28th (or the 29th in a leap year). In May, which has a 31st, the renewal returns to the 31st.
3.13 Ending your subscription: for-cause and no-fault termination
We treat a paying Owner differently from a free user, because the Owner has paid us. (The general power to suspend or terminate any user is in the Terms of Service §8; this clause covers what happens to a paying VA's subscription.)
For-cause termination. Where an Owner is in breach — including a breach of the Terms of Service or the AUP, suspected ban evasion, a false or fake identity, or a breach of the one-account rule — we may terminate the VA and the Owner's access immediately and with no refund (see §3.11).
No-fault termination. Where we choose to terminate a paying VA and the Owner has done nothing wrong, we will give at least 30 days' written notice and refund the pro-rated unused portion of the current paid period to the original payment method. Where the Owner holds remaining account credit from a yearly-to-monthly switch (see §3.5), any unused credit is also refunded to the original payment method.
§4 What happens when a subscription ends
This section explains what happens when a subscription ends or expires — whether because you cancelled it (§3.9), it was not paid (§3.12), we terminated it (the Terms of Service §8), or a free trial ran out without a subscription (§3.3).
4.1 The VA is removed from public access
When a subscription ends or expires, the VA is removed from public access. Its login and registration page is taken down and the VA can no longer recruit Pilots.
4.2 Your data is kept for a restore window
We do not immediately delete your data. After the VA is removed, we keep its data for a limited time during which we may, at our discretion, restore the VA on request to our helpdesk (help@vamsys.co.uk). We aim to keep this window open for up to 60 days from removal, but it may be shorter. Restoring a VA is always at our discretion — there is no right to have a VA restored, whatever the reason it was removed. (Further detail on retention is in our Privacy Policy, which forms part of these Terms and will be published.)
4.3 Restoring a removed VA, and the 24-hour resubscribe requirement
If we choose to restore a removed VA, it comes back in trial mode. To keep it, you must start a paying subscription within 24 hours of the restore. If you do not, the VA is removed again.
Each removal starts a fresh restore window (again, up to 60 days, possibly shorter, and restoration remains at our discretion), and there is no limit on how many times a VA can be removed and restored in this way. While a restored VA is in trial mode, pilot registration is not available (as for any trial — see §3.3).
A restored or new subscription is placed on our current published pricing (see §3.6) and is treated as a new paid subscription, and the cooling-off right in §3.8 applies to it.
4.4 Pilots and Pilot data are not deleted
Removing a VA does not delete its Pilots, their User accounts, their personal data, or their flight reports. Pilots keep their User accounts and their memberships at any other VAs. A Pilot's User identity data always remains under vAMSYS's control (see the Terms of Service §11).
4.5 After the restore window
If the restore window passes without the VA being restored and resubscribed, the VA's records may be anonymised or deleted in line with our Privacy Policy. Personal data we are required or entitled to keep — for example minimal records to enforce these Terms or prevent ban evasion (see the Terms of Service §8.9) — is dealt with as described in our Privacy Policy.
4.6 Exporting your VA's data before deletion
Before your VA's data is deleted or anonymised at the end of the restore window (§4.2), you (the Owner) can export your VA's configuration and its flight/operational reports. vAMSYS does not provide a bulk export of your Pilots' personal data or roster (see the Terms of Service §4.3 and §11). A User's own personal data is available to that User by a data-subject access request (Terms of Service §11.9).
§5 Chargebacks
5.1 Please raise billing questions with us first
If you have a question or concern about a charge, please contact us at help@vamsys.co.uk before disputing the charge with your bank or card provider. We will resolve any genuine billing issue. Most problems are sorted out quickly this way.
5.2 When this section applies
This section applies where: (a) you charge back a payment; (b) the payment was validly made for a subscription we actually provided (so it was genuinely owed); and (c) you did so instead of first resolving the matter with us, and it is not a genuine dispute of the kind described in §5.4. In short, it covers reversing a payment you actually owed for a service you actually received, rather than raising a real billing problem.
5.3 What we may do
Where §5.2 applies, we may:
recover from the Owner the amount charged back, plus the fee our payment processor charges us for the chargeback, as a debt — this is our actual cost, not a penalty;
suspend or terminate the VA and its access; and
suspend or terminate the Owner's User account.
This section does not take away any of your statutory rights, and the amount we recover is limited to the amount charged back plus the actual processor fee described above.
5.4 Genuine disputes are not penalised
This section does not apply to a genuine dispute where the charge was not validly made — for example, where the amount charged was wrong, the subscription was not provided, or your card was used fraudulently. Those are legitimate disputes and we will not penalise you for raising them. You keep your full right to dispute a charge that was not validly made, including with your card provider, and nothing in this section affects your statutory rights (see the Terms of Service §10.2).
§6 API Terms
vAMSYS offers two APIs: the Operations API and the Pilot API. The Pilot API and the "Login with vAMSYS" flow are part of the Services — they are governed by these Terms and the AUP — up to the point at which a Pilot's data is disclosed to the VA's own application; from that point, what the VA does with the data is the VA's responsibility as a controller (the Terms of Service §11.6). These API Terms are in addition to, and do not cut down, the Terms of Service §11.
6.1 The Operations API
Purpose. VA-level operational and pilot-administration data — server-to-server, with no user interaction.
Authentication. OAuth 2.0 Client Credentials grant (machine-to-machine), authenticated by a client ID and client secret.
Tokens. Access tokens expire after 7 days.
What it returns. Operational data and a Pilot's chosen public display name (which may be their full real name, if the Pilot chooses to display it). It never returns emails or other contact details. The data remains subject to the Terms of Service §11.1–§11.2.
6.2 The Pilot API
Purpose. Pilot-specific data, requiring the Pilot's explicit consent to defined scopes — this powers "Login with vAMSYS".
Authentication. OAuth 2.0 Authorization Code with PKCE (Proof Key for Code Exchange) — a public client, with no client secret.
Tokens. Access tokens expire after 1 hour, with refresh tokens.
Pilot and Owner controls. A Pilot may revoke access at any time, and a VA Owner may deactivate the client. After revocation or deactivation, requests will fail (for example, with `401` or an `invalid_grant` error).
Consent and privacy policy. Consent, scopes and the VA's privacy-policy gate are dealt with in the Terms of Service §11.5–§11.6.
6.3 Terms common to both APIs
By using either API, the VA agrees that:
Licence. We grant a limited, revocable, non-transferable licence to use the APIs solely for the intended integration.
Rate limit. A rate limit of 100 requests per minute per VA applies, shared across all of that VA's OAuth clients. We expose `X-RateLimit-*` headers and may throttle or suspend access on excessive use.
Security. HTTPS only. You must keep client secrets and tokens secure. No reverse-engineering.
No misuse. You must not use the APIs to scrape or harvest identity data, or to circumvent the Terms of Service §11.2, §11.5 or §11.6.
Changes. We may version, change, deprecate or withdraw API features, with reasonable notice where practicable.
No SLA. The APIs carry no service-level or uptime commitment (consistent with the Terms of Service §9.2).
Suspension. We may suspend or revoke API access for misuse, or where credential-sharing causes or risks misuse.
Responsibility for third parties. A VA is fully responsible for any third party it gives API credentials to, as if for its own acts (the Terms of Service §11.7).