Generate a professional API license agreement with rate limits, authentication requirements, usage restrictions, SLA commitments, and intellectual property provisions. Define exactly how your API may be accessed, what licensees can build, and protect your platform with comprehensive legal terms.
I built this API license agreement generator to help API providers and platform companies establish clear, enforceable terms for developer access from day one. API licensing disputes frequently arise because the original agreement failed to specify rate limit enforcement policies, left intellectual property ownership of derivative works ambiguous, or lacked adequate provisions for API key revocation upon termination. This generator addresses all of those scenarios with attorney-drafted language tailored to modern API ecosystems.
This generator supports multiple licensing models including free and open access, commercial per-request pricing, freemium tiers with usage caps, and enterprise agreements with dedicated SLAs and custom terms. The document covers critical provisions for authentication methods (API key, OAuth 2.0, JWT, mTLS), granular rate limits across multiple time windows, permitted and prohibited use cases, data privacy and security obligations, confidentiality of API internals, and detailed termination procedures including credential revocation and data deletion timelines.
Every field updates the live preview instantly, so you can see exactly how your API license agreement will read before downloading. The generator includes conditional sections that appear only when relevant. For example, fee and payment terms appear only for commercial licenses, and SLA provisions with uptime guarantees and service credits appear for enterprise-tier agreements. Whether you are launching a public developer platform or negotiating a private API integration with a single enterprise client, this tool produces a professional agreement that protects your intellectual property and sets clear expectations.
Key features include: dynamic license scope configuration, conditional SLA and payment sections, configurable rate limits and quotas, comprehensive prohibited use definitions, intellectual property ownership provisions for derivative works, and detailed termination and post-termination obligations including API key revocation and data retention policies.
An API License Agreement is a legal contract between an API provider and a licensee that defines the terms under which the licensee may access and use the provider's application programming interface. It covers license scope, rate limits, authentication, permitted uses, fees, intellectual property, data privacy, service levels, and termination procedures.
A comprehensive API License Agreement should include the license grant and scope, API access and authentication methods, rate limits and quotas, permitted and prohibited uses, fee structure and payment terms, intellectual property ownership, data privacy and security requirements, service level agreements, confidentiality obligations, limitation of liability, and termination provisions.
API Terms of Service are typically click-through agreements for standard API access, while an API License Agreement is a more formal contract for commercial, enterprise, or high-volume API relationships that require negotiated terms, custom SLAs, and specific compliance requirements.
While not legally required, an SLA is highly recommended for commercial API offerings. It sets expectations for uptime, response times, and remedies for service failures. Enterprise customers typically require SLAs with specific uptime guarantees and service credits.
Rate limits are structured across multiple time windows: per-minute limits for burst control, per-hour limits for sustained usage, and daily or monthly quotas for overall consumption. Enterprise agreements may also define concurrent connection limits and separate rate limits for different endpoint categories.
The API provider typically retains full ownership of the API, its documentation, and underlying algorithms. The licensee retains ownership of their own application code. Derivative works are addressed separately and should be clearly specified in the agreement to avoid disputes.