Effective Date: March 19, 2026
Last Updated: March 19, 2026
These Terms of Service (“Terms”) are a legally binding agreement between you and Pastmaps LLC, a Delaware limited liability company operating in Seattle, Washington (“Pastmaps,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). They govern your access to and use of the Pastmaps website at pastmaps.com, our mobile applications, and all related services and products (collectively, the “Service”).
By accessing or using the Service, you agree to be bound by these Terms and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, do not use the Service. We may update these Terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we will notify you by posting the updated Terms on our website and updating the “Effective Date” above. Material changes become effective thirty (30) days after they are posted, except for changes addressing new features or legal requirements, which may be effective immediately. Your continued use of the Service after such changes constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.
You must be at least 18 years old to use the Service. By using the Service, you represent and warrant that you are at least 18 years of age and have the legal capacity to enter into these Terms. If you are using the Service on behalf of an organization, you represent that you have the authority to bind that organization to these Terms.
Certain features of the Service require you to create an account. You agree to provide accurate and complete registration information, keep your account credentials confidential, and promptly notify us at hello@pastmaps.com of any unauthorized access to your account. You are responsible for all activity that occurs under your account. We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms.
Pastmaps provides a digital platform for exploring historical maps of the United States. The Service includes interactive viewing of georeferenced historical maps overlaid on modern mapping layers, high-resolution map downloads for paid subscribers, physical map print sales fulfilled by third-party print partners, satellite imagery, LiDAR elevation data, and related research tools. We may add, modify, or discontinue features of the Service at any time without prior notice.
The Service provides access to historical maps and related content that reflect the language, attitudes, and conditions of the time periods in which they were created. Some historical maps may depict boundaries, place names, or land uses associated with racial segregation, discriminatory practices, displacement of indigenous peoples, or other aspects of history that may be disturbing or offensive by modern standards. Pastmaps presents these materials for their historical and educational value and does not endorse the views or practices they may reflect.
By using the Service, you acknowledge that you may encounter content that is emotionally or personally difficult. You may also discover unexpected or unwelcome facts about your family history, ancestors, property, or community. You expressly agree to assume all risks associated with your use of the Service and not to hold Pastmaps liable for any social, emotional, or personal consequences of discoveries you make using the Service.
This section is important. Please read it carefully.
The historical maps available through the Service are reproductions of original source documents obtained from public archives including the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the Library of Congress, and other government and institutional repositories. These maps were created by third parties, often decades or more than a century ago, and may contain errors, omissions, or inaccuracies that were present in the originals.
In addition, the process of georeferencing—aligning a historical map to modern geographic coordinates—introduces positional uncertainty. The geographic alignment of any map on the Service is approximate and should not be treated as spatially precise.
Pastmaps does not warrant or guarantee the accuracy, completeness, reliability, or currentness of any map, map data, boundary, geographic feature, or other content provided through the Service. The maps and data are provided strictly “as is.”
We understand that professionals in fields such as real estate, surveying, environmental science, legal research, genealogy, and engineering may find the Service useful as a supplementary reference tool. However, the Service is not a substitute for professional surveying, licensed engineering analysis, certified appraisals, legal boundary determinations, environmental assessments, or any other professional service. You should independently verify any information obtained through the Service before relying on it for any professional, legal, financial, regulatory, or commercial purpose.
Pastmaps expressly disclaims any liability arising from reliance on map data or content from the Service for professional, legal, regulatory, financial, or commercial decisions. Any such reliance is at your sole risk.
The Service is a valuable reference tool for both personal and professional use, including genealogy research, historical exploration, education, recreational discovery, and as a supplementary resource in professional work such as real estate research, environmental consulting, and legal investigation. We welcome and encourage these uses.
However, the Service should not be used as the sole or primary basis for decisions with legal, financial, or regulatory consequences without independent professional verification. Specifically, you shall not:
Use of the Service in violation of applicable law is also prohibited.
Pastmaps offers paid subscription plans that provide access to advanced features, including high-resolution map downloads, 3D map views, satellite and LiDAR layers, and an ad-free experience. Subscription plans and pricing are described on our pricing page and may be changed at any time. Changes to pricing will not affect active subscription periods.
Paid subscriptions automatically renew at the end of each billing cycle (weekly, monthly, or annually, depending on your plan) unless you cancel before the renewal date. You authorize us to charge the payment method on file for each renewal period. You may cancel your subscription at any time through your account settings.
Physical map prints are produced and shipped by third-party fulfillment partners on our behalf. While production and shipping timelines may vary, Pastmaps stands behind the quality of every print order. If you receive a print that is damaged, defective, or otherwise not as expected, contact us at hello@pastmaps.com and we will work to make it right.
We offer refunds on subscriptions and print purchases within 30 days of purchase or delivery, whichever is later. To request a refund, contact us at hello@pastmaps.com. Refund eligibility may be limited in cases of abuse or excessive refund requests.
All payments are processed by Stripe, Inc. (“Stripe”). By purchasing a subscription or print, you agree to Stripe’s terms of service. Pastmaps does not store your full credit card information.
Pastmaps owns all rights, title, and interest in the Service itself. This includes, without limitation: our software, website and application design, user interface and user experience; our search, discovery, indexing, and exploration tools; our interactive map display and overlay technology; our georeferencing processes and work product; our image processing, tiling, and file conversion pipelines; our integration and curation of data layers (including satellite imagery and LiDAR elevation data); our branding, logos, and trade dress; and all original content, documentation, and metadata we create. These elements are protected by copyright, trademark, trade secret, and other intellectual property laws. You may not copy, reproduce, modify, distribute, reverse-engineer, or create derivative works from any part of the Service without our prior written permission.
The Service contains maps, metadata, images, indexes, and other content provided to you by Pastmaps (“Pastmaps Content”). Pastmaps Content includes content that may be in the public domain or whose copyright has expired (“Public Domain Content”), content that remains under third-party copyright and is hosted with permission from the copyright holder, and original content created by Pastmaps. All Pastmaps Content may be used only in accordance with these Terms, including Pastmaps Content that is Public Domain Content.
While individual source maps may be in the public domain, the Pastmaps collection as a whole—including our selection, curation, organization, and arrangement of over 185,000 maps—constitutes an original compilation and is the proprietary work product of Pastmaps. Pastmaps also owns all indexes, metadata compilations, search indexes, and database structures that organize and make this collection accessible. These proprietary elements remain the property of Pastmaps even if you delete your account or cease using the Service.
Paid subscribers may download map files from the Service. By downloading any file, you are granted a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use that file for personal, non-commercial purposes, including personal research, education, genealogy, and private reference. This license continues even after your subscription ends, so long as the files were downloaded during an active subscription and you remain in compliance with these Terms.
For purposes of these Terms, “commercial use” means any use of Pastmaps Content in connection with a business or revenue-generating activity, including but not limited to: use in client-facing materials, presentations, or deliverables; inclusion in paid publications, reports, or products offered for sale; use in marketing, advertising, or promotional materials; incorporation into a competing service, database, or application; or any other context in which the primary purpose is generating revenue or advancing a commercial interest. Personal use by an individual who happens to be a professional does not by itself constitute commercial use, provided the Pastmaps Content is used for the individual’s own private research or reference and is not incorporated into a work product delivered to clients or customers.
Your use of Pastmaps Content, including downloaded files, is subject to the following:
Nothing in these Terms is intended to restrict your rights under applicable law with respect to public-domain materials. However, your access to Pastmaps’s processed versions, compilations, and indexes of those materials is provided under and subject to these Terms. Pastmaps reserves the right to offer additional licensing tiers, including commercial and institutional licenses, in the future. If you wish to use Pastmaps Content for commercial purposes, please contact us at hello@pastmaps.com.
In exchange for access to the Service, you agree not to:
We may in the future allow users to submit maps, annotations, comments, stories, images, or other content (“User Content”). If and when such features become available, the following will apply: by submitting User Content, you grant Pastmaps a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, and irrevocable license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, display, and distribute your User Content in connection with the Service. You represent that you own or have the necessary rights to submit User Content and that it does not violate any third-party rights or applicable laws. Pastmaps does not endorse, verify, or assume any responsibility for User Content, and is not liable for any User Content posted by you or any other user. If you share User Content publicly, other users may access and interact with it, and we are not required to remove User Content once it has been publicly shared. We reserve the right to review, screen, and remove any User Content at our sole discretion, including content that we believe violates these Terms or applicable law. Pastmaps owns any indexes, compilations, and derivative databases that include or are derived from User Content, and may continue to use them after your User Content is deleted.
The Service integrates with and relies on third-party services, including Stripe (payment processing), Google (analytics, advertising, and authentication), Apple (authentication), Cloudflare (content delivery and security), and Statsig (feature management). We also use third-party partners for print fulfillment. Your use of any third-party service is subject to that service’s own terms and privacy policy. Pastmaps is not responsible for the availability, accuracy, or practices of any third-party service. The Service may contain links to third-party websites; such links do not constitute sponsorship, endorsement, or approval by Pastmaps.
Your use of the Service is also governed by our Privacy Policy, which describes how we collect, use, and share your personal information. By using the Service, you consent to the practices described in our Privacy Policy.
The Service, including all maps, map data, content, software, and features, is provided “as is” and “as available” without warranties of any kind, whether express, implied, statutory, or otherwise. To the fullest extent permitted by law, Pastmaps disclaims all warranties, including implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, non-infringement, and accuracy.
Pastmaps does not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, secure, or free of viruses or other harmful components; that any map or data will be accurate, complete, or current; that georeferenced map positions will be spatially precise; or that the Service will meet your requirements or expectations.
To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Pastmaps, its officers, directors, members, employees, and agents shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, including without limitation damages for loss of profits, revenue, goodwill, data, or business interruption, arising out of or related to your use of or inability to use the Service, regardless of the theory of liability (contract, tort, strict liability, or otherwise), even if Pastmaps has been advised of the possibility of such damages.
To the maximum extent permitted by law, Pastmaps’s total aggregate liability for all claims arising out of or related to these Terms or the Service shall not exceed the greater of (a) the amounts you paid to Pastmaps in the twelve (12) months preceding the event giving rise to liability, or (b) one hundred dollars ($100 USD).
You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Pastmaps LLC and its members, officers, employees, and agents from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or related to: (a) your use of the Service; (b) your violation of these Terms; (c) your violation of any law or regulation; (d) your violation of any third-party right, including intellectual property or privacy rights; or (e) any claim that your use of map data or content from the Service caused damage to a third party. This indemnification obligation will continue after you stop using the Service.
Pastmaps respects the intellectual property rights of others. If you believe that any content on the Service infringes your copyright, you may submit a takedown notice in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) by providing the following information in writing to our designated agent:
Takedown notices should be sent to hello@pastmaps.com with the subject line “DMCA Takedown Notice.” We will respond to valid notices in accordance with applicable law and may remove or disable access to the allegedly infringing content. Repeat infringers may have their access to the Service terminated.
Please read this section carefully. It affects your legal rights, including your right to file a lawsuit in court.
If a dispute arises between you and Pastmaps, our goal is to provide a cost-effective means of quickly resolving it. If you have any concern or dispute about the Service, you agree to first try to resolve the dispute informally by contacting us.
These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Washington, without regard to its conflict-of-law principles.
You and Pastmaps agree that these Terms affect interstate commerce and that the Federal Arbitration Act (9 U.S.C. § 1 et seq.) governs the interpretation and enforcement of the arbitration provisions in this section. The Federal Arbitration Act, and not state law, shall apply to any question of whether a dispute is subject to arbitration.
Before initiating arbitration, the party seeking arbitration must first notify the other party of the dispute in writing at least sixty (60) days in advance. Any applicable limitations period (statute of limitations) shall be tolled during this 60-day period. Notice to Pastmaps should be sent to hello@pastmaps.com. Notice to you will be sent to the email address associated with your account. The notice must include enough information to identify your account, a description of the claim, the specific supporting facts, the damages sought, and the relief requested. Neither party may initiate arbitration unless this notice has been provided and sixty (60) days have elapsed without resolution.
You and Pastmaps agree that any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service (“Dispute”) that is not resolved through the pre-arbitration process described above will be resolved by binding individual arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules, rather than in court. There is no judge or jury in arbitration, and court review of an arbitration award is limited. An arbitrator can award the same damages and relief as a court. The arbitrator, and not any federal, state, or local court or agency, shall have exclusive authority to resolve all disputes arising out of or relating to the interpretation, applicability, enforceability, or formation of these Terms, including any claim that all or part of these Terms is void or voidable.
You will be required to pay the filing fee required under the then-applicable AAA rules to initiate an arbitration. If the arbitrator finds the arbitration to be non-frivolous, Pastmaps will pay all other fees invoiced by AAA, including arbitrator and hearing expenses. You are responsible for your own attorneys’ fees unless applicable law provides otherwise.
If twenty-five (25) or more individuals initiate notices of dispute raising similar claims against Pastmaps, and counsel for the individuals is the same or coordinated, the following procedures apply:
In the first phase, ten (10) arbitrations shall proceed individually before separate arbitrators (the “bellwether proceedings”). Pastmaps and counsel for the claimants shall each select five (5) cases to proceed. The claims of all other individuals shall not be filed until these bellwether proceedings are completed and a global mediation has occurred.
After final written awards have been rendered in the bellwether proceedings, all parties shall participate in a global mediation with a mutually selected mediator. Pastmaps shall pay the mediation fee. The parties shall have ninety (90) days to complete the mediation unless mutually extended.
If the mediation does not resolve all remaining claims, each remaining claimant may choose to proceed in individual arbitration or, if Pastmaps elects to proceed in court, in a court of competent jurisdiction in King County, Washington. Any applicable limitations period shall be tolled from the date of the initial notice of dispute until the completion of the bellwether proceedings and mediation.
You and Pastmaps agree that each party may bring disputes against the other only in an individual capacity, and not as a plaintiff or class member in any class, consolidated, or representative proceeding. The arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person’s claims and may not otherwise preside over any form of a class or representative proceeding. If any court or arbitrator determines that this class action waiver is void or unenforceable, then the arbitration provisions shall be deemed null and void in their entirety and the parties shall be deemed to have not agreed to arbitrate disputes, and any such disputes must be litigated in the state or federal courts located in King County, Washington.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, either party may bring an individual action in small claims court in King County, Washington, if the claim qualifies.
You may opt out of this arbitration agreement by sending written notice to hello@pastmaps.com within thirty (30) days of first accepting these Terms. If you opt out, you and Pastmaps agree to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in King County, Washington.
Pastmaps will provide thirty (30) days’ notice of any changes affecting the substance of this Dispute Resolution, Arbitration, and Class Action Waiver section by posting notice on the Service or sending you an email. Changes to this section will apply prospectively only to claims arising after the thirtieth (30th) day following the notice. If a court or arbitrator determines that this subsection is not enforceable, it shall be severed and the court or arbitrator shall apply the earliest version of this section that was in effect after you began using the Service.
This Dispute Resolution, Arbitration, and Class Action Waiver section shall survive any termination of your account or the Service.
We may suspend or terminate your access to the Service at any time, with or without cause, and with or without notice. If we terminate your access due to your breach of these Terms, we are not obligated to provide a refund.
Upon termination or cancellation, your right to access and use the Service ceases immediately, including your ability to download additional files, access premium features, or interact with the platform. However, files that were lawfully downloaded during an active paid subscription may continue to be used in accordance with the personal, non-commercial license described in Section 9, provided you remain in compliance with these Terms.
Sections of these Terms that by their nature should survive termination will survive, including Sections 5, 6, 7, 9, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, and 20.
Entire Agreement. These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and Pastmaps regarding the Service and supersede all prior agreements.
Severability. If any provision of these Terms is held invalid or unenforceable, that provision will be enforced to the maximum extent permissible, and the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect.
Waiver. Our failure to enforce any provision of these Terms does not constitute a waiver of that provision.
Assignment. You may not assign or transfer these Terms or your rights under them without our prior written consent. We may assign these Terms in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, and you agree that in such event we may share your personal information with the acquiring entity.
Force Majeure. Pastmaps is not liable for any failure or delay in performing its obligations due to events beyond its reasonable control, including natural disasters, war, terrorism, pandemics, government actions, or failures of third-party services.
Notices. We may provide notices to you via email to the address associated with your account or by posting on the Service. You may provide notices to us at hello@pastmaps.com.
If you have questions about these Terms, please contact us:
Pastmaps LLC
hello@pastmaps.com
pastmaps.com
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