We want ContractScanner to be genuinely useful, and that means being honest about its limits. Please read this before relying on any report.
This is not legal advice
ContractScanner.app is a software tool. It is not a law firm, and the people who run it are not acting as your lawyers. Nothing on this site, and nothing in a report, is legal advice. A report is general information about the text you provided, generated by an artificial-intelligence model, to help you understand a document and ask better questions.
Using ContractScanner does not create an attorney-client relationship, or any other professional-client relationship, between you and us.
The AI can be wrong
The analysis is produced by a large language model. Models of this kind are good at explaining text in plain language, but they can:
- miss a clause that matters;
- misread a clause, especially in scanned or badly formatted documents;
- overstate or understate a risk;
- describe a rule that applies in one country as if it applied everywhere;
- produce confident-sounding text that is simply incorrect.
Always read the report against the actual contract. Where the report quotes the document, check that the quote is really there and says what the report claims. Treat every finding as a question to investigate, not a conclusion.
Jurisdiction: what the report does and does not know
Contract law differs between countries, and within countries between states, provinces, and cities. A clause that is unenforceable in one place may be perfectly valid in another. Tenant rules, employment rules, consumer rules, and cooling-off periods vary widely.
You can tell ContractScanner which country and state the contract applies to, or it reads that from the governing-law clause and addresses in the text. It then quotes a specific law, limit or deadline only where we hold a verified rule for that place, and each such rule shows its source and the date we last checked it. For every other place and topic the report explains the general principle and tells you what to check locally. The verified rules cover a limited set of countries, states and contract types, chiefly the United States; they are not a complete statement of any law, laws change after we check them, and the detected jurisdiction can be wrong, for example when a contract names one state but you live in another. When a report says something "may not be enforceable", it means exactly that: it may be worth checking, and a local lawyer can tell you for sure.
Reports depend on what you give us
If the text you paste is incomplete, out of order, or missing attachments, schedules, or referenced policies, the report will be incomplete too. Free previews analyze only the first part of a long document. Redacted details (names, numbers, dates) can change the meaning of a clause, and the model cannot see what you removed.
Draft emails are templates
The negotiation email in a report is a starting point. Read it, change it, and make sure it says what you want in your own words before sending. We are not responsible for what you send or for how the other party responds.
When you should talk to a lawyer
Please speak to a licensed lawyer, or another qualified professional such as a tenants' union, a union representative, or a consumer-protection office, before you act if any of the following applies:
- The contract involves a large amount of money, a home, a business, or a long commitment.
- You are being dismissed, laid off, or asked to sign a settlement or release.
- You are being sued, threatened with legal action, or sent a demand letter.
- The contract involves immigration, health, custody, or anything with serious personal consequences.
- You still do not understand the document after reading the report.
- The report itself recommends a lawyer.
Many places have free or low-cost legal help: legal-aid offices, law-school clinics, bar-association referral lines, and tenant or worker advocacy groups. A short consultation often costs less than one bad clause.
No guarantees
We do not guarantee that a report is accurate, complete, or suitable for your situation, and we do not guarantee any outcome from using it. You are responsible for your own decisions. Our full terms, including limits on our liability, are in the Terms of Service.
Third-party content and links
Our guides may link to government sites, laws, and other resources. We try to keep links current, but we do not control those sites and are not responsible for their content. Laws change; check the date on anything you rely on.
Questions
If you are unsure whether ContractScanner is right for your situation, email support@contractscanner.app. We will tell you honestly, including when the answer is "see a lawyer".