Before you sign
Read twice, sign once.
A clause finder for anything you paste in, and a checklist of what to look for first.
Find the clauses
Paste the terms, lease or offer letter. We’ll point out words that usually signal a clause from the decoder. What you paste stays in your browser. It isn’t sent anywhere or saved.
This looks for words, not meaning. It can miss a clause written another way, and flag a word used for something else. It isn’t legal advice.
What to look for first
- An arbitration clause and a class action waiver. Together they decide whether you can go to court, or join others with the same problem.
- How it renews, and how to cancel. The FTC says businesses have to tell you how to cancel before they take your card.
- An entire agreement clause. If a promise isn’t in the final document, it may not count, so get it written in.
- Promises to cover the other side’s losses: indemnify and hold harmless.
- Limits on what you can recover if something goes wrong: limitation of liability and as is.
- Whose law and which court: governing law and forum selection.
- For a job offer: at-will language, a noncompete, nonsolicitation and an NDA.
- For a loan: a confession of judgment, which some states ban or limit.
- Save a copy of what you signed or clicked, with the date.
Plain language is a standard
-
Plain language and the Plain Writing Act
The federal government's plain language guide describes plain language as content that's clear and easy to understand. It says the Plain Writing Act of 2010 requires content for the public to be written for its specific audience.
-
Plain doesn't mean dumbed down
Plain language isn't about dumbing things down. It means using language your audience understands, based on what they already know.
-
Digital.gov plain language guides
Federal guides on writing, designing, and testing content so people can understand it. This is where PlainLanguage.gov now points.
Cost: Public government resource.