BeneVets Terms of Service

Effective Date: July 4, 2026 Last Updated: July 4, 2026

§ 1. Recitals

In plain English: BeneVets is a California nonprofit that runs a free website to help veterans and the people they trust find and use VA, federal, state, and nonprofit benefits. These Terms are the contract between you and BeneVets when you use that website.

BeneVets, Inc. ("BeneVets," "we," "our," or "us") is a California Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation organized under California Corporations Code section 5110 et seq. (Cal. Corp. Code § 5110 et seq. (West 2024)), with its principal office in Riverside County, California at 1441 Pomona Road, Suite 20, Corona, CA 92882. BeneVets is recognized as a tax-exempt public charity under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3)).

BeneVets operates the website located at https://www.benevets.org and the web application and ancillary digital surfaces accessible through it (collectively, the "Service"). The Service helps United States military veterans, their spouses, their adult dependents, and persons each veteran authorizes navigate benefits administered by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs ("VA") and related federal, state, and nonprofit programs.

Non-affiliation with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. BeneVets is not the VA, is not part of the VA, is not affiliated with the VA, and is not endorsed by the VA or by any other agency or instrumentality of the United States government. References to VA forms, regulations, and programs are descriptive only.

Donor-deductibility notice. Contributions to BeneVets, Inc. are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law under 26 U.S.C. § 170. BeneVets is registered with the California Attorney General's Registry of Charitable Trusts. A copy of the official registration and financial information may be obtained from the California Attorney General's Registry of Charitable Trusts at https://oag.ca.gov/charities or by writing to the office at P.O. Box 903447, Sacramento, CA 94203-4470. Registration does not imply endorsement. To the extent any solicitation is governed by section 6113 of the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 6113), contributions or gifts to BeneVets may be deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes.

This agreement (these "Terms") governs your access to and use of the Service.

§ 2. Acceptance and Changes

In plain English: When you create an account or use the Service, you agree to these Terms. If we change them, we will tell you, and continued use means you accept the change.

§ 2.1 Acceptance. By accessing or using the Service, by creating an account, or by clicking a checkbox or button that says you accept these Terms, you enter into a binding agreement with BeneVets on the terms set out in this document. If you do not accept these Terms, you must not access or use the Service.

§ 2.2 Capacity to contract. You represent that you have the legal capacity to enter into a binding contract under the law of the jurisdiction in which you reside.

§ 2.3 Changes to these Terms. BeneVets may modify these Terms. If a modification is material, BeneVets will provide at least thirty (30) days' advance notice to registered users by email to the address on file and by an in-Service notice. Non-material modifications (for example, clarifications, typographical corrections, or updates to cross-references) take effect on posting. The "Last Updated" date at the top of these Terms reflects the most recent change. Your continued use of the Service after the effective date of a change constitutes your acceptance of that change. If you do not accept a change, you must stop using the Service and may terminate your account under section 24 (Termination).

§ 2.4 Order of precedence. If a conflict exists between these Terms and a document cross-referenced from these Terms, these Terms control unless the cross-referenced document expressly states otherwise. The Helper Terms and the Pro Se Filing Attestation are exceptions: where they govern the conduct they specifically address, they control.

§ 3. Defined Terms

In plain English: This section defines the words we use a lot. Capitalized words later in this document have the meanings given here.

For purposes of these Terms, the following capitalized terms have the meanings set forth below. Other capitalized terms are defined where they first appear.

1. "Account" means the registered profile a User creates within the Service.
2. "Accredited Representative" or "VSO Rep" means a person accredited to prepare, present, and prosecute claims before VA under 38 C.F.R. § 14.629.
3. "BeneVets" has the meaning given in section 1.
4. "Content" means text, files, images, identifiers, attestations, and other information a User submits into the Service.
5. "Crisis Resources" has the meaning given in section 13.
6. "Helper" means a person to whom a User grants access to the User's Account through the Service's account-linking feature, as further described in the Helper Terms.
7. "Personal Information," "Sensitive Personal Information," "Sale," "Share," "Service Provider," and "Third Party" have the meanings given in California Civil Code section 1798.140 (Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.140 (West 2024)).
8. "Pro Se" means acting on one's own behalf, without representation, with respect to a claim before VA.
9. "Service" has the meaning given in section 1.
10. "Terms" means this document.
11. "Third-Party Service" means a service operated by a person other than BeneVets that a User interacts with through, or as a result of using, the Service.
12. "User," "you," or "your" means a natural person who accesses or uses the Service.
13. "VA" means the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Defined terms used in cross-referenced documents have the meanings given in those documents unless otherwise noted.

§ 4. Eligibility

In plain English: You must be 18 or older to use the Service. The Service is built for people in the United States. Anyone under 13 should not use the Service at all, and we do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 13.

§ 4.1 Age threshold. Access to and use of the Service is restricted to natural persons who are at least eighteen (18) years of age.

§ 4.2 Jurisdictional scope. The Service is directed to persons located in the United States, including the fifty states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Army Post Office (APO), Fleet Post Office (FPO), and Diplomatic Post Office (DPO) addresses. The Service is not directed to, and BeneVets does not target, persons located in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, Canada, Mexico, or any other foreign jurisdiction. If you access the Service from a jurisdiction to which it is not directed, you do so on your own initiative and you are responsible for compliance with local law.

§ 4.3 No minors under thirteen. The Service is not directed to children under thirteen (13) years of age, and BeneVets does not knowingly collect Personal Information from children under thirteen (13). If BeneVets learns that it has collected Personal Information from a child under thirteen, BeneVets will delete that information consistent with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (15 U.S.C. §§ 6501 to 6506) and its implementing regulation at 16 C.F.R. part 312. See the Children's Online Privacy Notice for the contact channel to report a suspected collection.

§ 4.4 Minor dependents identified by a User. A User may identify the existence of a minor dependent for the limited purpose of describing the User's household structure for benefit-eligibility-match purposes. Only a non-identifying relationship label (for example, "dependent child") may be entered. A User must not enter a minor's name, date of birth, contact information, identification number, photograph, or other identifier into the Service.

§ 4.5 No prior bar. You represent that you are not a person who is barred from receiving the Service under the laws of the United States or of the state in which you reside, and that your Account has not previously been terminated for cause.

§ 4.6 No representation about benefits. Use of the Service does not entitle a User to a VA benefit. Whether a benefit is awarded depends on VA's determination under applicable law.

§ 5. Account Registration and Security

In plain English: You can use some of the Service without signing up, but most of it requires an account. Keep your password and other login factors safe. If something goes wrong with your account, tell us.

§ 5.1 Account creation. To use the features of the Service that require authentication, a User creates an Account by providing the registration information requested by the Service. The User agrees to provide information that is accurate, current, and complete, and to keep it current.

§ 5.2 Identity federation. A User may choose to register or authenticate using Google identity federation. By doing so, the User authorizes BeneVets to receive from Google the identifiers and attributes described in the Privacy Policy. BeneVets does not control Google's collection or processing of information and is not responsible for Google's privacy practices.

§ 5.3 Account credentials. A User is responsible for safeguarding the credentials associated with the Account, including any password, one-time passcode, recovery code, or hardware security key. A User must not share Account credentials with any other person, including with a Helper. (A Helper accesses a User's Account using the Helper's own credentials through the account-linking flow, not by sharing the User's credentials.)

§ 5.4 Activity on the Account. A User is responsible for activity that occurs on or through the Account that is attributable to the User or to a person to whom the User has provided access.

§ 5.5 Notice of compromise. A User must promptly notify BeneVets if the User believes the Account has been accessed without authorization or that any credential associated with the Account has been compromised. Notice may be given through the channel described in section 30.

§ 5.6 One Account per person. Unless BeneVets expressly authorizes otherwise in writing, a natural person may maintain only one Account.

§ 6. Authentication and Multi-Factor Authentication

In plain English: You sign in with your email and password, or with Google. We let you turn on a second factor, and we recommend you do.

§ 6.1 Authentication factors. The Service supports email-and-password authentication and identity federation through Google. The Service supports optional multi-factor authentication using a Time-based One-Time Password ("TOTP") application that complies with Internet Engineering Task Force Request for Comments 6238 (RFC 6238).

§ 6.2 Recommendation. BeneVets recommends that every User enable multi-factor authentication. BeneVets may, on notice, require multi-factor authentication for the entire User base or for a category of Users where reasonably necessary to protect the Service or the information in it.

§ 6.3 Recovery codes. Where the Service provides recovery codes, a User is responsible for storing them in a manner that prevents access by an unauthorized person.

§ 6.4 Step-up authentication. The Service may require a User to re-authenticate, to satisfy a higher assurance factor, or to satisfy a contemporaneous attestation before performing a sensitive operation. Sensitive operations include, without limitation, changes to authentication factors, additions or revocations of a Helper, and pro se form transmission to VA.

§ 7. Acceptable Use

In plain English: Don't break the law, don't attack the Service, and don't use the Service to hurt other people. The full rules are in the Acceptable Use Policy, which is part of these Terms.

A User's use of the Service is subject to the Acceptable Use Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms by reference. The Acceptable Use Policy describes prohibited conduct, including unauthorized access attempts, scraping, automated querying beyond posted limits, transmission of malicious code, and use of the Service to harass, defraud, or impersonate another person.

A material breach of the Acceptable Use Policy is a material breach of these Terms and a basis for suspension or termination under section 24.

§ 8. User Content and User Data

In plain English: The Service does not have comments, reviews, posts, or other public sharing. The information you put into your own profile is yours. We use it only to operate the Service for you, as described in the Privacy Policy.

§ 8.1 No user-generated content surfaces at v1. The Service does not provide comment threads, public reviews of partners, forums, public profiles, or peer-to-peer messaging. BeneVets may add a moderated content surface in a future release. Any such surface will be governed by an updated Acceptable Use Policy and content moderation rules, and any changes to these Terms required by the addition will be communicated under section 2.3.

§ 8.2 Content the User submits to the Account. A User's profile information, uploaded documents (including a Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, DD Form 214), symptom logs, attestations, and similar Content submitted into the Account belong to the User. BeneVets does not claim ownership of that Content.

§ 8.3 Use limited to operating the Service. BeneVets processes Content the User submits to the Account only to provide and operate the Service for the User, to comply with law, to detect and prevent abuse, and as further described in the Privacy Policy. BeneVets does not Sell or Share (as those terms are defined in Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.140) Personal Information that a User submits to the Account.

§ 8.4 No training of generative models on User Personal Information. BeneVets does not train generative artificial intelligence models on Personal Information a User submits to the Account, and BeneVets requires its large language model service provider to contractually agree, by data processing agreement, not to use any input or output derived from the Service to train provider models.

§ 8.5 Accuracy and lawful authority. A User represents that the User has the right to submit the Content the User submits and that the Content does not, to the User's knowledge, infringe, misappropriate, or violate the rights of any other person.

§ 9. Helpers and Account Linking

In plain English: You can let another person see and use parts of your Account: your spouse, your adult child, a caregiver, or an accredited VSO representative. You stay in control. You can take that access away. The detailed rules are in the Helper Terms.

A User may grant a Helper access to the User's Account through the account-linking feature. The categories of permitted Helpers, the scope of access each category may receive, the technical safeguards applied, the audit-log obligations, the revocation mechanisms, and the additional terms that govern a Helper's use of the Service are set out in the Helper Terms, which are incorporated into these Terms by reference.

A Helper who is an Accredited Representative must satisfy two additional conditions before receiving access on behalf of a particular User: (i) BeneVets must match the Helper against the VA Office of General Counsel accreditation roster published under 38 C.F.R. § 14.629, and (ii) the User must have a properly executed VA Form 21-22 (Appointment of Veterans Service Organization as Claimant's Representative) on file with VA designating that representative.

A User may revoke a Helper's access at any time through the Account. Revocation takes effect immediately within the Service and does not, on its own, revoke any VA Form 21-22 the User has executed; revocation of a VA Form 21-22 is accomplished through VA's own procedures.

§ 10. Pro Se VA Form Submission and Non-Representation

In plain English: When you use the Service to prepare and send a VA form to VA, you are filing pro se. That means you are acting on your own. BeneVets is not your representative, is not your lawyer, and is not your accredited VSO. Federal law (38 C.F.R. § 14.626) controls who can represent you. BeneVets does not.

§ 10.1 Filing capacity. When a User uses the Service to prepare a VA form and transmit it to VA through the VA Lighthouse Benefits Intake API or any successor channel, the User does so pro se: on the User's own behalf and acting without representation.

§ 10.2 BeneVets is not your representative. BeneVets is not your representative before VA. BeneVets is not accredited under 38 C.F.R. § 14.629 to prepare, present, or prosecute claims before VA. BeneVets does not provide legal advice. Nothing in the Service is a substitute for advice from a licensed attorney, an Accredited Representative, or a Veterans Service Organization. Federal regulations at 38 C.F.R. § 14.626 et seq. control representation before VA, and BeneVets does not hold itself out as authorized under those regulations.

§ 10.3 Contemporaneous attestation required. Before each transmission of a VA form through the Service, the User must complete a server-locked, contemporaneous attestation that the User is filing pro se. The attestation appears in the Pro Se Filing Attestation, which is incorporated into these Terms by reference. A transmission cannot be completed without the attestation.

§ 10.4 No fee for representation. BeneVets does not charge any fee for VA representation, because BeneVets does not provide VA representation. The Service is offered free of charge to Users.

§ 10.5 No reliance on Service for legal advice. Information presented through the Service describes laws, regulations, and benefit programs in summary form. It is not legal advice, is not tailored to a User's situation, and is not a substitute for advice from a person authorized to provide it.

§ 11. Crisis-Keyword Automated Decisioning Summary

In plain English: Some of what you type into the Service is automatically scanned for words that suggest a mental-health crisis. If we see those words, the Service shows you crisis resources, including 988. The scan makes a guess about how you are doing. California treats that guess as Sensitive Personal Information, and you can turn the scan off in your profile. The full rules are in the Automated Decision-Making and AI Notice.

The Service performs an automated scan of Content the User enters into specified input surfaces for keywords associated with potential mental-health crisis. Where the scanner detects a keyword, the Service presents the User with the Crisis Resources described in section 13 and may, where the operative surface supports it, route the User to a supportive-resources page.

The scanner produces an inference about the User's mental-health status. That inference is Sensitive Personal Information under California Civil Code section 1798.140(ae)(1)(B) (Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.140(ae)(1)(B) (West 2024)) and consumer health data under the Washington My Health My Data Act, Washington Revised Code section 19.373 et seq. (Wash. Rev. Code § 19.373 et seq. (2024)). A User has the right to limit the use and disclosure of Sensitive Personal Information under California Civil Code section 1798.121 (Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.121), and the Service exposes that limitation through a Profile setting.

The complete description of the scanner, its inputs, its outputs, its retention, the human-review posture, the User's rights, and the User's contestation channel appears in the Automated Decision-Making and AI Notice, which is incorporated into these Terms by reference.

§ 12. Crisis Resources Reference

In plain English: If you are in crisis, please reach out now. The Veterans Crisis Line is free, confidential, and open 24/7.

The Veterans Crisis Line is a free, confidential service of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week:

• Call: 988, then press 1
• Text: 838255
• Chat: https://www.veteranscrisisline.net/get-help-now/chat/
• TTY: Dial 711, then 988

BeneVets does not operate the Veterans Crisis Line. Additional resources, including the VA Homeless Veterans Hotline (1-877-424-3838), the Women Veterans Call Center (1-855-829-6636), the VA Caregiver Support Line (1-855-260-3274), and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration National Helpline (1-800-662-HELP (4357)), are available.

§ 13. Large Language Model Content Disclaimer

In plain English: Some descriptions of benefits in the Service are first drafted by an AI model from the official sources, and then reviewed by staff. The AI can be wrong. Always check the linked official source, especially before you make a decision.

A portion of the descriptive content presented through the Service is generated by a large language model from primary regulatory sources, and is reviewed by BeneVets staff prior to publication. Each generated benefit description includes a link to the primary regulatory source. Generated content can contain errors, omissions, or outdated information. A User should consult the linked primary source before relying on a description to make a decision and should consult a person authorized to provide legal or benefits advice for advice specific to the User's situation.

BeneVets does not warrant that generated content is accurate, complete, or current. The disclaimers in section 21 and the limitation of liability in section 22 apply to generated content as they do to all other content.

§ 14. Sponsored Partner Placement and Firewall

In plain English: Some cards or listings in the Service are paid placements: a partner pays BeneVets to be shown. Those cards always say so. We never accept paid placement from any organization that has charged a veteran a fee for representation on a first-time VA claim. The full rules are on the Sponsorship Policy page.

§ 14.1 Disclosure. A card, listing, tile, or comparable surface that contains paid placement is labeled, persistently and on the surface itself, in plain text: "Paid placement. This partner pays BeneVets, Inc. for promotion." The label is announced to assistive technology and is not hover-only.

§ 14.2 Permitted categories. Paid placement is permitted only for partners that offer non-representation services adjacent to veterans' benefits, including financial services, employment, education, supplies, and healthcare-information products.

§ 14.3 Forbidden categories. Paid placement is forbidden for any partner that charges or has charged any veteran a fee for VA representation on an initial claim at the Agency of Original Jurisdiction level, in violation of 38 C.F.R. § 14.636.

§ 14.4 Firewall. BeneVets maintains a firewall between sponsorship and benefit-content editorial decisions. The firewall, the ranking methodology, the ineligible categories, the enforcement process, and the complaint channel are published at the /sponsorship-policy page.

§ 15. Communications

In plain English: Three kinds of email may come from BeneVets. One is account-and-service email; you get it because you have an account. One is the newsletter; you choose to receive it. One is donor email; donors choose to receive it. We are not sending text messages right now. If we ever do, we will ask first.

§ 15.1 Transactional email (baseline). As an essential element of operating the Account, BeneVets sends transactional email to a User regarding account verification, password reset, multi-factor authentication, link state changes, Intent-to-File expiry under 38 C.F.R. § 3.155, form-related notices, privacy-request confirmations, and security incidents. These messages have a primary purpose described in 16 C.F.R. § 316.3(a)(2) and are transactional and relationship messages under the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 (15 U.S.C. § 7702(17)). A User cannot opt out of transactional email while maintaining an active Account; a User who wishes not to receive transactional email must terminate the Account.

§ 15.2 Newsletter (opt-in). The newsletter is a separate, optional email program. A User opts in through a post-registration toggle within the Account and separately confirms the intent to subscribe. Each newsletter email contains one-click unsubscribe headers (RFC 8058), a one-click unsubscribe link, BeneVets's postal address as required by 15 U.S.C. § 7704(a)(5)(A)(iii), and an identification of the message as advertising as required by 15 U.S.C. § 7704(a)(5)(A)(i).

§ 15.3 Donor email program (separate stream). Donors who provide their email address through a donation channel may receive donor communications. The donor email program is separate from the newsletter, uses separate consent capture, uses a separate unsubscribe mechanism, and may use a separate sender domain. Subscription to the newsletter does not subscribe a User to the donor email program, and vice versa.

§ 15.4 SMS reserved, not active. BeneVets reserves the right to add Short Message Service ("SMS") communications. SMS is not active at this time. BeneVets will not transmit SMS to a User without first obtaining prior express written consent that satisfies 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(f)(9), and will provide STOP, HELP, and INFO response handling consistent with cellular industry guidelines.

§ 15.5 Push notifications. Push notifications are not offered at this time.

§ 16. Privacy

In plain English: Our Privacy Policy explains what we collect, why, who handles it, and your privacy rights. It is part of these Terms.

The collection, use, disclosure, retention, and protection of Personal Information in connection with the Service is governed by the Privacy Policy, the Cookie Notice, the Sub-processor List, the Data Retention Schedule, the Automated Decision-Making and AI Notice, and the Children's Online Privacy Notice. Each of those documents is incorporated into these Terms by reference.

§ 17. Intellectual Property

In plain English: The Service itself, its design, code, and brand, belong to BeneVets. The information you enter into your profile belongs to you. You let us use what you give us only to run the Service for you.

§ 17.1 BeneVets's intellectual property. The Service, including its source code, object code, design, copy, graphics, logos, trademarks, service marks, trade dress, the selection and arrangement of content, the underlying databases (other than the User's own Content), and the BeneVets name and word mark, is owned by BeneVets or its licensors and is protected by United States and international intellectual property law. No right or license is granted to a User other than the limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable right to access and use the Service in accordance with these Terms.

§ 17.2 User license to BeneVets, narrow and limited. A User retains all right, title, and interest in Content the User submits to the Account. The User grants BeneVets a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive, non-sublicensable (except to BeneVets's Service Providers acting on BeneVets's behalf) license to host, store, copy, transmit, display, format, index, and process that Content solely as reasonably necessary to provide and operate the Service for the User, to perform back-end functions such as backup and disaster recovery, to comply with law, and to detect and prevent abuse. The license terminates when the Content is deleted from the Service, subject to retention required by law or by the Data Retention Schedule.

§ 17.3 Feedback. If a User voluntarily submits suggestions, ideas, or feedback about the Service, the User grants BeneVets a perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free license to use that feedback to improve the Service. The User is not obligated to submit feedback and may withhold it.

§ 17.4 Trademark notice. "BeneVets" and the BeneVets logo are trademarks of BeneVets, Inc. Other names and marks referenced in the Service are the property of their respective owners. Reference to a third-party mark does not imply affiliation, sponsorship, or endorsement.

§ 18. DMCA and Copyright

In plain English: If you think something in the Service infringes a copyright you own, send a notice through the channel in the DMCA Policy.

BeneVets responds to notices of claimed copyright infringement under 17 U.S.C. § 512. The procedure for submitting a notice, the requirements for a sufficient notice, the procedure for submitting a counter-notice, the address of BeneVets's designated agent, and BeneVets's repeat-infringer policy are set out in the DMCA / Copyright Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms by reference.

§ 19. Accessibility

In plain English: We work to make the Service usable by people with disabilities. If something is not working for you, please tell us so we can fix it.

BeneVets is committed to designing, building, and operating the Service in a manner usable by people with disabilities. BeneVets's current conformance posture, the standards BeneVets targets, the known limitations, the alternative channels available where a Service feature is not yet accessible, and the User-feedback channel are set out in the Accessibility Statement, which is incorporated into these Terms by reference. Authorities considered in formulating the Accessibility Statement include Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. §§ 12181 to 12189) as applied to web services in Robles v. Domino's Pizza, LLC, 913 F.3d 898 (9th Cir. 2019), section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. § 794d), and the California Unruh Civil Rights Act (Cal. Civ. Code § 51).

§ 20. Third-Party Services and Links

In plain English: The Service connects you to other services run by other organizations, like VA's own systems and Google sign-in. We are not responsible for those services.

The Service contains links to, and integrations with, Third-Party Services, including VA Lighthouse APIs, Google identity federation, and third-party benefit administrators. BeneVets is not responsible for a Third-Party Service. A User's use of a Third-Party Service is governed by the terms and the privacy policies of that Third-Party Service. BeneVets does not endorse a Third-Party Service except where expressly stated.

§ 21. Disclaimers

In plain English: We try hard to make the Service useful and accurate, but we cannot promise it will always work, will be right, or will fit your situation. The Service is provided "as is" and "as available." California law preserves certain consumer protections that no contract can take away.

§ 21.1 "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE." EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN SECTION 21.3, THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS," "AS AVAILABLE," AND "WITH ALL FAULTS." BENEVETS, ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, VOLUNTEERS, AGENTS, AND SERVICE PROVIDERS DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, INCLUDING THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, TITLE, ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, AND QUIET ENJOYMENT, AND ANY WARRANTY ARISING FROM COURSE OF DEALING, COURSE OF PERFORMANCE, OR USAGE OF TRADE.

§ 21.2 No specific outcome warranty. BeneVets does not warrant that use of the Service will result in the award of a VA benefit, the grant of a particular disability rating, the approval of a particular form, or any specific outcome with respect to a VA matter. VA benefit outcomes are determined by VA under applicable law.

§ 21.3 California consumer-warranty carve-outs. Nothing in these Terms is intended to disclaim a warranty or a remedy that cannot be disclaimed under the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, California Civil Code section 1790 et seq. (Cal. Civ. Code § 1790 et seq. (West 2024)), or under any other consumer-protection statute that prohibits its waiver. The disclaimers in this section apply only to the extent permitted by applicable law.

§ 21.4 Telemetry and availability. BeneVets does not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, free of harmful code, secure against every attack, or available at any particular time. BeneVets may modify, suspend, or discontinue the Service or a feature of it at any time, with reasonable notice to registered Users where practicable.

§ 21.5 Information accuracy. BeneVets does not warrant the accuracy, completeness, currency, or fitness for a particular purpose of any benefit description, summary, calculation, eligibility-threshold display, or other informational output of the Service.

§ 22. Limitation of Liability

In plain English: If something goes wrong and BeneVets owes you money, that amount is capped at $100. The cap does not apply if the law says it cannot, for example if BeneVets acts with gross negligence, commits fraud, or causes injury or death by its own conduct. California's Civil Code section 1668 protects you from waivers that the law does not allow.

§ 22.1 Exclusion of certain damages. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW AND SUBJECT TO SECTION 22.3, BENEVETS, ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, VOLUNTEERS, AGENTS, AND SERVICE PROVIDERS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR LOST PROFITS, LOST REVENUE, LOST GOODWILL, LOSS OF DATA, LOSS OF USE, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, OR LOSS OF BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICE, REGARDLESS OF THE THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER OR NOT BENEVETS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF THOSE DAMAGES, AND EVEN IF A LIMITED REMEDY HEREIN FAILS OF ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE.

§ 22.2 Aggregate cap. SUBJECT TO SECTION 22.3, THE AGGREGATE LIABILITY OF BENEVETS, ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, VOLUNTEERS, AGENTS, AND SERVICE PROVIDERS UNDER OR RELATED TO THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICE SHALL NOT EXCEED ONE HUNDRED UNITED STATES DOLLARS (USD $100.00).

§ 22.3 California Civil Code section 1668 carve-outs. Sections 22.1 and 22.2 do not apply to, and do not limit liability for: (a) gross negligence; (b) willful misconduct; (c) fraud, fraudulent misrepresentation, or fraudulent concealment; (d) liability for one's own willful injury to the person or property of another; (e) liability for violation of law, whether willful or negligent; and (f) any other category of liability that cannot, under applicable law, be limited or excluded. California Civil Code section 1668 (Cal. Civ. Code § 1668 (West 2024)) provides that "[a]ll contracts which have for their object, directly or indirectly, to exempt anyone from responsibility for his own fraud, or willful injury to the person or property of another, or violation of law, whether willful or negligent, are against the policy of the law." This section is given effect consistent with that statute.

§ 22.4 Free Service consideration acknowledged. The Service is offered free of charge to Users. The limitations in this section reflect the allocation of risk between the parties and are an essential basis of the bargain. The cap and the carve-outs apply even where the User has paid no monetary consideration for use of the Service.

§ 22.5 Each party's rights preserved. Nothing in this section limits a User's statutory rights under federal or state law, including the right to file a complaint with a government agency, the right to seek injunctive relief, or the right to participate in a class action (which is not waived under these Terms; see section 29).

§ 23. Indemnification

In plain English: If you break these Terms in a way that drags BeneVets into a lawsuit, you cover BeneVets's costs for that. If a third party sues you because the Service itself infringes their intellectual property, BeneVets covers your costs for that. Both sides are narrow.

§ 23.1 By the User. A User shall defend, indemnify, and hold harmless BeneVets, its directors, officers, employees, volunteers, agents, and Service Providers from and against a third-party claim, demand, suit, or proceeding, and the damages, liabilities, settlements, and reasonable attorneys' fees finally awarded or agreed in settlement, to the extent arising out of: (a) Content the User submits to the Service, including a claim that the Content infringes, misappropriates, or violates a third party's intellectual property, privacy, publicity, or other right; (b) the User's breach of these Terms or of the Acceptable Use Policy; or (c) the User's misuse of the Service, including misuse by a person to whom the User has provided access. The User's indemnification obligation does not extend to a matter for which BeneVets indemnifies the User under section 23.2.

§ 23.2 By BeneVets. BeneVets shall defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the User from and against a third-party claim, demand, suit, or proceeding, and the damages, liabilities, settlements, and reasonable attorneys' fees finally awarded or agreed in settlement, to the extent the claim alleges that the Service, as provided by BeneVets and used by the User in accordance with these Terms, infringes a United States patent, copyright, trademark, or trade secret of a third party. BeneVets's obligation does not extend to a claim arising from (a) Content the User submitted, (b) the User's combination of the Service with a product or service not provided by BeneVets where the claim would not have arisen but for the combination, (c) the User's modification of the Service, or (d) the User's use of the Service in a manner that breaches these Terms.

§ 23.3 Procedure. The party seeking indemnification shall promptly notify the indemnifying party in writing of the claim. The indemnifying party shall have sole control of the defense and the settlement of the claim, provided that a settlement that imposes a non-monetary obligation on the indemnified party or that does not include a full release of the indemnified party requires the indemnified party's prior written consent. The indemnified party shall reasonably cooperate at the indemnifying party's expense. The indemnified party may participate in the defense at its own expense with counsel of its choosing.

§ 24. Termination

In plain English: You can stop using the Service and close your account at any time. We can suspend or close an account if you break these Terms, if the law requires it, or if we have to. The parts of these Terms that protect either side after the relationship ends keep working.

§ 24.1 Termination by the User. A User may terminate these Terms at any time by closing the Account through the account-closure feature or by contacting BeneVets through the channel in section 30.

§ 24.2 Termination or suspension by BeneVets. BeneVets may suspend or terminate a User's access to the Service, in whole or in part, with or without prior notice as circumstances reasonably require, where: (a) the User materially breaches these Terms, the Acceptable Use Policy, the Helper Terms, or the Pro Se Filing Attestation; (b) suspension or termination is required by law or by lawful order; (c) the User's conduct creates a material risk of harm to another User, to BeneVets, or to a third party; or (d) BeneVets ceases to operate the Service or the relevant feature. BeneVets will provide reasonable notice of suspension or termination where doing so does not increase the risk that prompted the action.

§ 24.3 Effect of termination. On termination, the User's right to access the Service ceases. The User may, before termination takes effect or within a reasonable period after, export Content from the Account where the Service supports export. Retention of Personal Information after termination is governed by the Privacy Policy and the Data Retention Schedule.

§ 24.4 Survival. Sections 1 (Recitals, to the extent of the non-affiliation and donor-deductibility notice), 8.2 (Content ownership), 16 (Privacy), 17.1 (BeneVets's intellectual property), 21 (Disclaimers), 22 (Limitation of Liability), 23 (Indemnification), 25 (Governing Law), 26 (Forum and Venue), 27 (Informal Dispute Resolution), 28 (No Arbitration; No Class Action Waiver), 29 (Class Action Availability), 30 (Notice), 32 (Survival), 33 (Severability), 34 (Entire Agreement), 35 (Assignment), 36 (No Waiver), 37 (Headings), and 39 (Contact) survive termination of these Terms.

§ 25. Governing Law

In plain English: California law governs these Terms.

These Terms, and a claim arising out of or related to these Terms or the Service, are governed by the law of the State of California, excluding California's conflict-of-laws principles. The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods does not apply.

§ 26. Forum and Venue

In plain English: State-law claims are filed in Riverside County, California. Federal-law claims are filed in the federal Riverside-Division courthouse in Riverside County.

§ 26.1 State-law claims. For a claim arising under California law or otherwise within the jurisdiction of state courts, the parties consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the Superior Court of California, County of Riverside.

§ 26.2 Federal-question claims. For a claim arising under federal law or otherwise within the original jurisdiction of the federal courts, the parties consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the United States District Court for the Central District of California, Riverside Division.

§ 26.3 Personal jurisdiction. Each party waives an objection to personal jurisdiction in the forums identified in this section.

§ 27. Informal Dispute Resolution

In plain English: Before suing, write to the other side and give the parties 30 days to try to work it out. Emergency situations where you need a court order quickly are an exception.

Before commencing a court action arising out of or related to these Terms or the Service, the party initiating the dispute shall provide the other party with a written notice describing the nature of the dispute, the relief sought, and a contact for response. BeneVets gives notice to the User by email to the address on file. The User gives notice to BeneVets through the channel in section 30. The parties shall negotiate in good faith for thirty (30) days from delivery of the notice to attempt to resolve the dispute. The notice-and-negotiate requirement does not apply to a request for emergency injunctive or equitable relief, or to a counterclaim filed in response to an action by the other party.

§ 28. No Arbitration; No Class Action Waiver

In plain English: These Terms do not force either side into arbitration, and these Terms do not take away your right to bring or join a class action.

These Terms do not contain a pre-dispute mandatory arbitration clause and do not waive a class or collective action. A dispute may be resolved in the courts identified in section 26. Either party may bring or join a class action, a collective action, or a representative action to the extent allowed by law.

§ 29. Class Action Availability Preserved

In plain English: Your right to participate in a class action is preserved by these Terms.

Nothing in these Terms waives, restricts, or modifies a User's right to commence, participate in, or recover under a class action, a collective action, or a representative action to the extent that right is available under applicable law.

§ 30. Notices

In plain English: Here is how we contact you, and how you contact us, for important things.

§ 30.1 BeneVets to User. BeneVets gives notice to a User by email to the address on file with the Account, by in-Service notification, by posting on the Service where the change is general, or by United States mail to a postal address the User has provided. Email is effective on transmission. In-Service notification is effective on display in the User's authenticated session. Posting is effective on availability. Postal mail is effective three business days after deposit.

§ 30.2 User to BeneVets. A User gives notice to BeneVets:

• By email to: legal@benevets.org
• By United States mail to:

BeneVets, Inc. Attn: Legal 1441 Pomona Road, Suite 20 Corona, CA 92882

Postal notice is effective on receipt.

§ 30.3 Updates to notice details. BeneVets may update the addresses in this section by posting an updated version of these Terms with a new "Last Updated" date.

§ 31. Force Majeure

In plain English: Neither side is responsible when something far outside its control prevents it from doing what these Terms say. We still have to do everything that is not blocked.

Neither party is liable for a delay or failure in performance to the extent the delay or failure is caused by an event beyond the party's reasonable control, including an act of God, a natural disaster, a fire, a flood, an earthquake, an epidemic, a pandemic, a public-health emergency, a war, an act of terrorism, civil unrest, a labor dispute, a governmental action or order, a failure of a Third-Party Service or of a public utility, or an outage of the Internet, the public power grid, or a telecommunications network. The party experiencing the force majeure event shall use reasonable efforts to mitigate the effect and to resume performance, and shall communicate the event to the other party where practicable. Payment obligations, if any, are not excused by this section.

§ 32. Survival

In plain English: Some sections keep going after the relationship ends.

The sections identified in section 24.4 survive termination or expiration of these Terms, together with any provision that by its nature is intended to survive.

§ 33. Severability

In plain English: If a court throws out a piece of these Terms, the rest still applies.

If a provision of these Terms is held to be invalid, unlawful, or unenforceable in any respect by a court of competent jurisdiction, that provision shall be deemed modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it valid, lawful, and enforceable, and the remaining provisions of these Terms shall continue in full force and effect.

§ 34. Entire Agreement and Integration

In plain English: These Terms, together with the documents they reference, are the full agreement between you and BeneVets about the Service. Earlier conversations are replaced.

These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy, the Cookie Notice, the Sub-processor List, the Acceptable Use Policy, the Helper Terms, the Pro Se Filing Attestation, the Accessibility Statement, the DMCA / Copyright Policy, the Data Retention Schedule, the Automated Decision-Making and AI Notice, and the Children's Online Privacy Notice, constitute the entire agreement between the User and BeneVets with respect to the Service and supersede all prior or contemporaneous understandings, communications, and proposals, oral or written, between the parties on the subject matter.

§ 35. Assignment

In plain English: You may not transfer your rights under these Terms. BeneVets may transfer its rights if BeneVets reorganizes, merges, or is acquired, but the new owner is bound by these Terms.

A User may not assign or transfer these Terms, or a right or obligation under these Terms, without BeneVets's prior written consent, and an attempted assignment in violation of this section is void. BeneVets may assign or transfer these Terms, or a right or obligation under these Terms, to an affiliate, to a successor by merger or reorganization, or to an acquirer of all or substantially all of BeneVets's assets relevant to the Service. These Terms bind and inure to the benefit of the parties and their permitted successors and assigns.

§ 36. No Waiver

In plain English: Letting something slide once does not mean we have given up the right to enforce it next time.

The failure of a party to enforce a provision of these Terms, or to insist on strict performance of a provision, is not a waiver of that provision or of the right to enforce it later. A waiver of a provision is effective only if in writing signed by an authorized representative of the waiving party. A waiver of a single breach is not a waiver of any other breach.

§ 37. Headings and Interpretation

In plain English: Headings are for convenience and do not change the meaning. The Terms apply to both sides fairly.

Section headings are for convenience only and do not affect interpretation. References to "including" mean "including, without limitation." References to a statute or a regulation refer to the statute or the regulation as amended, and to its successor. References to a day mean a calendar day unless otherwise stated. These Terms are the joint product of the parties for purposes of construction and are not to be construed against the drafter.

§ 38. Counterparts, Electronic Acceptance, and E-SIGN Consent

In plain English: Clicking "I agree" is the same as signing on paper. You and BeneVets agree that electronic records and signatures are valid.

Acceptance of these Terms by a User through an electronic interface, including by clicking a button or selecting a checkbox, has the same legal effect as a handwritten signature. The User consents to the use of an electronic record and an electronic signature for these Terms and for a notice, a disclosure, or a record provided under these Terms, consistent with the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (15 U.S.C. §§ 7001 to 7031), the California Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1633.1 to 1633.17), and applicable state law. A User may withdraw consent to receive an electronic record by closing the Account.

§ 39. Contact Information

In plain English: Here is how to reach us.

BeneVets, Inc. Attn: Legal 1441 Pomona Road, Suite 20 Corona, CA 92882 Email: legal@benevets.org Website: https://www.benevets.org

For accessibility feedback, see the Accessibility Statement. For a copyright notice under 17 U.S.C. § 512, see the DMCA / Copyright Policy. For a privacy request, see the Privacy Policy.

End of Document 01 - Terms of Service.