Terms of use

Contract Lists is a local marketplace run by Contract LLC, a California company (“we” and “us”). People use it to hire local pros, book classes and buy goods.

By using Contract Lists, you agree to these terms. Creating an account means you agree to these terms and our Privacy policy.

Anyone can browse and search as a guest, without an account.

Sellers anywhere in the 50 states and DC can post listings. Our city pages and local guides cover California for now.

You must be 18 or older to have an account. You must also be able to agree to these terms where you live.

Someone under 18 can sell only through a parent-assisted account.

• A parent or legal guardian may run a parent-assisted account so a child aged 13 to 17 can sell goods or services, like dog walking, tutoring or art. Children under 13 can't sell on Contract Lists, even with a parent.
• The parent or guardian is the account holder and is responsible for its listings, messages and payments. They agree to these terms and make sure they're followed.
• Customers see a “Parent-assisted” label, so they know the seller is under 18. It shows on the listings and the seller's profile.
• Listings and profiles show only the child's first name or a business name. Don't post photos of the child or an exact location.
• Parent-assisted sellers can list only in these categories. Services: Classes and lessons, Beauty and personal care, Art and custom work, Everything else, Professional services, Yard and landscaping. Products: Handmade goods, Art and decor, Electronics, Furniture, Garden and outdoor, Everything else.

Messages and meetups. To keep the child safe:

• The parent signs in and runs the account: they manage messages and payments, and see every message.
• Quiet hours, 9 pm to 7 am California time: messages sent to the account then arrive when quiet hours end.
• The child's listings say “A parent will be there” for in-person services and meetups. It's on from the start; email us to turn it off.
• Only customers with their own account, 18 or older, can message a parent-assisted seller.
• Strikes for sharing contact details go to the parent, who runs the account.

Coming later: the child's own chats, where the parent sees every message and can OK each one before it's sent, and the child's reports going to the parent first.

Customers must not get around these rules, for example by asking a child for contact details or to meet without a parent. We may close accounts that do.

You need an account to message, save listings, post requests or sell. One account does it all. To sell, you also do a short seller setup: the name on your listings, confirming you're 18 or older (parent-assisted accounts are set up by the parent), and agreeing to the seller rules and these terms.

Account checks:

• Accounts start with your email. Every account will be linked to a phone number once text codes are switched on. Then it's one account per phone number.
• To list anything over $100, you need a one-time ID check (like a driver's license). ID checks start soon. Until then, those listings are saved but not up. That includes a quote over $100 that a buyer accepts.
• For a parent-assisted account, it's the parent's ID that's checked.

Give true details and keep your password safe. Tell us if you think someone else is using your account. You're responsible for what you post and send.

Customers never pay Contract fees. Sellers pay to advertise:

• Listing fee: $5 per listing. The small listing fee is for safety. It helps keep scammers off Contract Lists.

Monthly plans, Featured and “Have AI help me” are coming soon. We'll add their prices and terms here before they start.

Helpers who reply to requests pay for a Requests pass. See Requests pass.

Listing limit: Every account can have up to 30 listings up at once, on any plan. This helps stop spam.

Where it shows: Your listing shows only its town and state, like “Concord, CA”. A ZIP code you enter stays private.

Listings must be honest: what you really offer, the real price, and only photos you have the right to use.

If you offer a discount to your next customers, they get the discounted price, and the number left on your listing must be true.

• Sellers can show licenses, certificates and insurance, say whether they're licensed or insured, and explain their price.
• Licenses, certificates and insurance you show must be real, current and yours. So must anything you say about being licensed or insured.
• Licenses and certificates come from the seller. We don't check them, so buyers should. California contractor licenses can be checked on the CSLB's license lookup (opens in a new tab).

California's rules for contractors:

• In California, a job of $1,000 or more in total (labor and materials), or any job that needs a building permit, needs a contractor's license from the Contractors State License Board (CSLB).
• Licensed? Show your CSLB license number on your listings.
• Not licensed? Your listings say “Not a licensed contractor”. Take only jobs under $1,000 in total that need no building permit, and don't hire help.
• This covers Construction and masonry, Roofing and exteriors, and Painting and home repair. It also covers Yard and landscaping when the work includes landscaping construction, like patios, walls, irrigation or fences. Mowing and trimming don't count.

These are California's rules. Working in another state? Follow that state's rules. Don't offer or take jobs you aren't licensed for.

Coming soon. We'll add its price and terms here before it starts.

• Pay as you go: Every listing stays up 30 days. Renew once for free for 30 more days. After that, relist for $5.
• Renewing is one tap by you, never automatic. Listings nobody looks after come down on their own.
• Email reminders are coming soon. Check Your listings to see when each one ends.

A listing that isn't renewed comes down when its time is up. Ended or sold listings are hidden from everyone else until you renew or relist them. They aren't deleted. Ended listings stay in your history for 6 months, to renew or relist.

What we charge sellers, and when:

• Listing fee: $5, charged when you post a listing, before it goes live.

Before you pay, we show the price and what it's for. You pay on the secure page of our payment provider, Stripe.

Posting a request is free. Helpers need a Requests pass to reply to requests. The pass is for safety: scammers have to pay before they can reach anyone.

• Price: $5/week. It renews automatically every week until you cancel.
• Quiet weeks: If you reply to no requests in a week, the next week is $2 off: $3.
• Cancel any time: One tap on your Account page. Your pass keeps working to the end of the week you paid for, and we won't charge you again.
• Refunds: Cancelling stops the next renewal. The week you've already paid for isn't refunded, and your pass keeps working until it ends.
• Emails: When your pass starts, we email you a confirmation with the price, how it renews and how to cancel. While your pass runs, we email you a reminder once a year: what it is, what it costs and how to cancel. If the price of your pass changes, we email you 7 to 30 days before the new price starts, with how to cancel.

Requests are for adults. Parent-assisted accounts can't post requests, buy the pass or reply. Chats you've already started keep going after your pass ends.

Paying in the app isn't switched on yet. For now, buyers and sellers agree how to pay and pay each other directly. Contract isn't part of that payment. We don't hold the money, and we can't refund it or get it back.

Customers never pay Contract fees.

To stay safe:

• Meet in a busy public place.
• Check the item or the work before you pay.
• Don't pay ahead for anything you haven't seen.
• Never pay with gift cards or wire transfers.
• Keep chatting in the app. Contact details are blocked, and you both have a record.
• Something feels off? Tap Report.

In messages, saying how you'll pay is fine, like “cash or Venmo is fine”. Usernames and numbers aren't: share those when you meet.

When paying in the app starts, we'll add its rules here (holding the money, refunds and problems). You can read the plan in Help.

More: Scams and fraud · Shipped items · Vehicles and big items

• Sellers choose, on each listing, how it gets to the buyer: pickup (free), local delivery within 20 miles for a fee the seller sets (it can be free), and shipping.
• Shipping is priced one of three ways: included in the price, one price anywhere, or by distance from the seller (up to 100 miles, up to 500 miles, or farther). Farther never costs less.
• The listing shows any delivery or shipping cost.

• Shipping with tracking through the app is coming soon. For now, the buyer and seller agree how to pay and ship. Contract doesn't insure shipments.
• Paying ahead for something you haven't seen is risky. Meet up when you can, and check it before you pay.
• Record a short packing video showing the item working and any serial numbers. It protects you if there's a problem.

Problems with a shipped item follow Scams and fraud.

• Big items aren't shipped. Vehicles are always picked up. Other big items can be delivered locally.
• See it in person first. For a vehicle, check the title and history before you pay. Pay safely, for example at a bank.
• Reserving with a deposit in the app is coming soon.
• In California, cars, boats and planes are taxed when the buyer registers them (for example, at the DMV).

Be honest with each other. We aim to be fair to both sides.

• Rigging a deal, lying about an item, or selling knock-offs is fraud. Whoever does it is responsible for the loss.
• We don't handle payments between buyers and sellers yet, so we can't refund them.
• Report scams and fraud. We look at what both sides send, and we can take listings down and close accounts.
• A seller clearly at fault (not as described, a knock-off, or a rigged deal) loses the listing. To list it again, they pay the listing fee.
• Either side can appeal our decision once, within 3 days. Our second look is final.
• Repeated fraud closes the account.

To appeal, or to tell us about fraud, email contractlists.com@gmail.com or tap Report.

• Sellers handle their own taxes.
• One-off sales of your own used things usually don't need a seller's permit. If you sell goods regularly (more than two sales in 12 months, or as a business), California generally requires a seller's permit and sales tax. Check with CDTFA or a tax professional.
• In California, cars, boats and planes are taxed when the buyer registers them (for example, at the DMV).
• Outside California, check your own state's rules.
• We may add automatic sales tax later.
• Once paying in the app starts, our payment provider will send a yearly tax form (1099-K) to sellers who qualify.
• We can't give tax advice.

Messages stay in the app. They can't include phone numbers (even spelled out, like “four one five”), email addresses, social media handles, payment app usernames (like a Venmo or Cash App name) and links. We check messages and block these before they're sent. Keeping the chat in the app keeps you both safe and gives you a record.

Saying how you'll pay is fine, like “cash or Venmo is fine”.

Each time someone tries anyway, it's a strike:

• 1st time: a warning.
• 2nd: account paused for 2 weeks.
• 3rd: account paused for 2 months.
• 4th: account paused for 2 years.
• 5th: account closed for good.

While an account is paused, it can't send messages. On a parent-assisted account, strikes go to the parent, who runs the account.

Think we got it wrong? Email us at contractlists.com@gmail.com to appeal.

What people agree in person is up to them. This rule is about messages in the app.

• Reviews aren't switched on yet. They come with paying in the app.
• Only buyers who paid that seller in the app can leave a review.
• One review per purchase, with stars and text.
• The seller can post one public reply to each review.
• Reviews must be honest and about your own experience.

With an account, you can tap Report on a listing, a seller's profile, a request or a message thread. Reports come to us privately. An AI assistant may take the first look. A person reviews anything serious.

A listing or request reported by several different people is hidden until we look at it.

We may hide or remove listings that break these rules, including while we look into a report. We may also pause or close accounts that break them. See Pausing or closing accounts.

You can't sell or offer these on Contract Lists:

• Stolen goods
• Guns, ammunition and gun parts (in California, private gun sales must go through a licensed dealer)
• Other weapons
• Alcohol
• Tobacco and vapes
• Drugs, cannabis and prescription medicines
• Recalled products
• Counterfeit goods

What happens. If you list any of these, the listing comes down, and your account is paused or closed.

Stolen goods. Never sell stolen goods. We review every report of stolen goods. We may share information with law enforcement, including when we believe someone is selling stolen goods to a California resident. Think a listing may be stolen? Tap Report on it and choose “May be stolen”.

And don't use Contract Lists for:

• Other illegal items or services, or anything that breaks the law.
• Scams, fake listings, knock-offs or misleading descriptions. See Scams and fraud.
• Sharing contact details in messages, including payment app usernames.
• Harassing, threatening or abusing other people.
• Posting other people's photos, words or private details without permission. See Copyright.

Breaking these rules can get listings taken down and accounts paused or closed. Sharing contact details follows the strikes in Messages and contact details.

Only post photos, words and other work that you made or have permission to use.

Is something on Contract Lists using your photo or work without permission? Tap Report on the listing or the seller's profile and choose “Copyright”.

Copyright notice. For a formal copyright notice (under the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act, or DMCA), write to our copyright agent. Their details are at the end of this section. Your notice must include:

1. The work you say is being copied.
2. Where it is on Contract Lists, like the link to the listing.
3. Your name, address, phone number and email.
4. A statement that you believe in good faith that the use isn't allowed by the copyright owner, their agent or the law.
5. A statement that the information in your notice is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that you're the copyright owner or allowed to act for them.
6. Your signature, on paper or electronic.

When we get a complete notice, we take the content down and tell the person who posted it.

Counter-notice. If your content was taken down and you think it was a mistake, you can send our copyright agent a counter-notice. It must include:

1. What was taken down, and where it was on Contract Lists.
2. A statement, under penalty of perjury, that you believe in good faith it was taken down by mistake or because it was misidentified.
3. Your name, address and phone number.
4. A statement that you accept the jurisdiction of the federal district court for your address (or, if you're outside the US, of any federal district court where we can be found), and that you'll accept legal papers from the person who sent the notice.
5. Your signature, on paper or electronic.

We send a copy of your counter-notice to the person who sent the notice. We may put the content back 10 to 14 business days after we get it, unless they tell us they've gone to court to stop you.

False notices. Under U.S. law, someone who knowingly makes a false claim in a notice or counter-notice may have to pay for the harm it causes.

Repeat infringers. We close the accounts of people who post other people's work without permission again and again.

Our copyright agent:

• Name and mailing address: coming soon. We're registering our agent with the U.S. Copyright Office. Until then, send notices by email.
• Email: contractlists.com@gmail.com

• Contract Lists connects buyers and sellers. We aren't a party to their deals.
• We aren't part of payments between buyers and sellers yet. We don't hold that money. See Paying each other.
• Sellers are responsible for their listings and for the work and goods they provide.
• We don't check every person, listing, license or certificate, and we can't promise how a job or item will turn out.

The usual legal points, in plain words. They apply as far as the law allows. Nothing here takes away rights the law says you always have.

The laws of the State of California govern these terms.

We may change these terms. When we do, we post the new version here with a new date at the top.

For important changes, people with an account are asked to agree to the new terms at their next visit. If you don't agree, you can stop using Contract Lists and ask us to close your account.

Questions about these terms? Email us at contractlists.com@gmail.com.