Terms of Service

1. Directory purpose

Northern VA Directory helps visitors discover businesses serving Northern Virginia. A listing is informational and is not an endorsement, certification, employment relationship, partnership, or guarantee concerning a business, its services, licenses, availability, pricing, reputation, or results.

2. Eligibility and authority

You must be at least 18 years old and legally able to agree to these Terms. By submitting or managing a listing, you represent that you are the business owner or are authorized to act for the business and that the information and materials you provide are accurate and lawful.

3. Listing review and publication

All listings are subject to review. Submission or payment does not guarantee acceptance or publication. We may edit formatting, correct obvious errors, request verification, reject a submission, change its category, suspend it, archive it, or remove it to maintain directory quality, comply with law, protect users, or enforce these Terms. Stated review times are targets, not guarantees.

You are responsible for keeping listing information current. We do not independently guarantee the accuracy of information supplied by a business or third party.

4. Free listings and badge requirement

A free listing requires the Northern VA Directory badge to remain visible on the submitted business website’s homepage or footer while the free listing is active. The badge must link to Northern VA Directory and must not be hidden, misleading, or technically prevented from functioning.

We may automatically and periodically check the business website for the badge. If the website blocks verification or the badge cannot be confirmed after repeated checks, we may pause or remove the listing until the badge is restored. Website owners remain responsible for obtaining any permission needed to edit their website.

5. Featured listings and payments

A Featured listing is a one-time purchase at the price displayed during checkout. Payment is processed by Stripe. A successful payment provides priority review and 30 days of rotating Featured placement, beginning upon payment confirmation, together with the profile features described on the submission page.

Featured placement rotates among eligible paid businesses. It does not guarantee a particular card position, continuous homepage display, a fixed number of impressions or clicks, search-engine ranking, leads, customers, revenue, or any other business result. A Featured listing does not require the directory badge.

If you believe a payment was duplicated, unauthorized, or processed in error, contact hello@northernvadirectory.com. Refund requests are reviewed based on the circumstances, services already delivered, and applicable law. A refund, chargeback, or failed payment may end Featured placement.

6. Content you provide

You retain ownership of materials you submit. You grant Northern VA Directory a nonexclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, store, reproduce, resize, format, display, distribute, and promote those materials as reasonably necessary to operate and market the directory and the listing. You represent that you own the materials or have permission to grant this license.

Do not submit content that is false, deceptive, defamatory, infringing, unlawful, discriminatory, obscene, malicious, or harmful; contains malware; impersonates another person or business; violates privacy or publicity rights; or promotes prohibited or fraudulent activity.

7. Directory links and interaction counts

Profiles may link to business websites, telephone numbers, directions, booking services, and social networks. We may add tracking parameters and record aggregate link interactions to measure directory activity. Counts are estimates and may be affected by technical failures, bots, privacy tools, duplicate activity, or third-party systems. They are not audited guarantees.

8. Intellectual property

The directory’s design, software, compilation, original text, branding, and other materials are owned by Northern VA Directory or its licensors and are protected by applicable law. Except as permitted by law, you may not copy, scrape, republish, sell, reverse engineer, interfere with, or create a competing database from the service without written permission.

9. Acceptable use

You may not attempt unauthorized access, disrupt the website, bypass security or rate limits, submit automated spam, manipulate clicks or Featured placement, harvest personal information, test vulnerabilities without authorization, or use the directory in a way that violates law or the rights of others.

10. Third-party services

The website uses and links to third-party services, including Stripe, Google Maps Platform, and independently operated business websites. Google Maps and Places features are governed by the Google Maps/Google Earth Additional Terms of Service and the Google Terms of Service. Other third-party services are governed by their own terms. We are not responsible for their availability, content, products, transactions, security, or conduct.

11. Disclaimers

To the fullest extent permitted by law, the website and directory services are provided “as is” and “as available.” We disclaim implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, noninfringement, accuracy, and uninterrupted or error-free operation. Nothing in these Terms excludes a warranty or right that cannot legally be excluded.

12. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Northern VA Directory will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, lost profits, lost data, lost opportunities, reputational harm, or business interruption arising from the website or a listing. Our aggregate liability relating to a paid listing will not exceed the amount you paid us for that listing during the 12 months before the event giving rise to the claim. These limits do not apply where prohibited by law.

13. Indemnification

To the extent permitted by law, you agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Northern VA Directory from claims, losses, liabilities, and reasonable expenses arising from content you submit, your business or services, your violation of these Terms, or your infringement of another person’s rights.

14. Suspension and termination

You may stop using the service at any time. We may suspend or terminate access or a listing when reasonably necessary to enforce these Terms, protect the service or others, respond to legal requirements, address nonpayment, or discontinue the service. Provisions that by their nature should survive termination will survive.

15. Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia, without regard to conflict-of-law rules. Any dispute that is not resolved informally will be brought in a court of competent jurisdiction in Virginia, unless applicable law requires otherwise.

16. Changes and general terms

We may update these Terms as the service changes. The effective date identifies the current version. Continued use after revised Terms take effect constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms. If any provision is unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain effective. Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver. These Terms and the Privacy Policy form the agreement between you and us concerning the service.

17. Contact

Questions, listing concerns, or payment issues may be sent to:
Northern VA Directory
hello@northernvadirectory.com
northernvadirectory.com