NATAO Terms of Service
Last updated: 5/1/2026
Agreement to These Terms
These Terms of Service (the “Terms”) form a binding agreement between you — whether you are acting for yourself or on behalf of a therapy animal organization (“you” or “member”) — and the National Association of Therapy Animal Organizations (“NATAO,” “the Association,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). They govern your access to and use of our website at https://natao.community, together with the membership services, member directory, online forum, and other features that link to these Terms (collectively, the “Services”).
By accessing or using the Services, you confirm that you have read these Terms and agree to be bound by them. If you do not accept them, you are not authorized to use the Services and should stop using them. We may revise these Terms from time to time; when we do, we will update the “Last updated” date above. Your continued use of the Services after a revision takes effect means you accept the updated Terms, so we encourage you to review this page periodically.
As a condition of membership, you also agree to our Code of Ethics and our Membership
Agreement, each of which is incorporated into these Terms by reference. By registering for
or maintaining a NATAO membership, you confirm that you have read and agree to comply
with both, and your continued access to member benefits depends on your ongoing
adherence to them. If there is a conflict between these Terms and either do
The Services are intended for adults. You must be at least 18 years old to register for or use the Services, and they are directed to users located in the United States. They are not offered to, or intended for, individuals in jurisdictions outside the United States, and we make no representation that the Services are appropriate or available for use elsewhere. We suggest keeping a copy of these Terms for your records.
Our Services
NATAO is a professional membership association serving therapy animal organizations and the professionals connected with them. Through the Services we provide membership accounts, access to member resources, a searchable member directory, and an online forum where members may interact. Information made available through the Services is not intended for distribution to, or use by, any person in a location where doing so would violate local law or subject us to registration requirements there. Those who access the Services from outside the United States do so on their own initiative and are responsible for compliance with any laws that apply to them.
Our Services are not designed to satisfy industry-specific regulatory frameworks such as HIPAA or similar laws. If your use of the Services would be subject to those kinds of requirements, you should not use the Services for that purpose.
Intellectual Property
Our content and marks
Except for material you submit, we own or license all content that makes up the Services — including text, graphics, designs, software, databases, and functionality — along with the NATAO name, logo, and other trademarks and service marks displayed (together, our “Content and Marks”). These are protected by intellectual property laws in the United States. We grant you a limited, revocable, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to access the Services and to view or print Content you have properly accessed, solely in connection with your membership and for your own internal, non-commercial use.
Use of the NATAO name, logo, and other Content and Marks — including reproduction, distribution, or display of materials NATAO has created — is governed by our separate policy on the use of NATAO-created content, which is incorporated into these Terms by reference. Except as permitted by that policy or expressly allowed here, you may not copy, republish, distribute, sell, or otherwise exploit our Content and Marks without our prior written permission. We reserve all rights not expressly granted to you.
Your submissions
If you send us feedback, suggestions, questions, or other ideas about the Services (“Submissions”), you agree we may use them freely and without obligation to you. We will not be required to treat Submissions as confidential or to compensate you for them.
Your Representations
By using the Services, you represent and warrant that: the information you provide when registering is accurate and complete and that you will keep it current; you have the legal capacity to agree to these Terms on behalf of your organization and will comply with them; you are not under 18 years of age; you will not access the Services through automated means such as bots or scripts except as we expressly permit; and you will not use the Services for any unlawful purpose or in a way that violates any applicable law. If any information you provide proves to be inaccurate or incomplete, we may suspend or terminate your account and decline any current or future use of the Services.
Membership Accounts and Registration
Many features of the Services are restricted to NATAO members and require you to register for a membership account. You agree to provide accurate and complete information and to update it as needed. You are responsible for keeping your password confidential and for all activity that occurs under your account. Please notify us promptly if you suspect any unauthorized use of your account. We may remove or reassign a username, or decline to issue one, if we determine in our discretion that it is inappropriate or otherwise objectionable.
Membership Subscriptions and Payment
Billing and renewal
Membership in NATAO is offered on a subscription basis. Unless you cancel, your membership continues and renews automatically at the end of each billing cycle, and you authorize us to charge your chosen payment method on a recurring basis for the applicable dues until you cancel. Memberships are annual and renew on a one-year term from your enrollment date. You agree to provide current and accurate billing information and to keep your payment details up to date so we can process your dues. Payment is processed by a third-party payment provider; all amounts are payable in U.S. dollars.
Cancellation
You may cancel your membership at any time through your account settings or by contacting NATAO. Cancellation takes effect at the end of your current paid term, and you will continue to have access to member benefits until then.
Refunds
Refunds are considered on a case-by-case basis. If you believe a refund is warranted, please contact member support and we will review your situation in good faith.
Changes to fees
We may adjust membership dues from time to time. We will provide notice of any change to your dues before it takes effect.
Member Directory and Use of Your Logo
As part of your membership, your organization may be listed in our member directory, which helps other members find and connect with participating therapy animal organizations. A directory listing may include information such as your organization’s name, general location, and contact details. You may opt out of being included in the member directory at any time by contacting us, and we will remove your listing within a reasonable period.
With your permission, we may also display your organization’s logo on our website and in materials that promote the Association and its members. Use of your logo is entirely optional: we will only display it if you opt in, and you may withdraw that permission at any time, after which we will stop using your logo on a going-forward basis. Withdrawing permission does not affect materials already printed or distributed before your request.
Member Forum and Contributions
The Services include an online forum where members may post messages, comments, files, and other materials (“Contributions”). Contributions will be visible to other members so you should treat anything you post as non-confidential. You are solely responsible for what you post. By using the forum, you agree to follow our Community Guidelines, as may be updated from time to time.
• you own or have the rights, licenses, and permissions necessary to post it, and posting it does not infringe anyone else’s copyright, trademark, privacy, publicity, or other rights;
• it is not false, misleading, or deceptive;
• it is not unsolicited advertising, spam, or a chain letter or similar solicitation;
• it is not obscene, harassing, defamatory, threatening, or otherwise objectionable, and does not ridicule or abuse any person or group;
• it does not promote violence, unlawful activity, or discrimination, and does not contain offensive remarks targeting a person’s race, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or similar characteristic; and
• it complies with these Terms, our Community Guidelines, and all applicable laws.
Posting a Contribution that violates these requirements is a breach of these Terms and may result in suspension or termination of your access to the Services.
License to Your Contributions
You retain ownership of your Contributions. By posting a Contribution to the Services, you grant NATAO a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide, perpetual license to host, store, display, reproduce, adapt, and distribute that Contribution in connection with operating and promoting the Services and the Association. This license allows us to make your Contribution available to other members and to keep the forum functioning. We do not claim ownership of your Contributions, and you remain responsible for them. We may, but are not obligated to, monitor the forum, and we reserve the right to edit, re-categorize, refuse, or remove any Contribution at our discretion — for example, if we consider it harmful, off-topic, or in breach of these Terms.
You retain ownership of articles you submit to NATAO’s knowledge repository according to our content creator policy, which is incorporated into these Terms by reference. NATAO does not claim ownership of your submitted content and relies solely on the license you grant above. That license is non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide, and perpetual, and it allows NATAO to host, store, display, reproduce, adapt, and distribute your content in connection with the Knowledge Repository, the Research Library, and the Association’s mission.
Prohibited Activities
You may use the Services only for their intended purposes in support of your membership. You agree not to use the Services for any commercial purpose we have not approved, and in particular you agree not to:
• collect or harvest data or content from the Services to build a database or directory without our written permission;
• deceive or mislead us or other members, including attempts to obtain another member’s account credentials;
• bypass or interfere with security features of the Services or any measures that limit use of the content;
• use information from the Services to harass, abuse, or harm another person, or misuse our support resources or submit false reports;
• upload or transmit viruses, malware, or other code that disrupts the Services, or engage in spamming or excessive posting;
• use automated tools such as bots, scrapers, or data-mining scripts to access the Services;
impersonate another member, remove proprietary notices, or frame or link to the Services in an unauthorized way; or
• use the Services in any manner that violates applicable law or these Terms.
Managing the Services
We reserve the right, but not the obligation, to monitor the Services for violations of these Terms, to take appropriate action against anyone who breaches the law or these Terms (including reporting them to authorities where warranted), to restrict or disable Contributions or accounts that we consider harmful or excessively burdensome to our systems, and otherwise to manage the Services in a way that protects our rights and supports their proper operation.
Privacy Policy
Your use of the Services is also governed by our Privacy Policy, which explains how we collect, use, and protect your personal information. By using the Services, you agree to the practices described in that policy, which is incorporated into these Terms by reference.
Copyright Concerns
We respect the intellectual property rights of others and respond to claims of copyright infringement. If you believe material on the Services infringes a copyright you or others own or control, please follow the process described in our separate Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) policy, which is available on our website and incorporated into these Terms by reference.
Term and Termination
These Terms remain in effect while you use the Services. We may, in our discretion and without notice or liability, suspend or terminate your access to the Services — including deleting your account and any content you have posted — for any reason, including a breach of these Terms or of any applicable law. If your account is terminated or suspended, you may not register a new account under your name, a different name, or the name of any third party. We may also pursue any legal remedies available to us.
Changes and Interruptions
We may change, modify, or remove parts of the Services at any time and without notice, and we are not obligated to update any information on them. We do not guarantee that the Services will always be available; they may be interrupted by maintenance, technical problems, or other causes. We will not be liable for any loss or inconvenience resulting from your inability to access the Services during any downtime or discontinuation. Nothing in these Terms obligates us to maintain or support the Services.
Governing Law
These Terms and your use of the Services are governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to its conflict-of-law rules, as if these Terms were made and performed entirely within Delaware.
Dispute Resolution
Informal resolution
To resolve disputes efficiently, you and NATAO agree to first try to settle any dispute, controversy, or claim relating to these Terms (each a “Dispute”) informally for at least thirty (30) days before starting arbitration. Informal resolution begins when one party sends the other written notice of the Dispute.
Binding arbitration
If a Dispute cannot be resolved informally, it will be settled by final and binding arbitration rather than in court, except as noted below. You understand that you are giving up the right to sue in court and to have a jury trial. The arbitration will be administered under the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) and, where applicable, its Supplementary Procedures for Consumer-Related Disputes. The arbitration may proceed in person, by telephone, online, or through written submissions, and the arbitrator’s decision will follow applicable law. Either party may go to court to compel arbitration, to pause court proceedings pending arbitration, or to confirm, modify, or enforce an arbitration award.
If any part of this arbitration provision is found unenforceable, that part will be severed, and any Dispute falling within it will be decided by a court of competent jurisdiction in the State of Delaware, to whose jurisdiction the parties consent. The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods does not apply to these Terms.
Corrections
The Services may from time to time contain typos, mistakes, or missing details, including in descriptions or availability of membership benefits. We may correct any such errors and update the information on the Services at any time without prior notice.
Disclaimer
THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS, AND YOUR USE OF THEM IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE MAKE NO WARRANTY THAT THE CONTENT OF THE SERVICES, OR OF ANY WEBSITE LINKED TO THEM, IS ACCURATE OR COMPLETE, AND WE ASSUME NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY ERRORS, FOR INJURY OR DAMAGE RESULTING FROM YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES, FOR UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO YOUR INFORMATION, FOR ANY INTERRUPTION OF THE SERVICES, OR FOR ANY HARM CAUSED BY VIRUSES OR SIMILAR MATERIAL TRANSMITTED THROUGH THE SERVICES. WE DO NOT WARRANT OR ASSUME RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY PRODUCT OR SERVICE ADVERTISED OR OFFERED BY A THIRD PARTY, AND YOU SHOULD EXERCISE CAUTION WHERE APPROPRIATE.
THE ARTICLES, RESEARCH, TEMPLATES, AND OTHER MATERIALS MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE KNOWLEDGE REPOSITORY, RESEARCH LIBRARY, AND OTHER PARTS OF THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED FOR GENERAL REFERENCE ONLY. THEY DO NOT REPRESENT THE OPINIONS OF NATAO AND SHOULD NOT BE RELIED UPON AS PROFESSIONAL, MEDICAL, VETERINARY, LEGAL, OR OTHER SPECIALIZED ADVICE. FOR GUIDANCE ON A SPECIFIC ISSUE, YOU SHOULD CONSULT A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL. NATAO DOES NOT ROUTINELY REVIEW, FACT-CHECK, OR ENDORSE THIS CONTENT, DOES NOT CLAIM OWNERSHIP OF OR ENDORSE THIRD-PARTY CONTENT OR LINKS IT MAY CONTAIN, AND ASSUMES NO RESPONSIBILITY OR LIABILITY FOR ANY ACTION TAKEN IN RELIANCE ON IT.
Limitation of Liability
TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, NEITHER WE NOR OUR DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, OR AGENTS WILL BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES — INCLUDING LOST PROFITS, LOST DATA, OR LOSS OF GOODWILL — ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES, EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. IN ANY EVENT, OUR TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL CLAIMS WILL NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNT YOU PAID TO US IN THE SIX (6) MONTHS BEFORE THE CLAIM AROSE. SOME STATE LAWS DO NOT ALLOW CERTAIN LIMITATIONS, SO SOME OF THESE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU, AND YOU MAY HAVE ADDITIONAL RIGHTS.
Indemnification
You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless NATAO and our affiliates, officers, agents, and partners from any loss, liability, claim, or demand — including reasonable attorneys’ fees — arising out of your Contributions, your use of the Services, your breach of these Terms, your violation of any law, or your infringement of the rights of a third party. We reserve the right to take over the sole handling and defense of any claim for which you are required to indemnify us, and you agree to cooperate with that defense at your own cost. We will make reasonable efforts to notify you of any such claim once we become aware of it.
Your Data
We maintain certain data that you transmit to the Services in order to manage their performance, and we perform routine backups. Even so, you are responsible for the data you transmit or that relates to your activity on the Services. To the extent permitted by law, we are not liable to you for any loss or corruption of such data, and you waive any claim against us arising from it.
Electronic Communications and Signatures
By using the Services, sending us email, or completing online forms, you are communicating with us electronically and you consent to receive communications from us electronically. You agree that electronic notices, agreements, and records satisfy any legal requirement that such communications be in writing, and you consent to the use of electronic signatures and records in connection with your dealings with us, to the extent permitted by law.
California Users and Residents
If you are a California resident and a complaint is not resolved to your satisfaction, you may contact the Complaint Assistance Unit of the Division of Consumer Services of the California Department of Consumer Affairs in writing at 1625 North Market Blvd., Suite N 112, Sacramento, California 95834, or by telephone at (800) 952-5210.
Miscellaneous
These Terms, together with any policies we post regarding the Services, make up the entire agreement between you and us. Our failure to enforce any provision does not waive that provision. If any part of these Terms is found unlawful or unenforceable, that part is severable and does not affect the remaining provisions. We may assign our rights and obligations under these Terms at any time. We are not responsible for delays or failures caused by events beyond our reasonable control. No joint venture, partnership, employment, or agency relationship is created between you and us by these Terms or your use of the Services.
How to Contact Us
To resolve a complaint or to ask questions about these Terms or the Services, please contact us.