Plan License Terms

Last updated: October 15, 2026 · License version: 1.1-draft

Required statement. Sillplate Plan Co. plans are prepared by a person who is not a licensed architect or professional engineer. No architect's or engineer's seal is provided or implied. Structural elements outside the prescriptive provisions of the residential code adopted by your jurisdiction, and any element so noted on the drawings, are to be designed by a licensed professional engaged by the licensee.

These terms ("License") govern your use of a Sillplate house plan. You accept them by clicking "I agree" at checkout or by signing a license agreement. You can read the whole License before you pay, and every license certificate links to the version you accepted.

Plain-English summary (the full terms below control):

• You're buying permission to build, not the design itself. We keep the copyright.
• One build = one house at one street address. Register each build before you apply for a permit.
• Single build = 1 build (add more builds at the additional-build price). Unlimited = as many as you want, by you or your company only.
• Share the plans only with the people building the house: building department, lender, subs, suppliers, inspectors and the home's buyer.
• Don't remove the watermark, license ID or set number.
• You can change the plans for your licensed builds. Mark what you changed.
• Engineering, where needed, is by a licensed professional you engage. We don't guarantee permit approval.

1. Definitions

• "Sillplate," "we," "us": Blank to fill in: [legal entity name], d/b/a Sillplate Plan Co.
• "Licensee," "you": the business entity (or individual) named on the order and the license certificate. Your employees, and your contractors working on a Licensed Build, may use the Plans on your behalf, and you're responsible for their compliance.
• "Plan": the house design identified by plan number (for example, SP-1404) and version.
• "Plan Set": the drawings, schedules, notes and other documents we deliver for a Plan, in any format, including printed copies.
• "CAD Files": editable drawing files for a Plan. We don't sell them yet; if we do, only under Section 9.
• "Renderings": images of the Plan we deliver or display, including photorealistic 3D interior and exterior renderings and marketing floor plans.
• "Build": construction of one dwelling from the Plan (or a Modified Plan) at one Registered Address.
• "Registered Address": the street address and lot (or parcel number, if no address has been assigned) you register for a Build.
• "License ID" and "Set Number": the identifiers on your certificate and printed on every page of the Plan Set.
• "Modified Plan": a Plan changed by us or by you under Section 8.

2. Ownership

We (or our licensors) own all copyright and other rights in the Plans, Plan Sets, CAD Files and Renderings. This includes the copyright in the design as an architectural work under 17 U.S.C. §101 and in the drawings themselves. [ATTORNEY: "architectural work" is the Copyright Act category (17 U.S.C. §§101, 102(a)(8)), not a professional claim; confirm the wording, or use "the building design".] This License is not a sale or transfer of the copyright. All rights not expressly granted are reserved.

3. License grant

Subject to your payment and compliance with this License, we grant you a non-exclusive (unless you buy exclusivity under Section 13), non-transferable (except under Section 12), non-sublicensable license to:

1. use the Plan Set to obtain bids, financing, appraisals and permits for, and to construct, the number of Builds your license tier allows;
2. make copies of the Plan Set as reasonably needed for those Builds, for the people listed in Section 10; and
3. use the Renderings to market your Licensed Builds under Section 11.

4. License tiers

Swipe the table sideways →

• A license covers the Plan version delivered, plus any Modified Plan we prepare for you. It doesn't include future versions we publish.
• Licenses don't expire for Builds registered and started while the license is in good standing.

5. Build counting and registration

One Build = one dwelling at one Registered Address.

• Register every Build in your account (address, county, jurisdiction and, if available, permit number) before you apply for a permit or start construction, whichever comes first.
• Model homes count as Builds.
• Reversed (mirrored) plans at a different address are separate Builds.
• Two-family use. The Plans are drawn as one-family dwellings. Using a Plan for each unit of a two-family building would count as two Builds and requires our written approval, because it isn't the building the Plan was drawn for.
• Moving a registration. If you register a Build and construction hasn't started (no footings placed), you may move the registration to another address once by updating it in your account.
• Rebuilding after a loss. Rebuilding at the same Registered Address after fire, storm or similar casualty is not a new Build.
• Annual attestation. Holders of unlimited licenses will be asked once a year to confirm their Builds. Please respond within 30 days.
• Audit. On reasonable notice, and not more than once a year unless we have reason to believe there are unregistered Builds, you'll give us information reasonably needed to verify your Build count. We may also check public permit records.
• Unregistered Builds. A Build that wasn't registered, or that exceeds your tier, is unlicensed. You may regularize it by registering it and paying Blank to fill in: [two times] the then-current additional-build price, without prejudice to our other rights if you don't.

6. Where you may build

• You certify the state and jurisdiction of each Build. Our checkout and registration rely on that information.
• Restricted states. No Build may be located in Arkansas, Hawaii, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey or New York, or in any other state we list as restricted when you register the Build. In those states, our research indicates the work requires a licensed architect or engineer. This License grants no right to build there.
• Limited states. In states where we show an engineering-may-be-required notice, you may receive a version of the Plan Set without calculated elements, and you agree to engage a licensed professional for any element the drawings or the jurisdiction require.
• Size and type limits. Some states limit the exemption by size, stories or building type (for example, Michigan, Nebraska and New Mexico). A Build must stay within the limit for its state.
• Local seal requirements. Some cities and counties require sealed construction documents even where state law doesn't. You are responsible for confirming your jurisdiction's submittal requirements before you build. Call your local building department to find out whether sealed plans are required. If they are, we can coordinate a licensed structural engineer, who reviews the calculations in our plans, makes any adjustments necessary, and seals them. The engineer's fee is passed through at cost, plus our $150 coordination fee. This License is not a substitute for a seal.

7. Engineering, local adaptation and your responsibilities

• The Plan Set is drawn to the prescriptive provisions of the residential code edition identified on its cover sheet. Your jurisdiction may have adopted a different edition, or amendments.
• Engineering by others. Roof trusses, engineered lumber and other manufactured components are designed by their manufacturer or supplier, and their documents are deferred submittals. Any element outside the code's prescriptive limits, any element the drawings mark "by a licensed professional," and anything your jurisdiction requires to be sealed, must be designed by a licensed professional you engage.
• You (and your licensed professionals) are responsible for:
  • verifying the codes, amendments and local requirements that apply to each Build;
  • the site plan, survey, setbacks, easements, grading, drainage, utilities and flood zone;
  • soils, groundwater, rock and other subsurface conditions, and any soils report or foundation design they require;
  • design criteria marked VERIFY on the drawings (for example, wind exposure for the specific lot);
  • field-verifying dimensions and conditions, and reporting any discrepancy to us before proceeding with the affected work;
  • construction means, methods, sequencing, safety and the work of your contractors.
• Local adaptation. We offer a paid local adaptation pass that updates the code-reference sheet, design criteria and state disclosure for your jurisdiction. It doesn't guarantee approval.

8. Modifications

• Modifications by us are quoted and paid separately (a custom plan's three included rounds of changes are part of its price). The Modified Plan is covered by your License for your Licensed Builds and doesn't add Builds.
• Modifications by you. You, or a drafter or designer you hire, may modify the Plan Set only for your Licensed Builds. Any modified sheet must be clearly marked: "Modified by Blank to fill in: [name/company] on Blank to fill in: [date]. Modifications not prepared or reviewed by Sillplate Plan Co." You're responsible for your modifications, including code compliance, and for any licensed professional they require.
• Modifying a Plan doesn't create a new design you may build beyond your License, and doesn't change the Build count. A Modified Plan remains subject to this License.
• Ownership of modifications. Modified Plans are derivative works of our Plan. As between us, we own the copyright in Modified Plans, and you receive the same license to them as to the Plan.
• Don't remove our disclosures from unmodified sheets.

9. CAD Files

• CAD Files aren't for sale yet. This section applies only if we offer them later and your order includes them.
• CAD Files will be available only with an unlimited license and a separately signed CAD agreement. [OWNER: confirm which licenses will qualify when CAD files launch.]
• CAD Files carry your License ID in locked title-block attributes and file properties. Don't remove or alter them.
• Use is limited to you and drafters or designers working for you under written confidentiality, solely to modify and produce documents for your Licensed Builds.
• You may not export, convert or reuse the CAD Files, or any portion of them (including details, blocks and title blocks), for any other design or project, or deliver them to anyone else.
• Files are delivered in the format stated on your order, as is, without any promise of compatibility with your software. [OWNER: confirm deliverable format (DWG/DXF) before the CAD product goes live.]
• If your License ends, you must delete the CAD Files and any copies.

10. Sharing, no redistribution and no resale

You may share copies of the Plan Set, for a Licensed Build only, with:

• the building department and other agencies reviewing the Build;
• your lender, appraiser, insurer and title company;
• your subcontractors, suppliers, inspectors and licensed professionals;
• the buyer or owner of the completed Licensed Build, for that home's records.

You may not:

• sell, resell, rent, lend or give the Plan Set, CAD Files or Renderings to anyone for any other purpose;
• post or upload them to a website, social media group, file-sharing service or plan marketplace, including "plans for sale" listings;
• let anyone else build from them. A person who receives a copy from you gets no right to build;
• use them to create a competing plan, or as a "starting point" for a different design.

11. Renderings and marketing

• The Plan's Renderings are licensed for marketing your Licensed Builds: listings, signs, flyers, websites and social media.
• Don't present a Rendering as a photograph of a built home. Where an image could be mistaken for a photo (for example, in a listing), note nearby that it's a rendering and the built home may vary. [ATTORNEY: confirm a per-image label is no longer required.]
• Don't use Renderings to market a different plan, a Build that isn't licensed, or a home that differs materially from the Rendering without saying so.
• You may crop and resize Renderings. Don't edit them in a way that misrepresents the home.
• Check your MLS's rules on renderings before using them in a listing.
• Marketing rights end for a Build once it is sold, except for your portfolio use with the label kept.

12. Transfers

• Single-build license: may be transferred once, with our written consent, to the purchaser of the Registered Address before construction starts. The transferee must accept this License in writing. [ATTORNEY/OWNER: transfer fee, if any.]
• Unlimited licenses: not transferable, except to a buyer of substantially all of your homebuilding business, with our written consent, which we won't unreasonably withhold.
• Homeowners. The owner of a completed Licensed Build may keep and use the Plan Set for maintaining, repairing, remodeling or insuring that home. That doesn't include building another one.
• Any other transfer is void.

13. Area exclusivity (if purchased)

Area exclusivity isn't sold as a standard option right now. This section applies only if your written order includes it.

• If your order includes exclusivity, we won't license the Plan to another builder for a Build within the defined area (named subdivisions, a stated radius around an address, or a county) during the stated term. That includes any business affiliated with us.
• Exclusivity doesn't affect licenses or Builds that existed before your exclusivity started, Builds outside the area, or Plans sold before the area was defined.
• Exclusivity ends early if your payments are past due for more than 30 days after notice.

14. License ID, watermarks and tracing

• Every page of your Plan Set carries your company name, License ID, Set Number and permitted Build count. Files also carry this information in their metadata, and we keep a fingerprint of each delivered file.
• Don't remove, crop, cover or alter any watermark, License ID, Set Number, disclosure or title-block information, or the file metadata.
• If a copy of your Plan Set turns up somewhere it shouldn't, we can trace it to your delivery. Please keep your files secure.

15. Corrections and disclaimers

• Drafting corrections. If you find a drafting error in the Plan Set (for example, a dimension that doesn't close, or a schedule that conflicts with the plans) and tell us before the affected work is built, we'll correct and reissue the affected sheets at no charge.
• Beyond that correction commitment, the Plan Set is provided "as is." We disclaim implied warranties to the fullest extent allowed by law.
• We do not guarantee permit approval, code compliance in any particular jurisdiction, construction cost, schedule, sale, appraisal or profit.
• Renderings are illustrations; the built home may vary.

16. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent allowed by law, our total liability arising from a Plan, Plan Set, CAD Files or Renderings is limited to the license fees you paid for that Plan. Neither party is liable for indirect, incidental, consequential, special or punitive damages, including lost profits, delay, carrying costs or loss of use.

17. Indemnity

You'll defend, indemnify and hold us harmless from claims and costs (including reasonable attorney fees) arising from: modifications not made by us; use beyond this License; Builds in restricted states or beyond state limits; inaccurate information you provided; site and subsurface conditions; and construction by you or your contractors.

18. Ending the License

• This License ends automatically if you don't pay, if a payment is charged back, or if you materially breach it and don't cure the breach within 30 days after our notice (immediately for redistribution or watermark removal).
• When it ends, you must stop using the Plan Set for any Build not yet started and delete CAD Files. Builds lawfully started before the License ended may be completed.
• Sections 2, 10, 11 (as to labels), 14, 15, 16, 17, 19 and 20 survive.

19. Enforcement

We register our plans with the U.S. Copyright Office where appropriate and enforce our rights. We use takedown notices for copies posted online. Most issues are honest mistakes, and we'll first offer to regularize an unlicensed Build at the price in Section 5. We reserve all remedies available under law.

20. General

• Governing law: Missouri law, and federal copyright law. Venue: state courts in the Missouri county where our principal office is, or the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.

• This License, your license certificate, our Terms of Service and any signed CAD agreement are the entire agreement about the Plan.
• If any provision is unenforceable, the rest remains in effect.
• State disclosures. Your Plan Set carries the disclosure statement required for the state of each Build (for example, "NOT A LICENSED ARCHITECT" where Connecticut requires it, or the preparer's signature and occupational title where a state requires one). Don't remove it.

21. Confidentiality

Your cost data, lot lists and leads are kept confidential and are not used to compete for your lots or buyers.

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Prepared by a person who is not a licensed architect or professional engineer.