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The agreement excludes liability for indirect, incidental, consequential, or exemplary damages, loss of content value, profits, revenues, customers, goodwill, and service unavailability. Aggregate liability for either party is capped at the amounts paid by the customer to AWS for the relevant services during the 12 months preceding the liability. Both caps are subject to exceptions where applicable law prohibits limitation.
This analysis describes what AWS's agreement states, permits, or reserves. It does not constitute a legal determination about enforceability. Regulatory applicability and practical outcomes may vary by jurisdiction, enforcement context, and individual circumstances. Read our methodology
The liability cap at 12 months of paid fees and the exclusion of consequential damages, including loss of content value and service unavailability, are operationally significant for customers whose business operations depend on AWS services. Losses from service outages, data unavailability, or business disruption would not be recoverable beyond the 12-month fee cap under these terms.
Under Section 9, AWS's aggregate liability to customers for any claim is capped at the fees paid for the relevant services in the 12 months before the liability arose, and neither party may recover consequential, indirect, or exemplary damages or the value of lost content. Service credit remedies under SLAs are expressly preserved within the agreement framework.
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"EXCEPT FOR PAYMENT OBLIGATIONS UNDER SECTION 7, NEITHER AWS NOR YOU, NOR ANY OF THEIR AFFILIATES OR LICENSORS, WILL HAVE LIABILITY TO THE OTHER UNDER ANY CAUSE OF ACTION OR THEORY OF LIABILITY, EVEN IF A PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH LIABILITY, FOR (A) INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, (B) THE VALUE OF YOUR CONTENT, (C) LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUES, CUSTOMERS, OPPORTUNITIES, OR GOODWILL, OR (D) UNAVAILABILITY OF THE SERVICES OR AWS CONTENT... THE AGGREGATE LIABILITY UNDER THIS AGREEMENT OF EITHER AWS OR YOU... WILL NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNTS PAID BY YOU TO AWS UNDER THIS AGREEMENT FOR THE SERVICES THAT GAVE RISE TO THE LIABILITY DURING THE 12 MONTHS BEFORE THE LIABILITY AROSE.Excerpt from AWS's Customer Agreement
1. REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: Limitation of liability clauses in commercial B2B contracts are generally permissible under U.S. and most international commercial law, subject to applicable statutory constraints. In the EU and UK, certain limitations of liability may be subject to reasonableness tests under unfair contract terms legislation, particularly for standard-form commercial agreements. Sector-specific regulatory frameworks such as HIPAA do not necessarily override contractual liability limits between covered entities and business associates, though statutory penalties under HIPAA are separate from contractual claims. 2. GOVERNANCE EXPOSURE: High. The exclusion of content value recovery and consequential damages means that operational losses from service disruption, data loss, or business interruption are contractually excluded from recovery beyond the 12-month fee cap. For large-scale enterprise deployments, the 12-month fee cap may represent a fraction of actual business loss in a significant service failure scenario. 3. JURISDICTION FLAGS: EU Directive 93/13 on unfair terms in standard contracts and UK Consumer Rights Act provisions may limit the enforceability of certain aspects of this liability limitation for applicable customer categories. Some jurisdictions prohibit limitation of liability for gross negligence or willful misconduct, and the agreement acknowledges limitations that cannot be excluded under applicable law. 4. CONTRACT AND VENDOR IMPLICATIONS: Enterprise customers should assess whether the 12-month fee cap is adequate in the context of their AWS spend relative to potential business loss exposure. Risk management and insurance teams should evaluate whether cyber liability, business interruption, or errors and omissions insurance policies provide coverage for losses that are contractually excluded under this cap. The mutual nature of the cap (applying to both AWS and the customer) is noted but the asymmetry in practical exposure for data loss or service unavailability is material. 5. COMPLIANCE CONSIDERATIONS: Legal and risk teams should document the effective liability cap based on current AWS spend and compare it against potential business loss scenarios to inform risk acceptance decisions. Organizations in regulated sectors should confirm that the liability framework does not conflict with regulatory requirements for vendor accountability or contractual protections.
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The liability cap at 12 months of paid fees and the exclusion of consequential damages, including loss of content value and service unavailability, are operationally significant for customers whose business operations depend on AWS services. Losses from service outages, data unavailability, or business disruption would not be recoverable beyond the 12-month fee cap under these terms.
Under Section 9, AWS's aggregate liability to customers for any claim is capped at the fees paid for the relevant services in the 12 months before the liability arose, and neither party may recover consequential, indirect, or exemplary damages or the value of lost content. Service credit remedies under SLAs are expressly preserved within the agreement framework.
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