Patreon Terms of Use

Patreon's Terms of Use are the rules that govern how creators can earn money and how patrons can support them on the platform, covering everything from how payments are processed to who owns the content creators post. The most important thing to know is that if you sign up, you automatically agree to resolve any legal disputes with Patreon through binding individual arbitration — meaning you give up your right to sue Patreon in court or join a class action lawsuit — unless you opt out in writing within 30 days of creating your account. If you are a new user, opt out of the arbitration clause immediately by emailing legal@patreon.com within 30 days of signing up.

This document is Patreon's Terms of Use (effective December 14, 2023), governing the contractual relationship between Patreon, Inc. and all users of the Patreon platform — including creators, patrons, and visitors — on the basis of contract formation upon account creation or continued use. The most significant obligations include creators granting Patreon a broad, royalty-free, sublicensable, worldwide license to use, reproduce, modify, and distribute their content, and users agreeing to binding individual arbitration with a class action waiver administered through JAMS. Notable provisions deviating from industry standard include Patreon's right to withhold earned creator funds pending fraud investigations without a defined resolution timeline, and a unilateral right to modify fees with notice, which shifts financial risk disproportionately to creators who depend on the platform for income. The document engages GDPR (for EU/EEA users), CCPA (for California residents), COPPA (users must be 13+, with special provisions for minors under 18), and the FTC Act Section 5 regarding unfair or deceptive practices in the context of the arbitration clause and payment processing disclosures. Material compliance considerations include ensuring the JAMS arbitration opt-out mechanism (30-day window from account creation) is sufficiently conspicuous under CFPB guidance, and that the broad intellectual property license meets GDPR Article 6 lawful basis requirements for EU users.