This is Shopify's Terms of Service — the legally binding contract that governs how merchants and developers can use the Shopify platform to build and run online stores. The most important thing for merchants to know is that Shopify can suspend or terminate your store account immediately and without prior notice if it determines you have violated its Acceptable Use Policy, which could cut off your business and revenue stream. If you are a US-based merchant, you should be aware that you are subject to mandatory arbitration with a class action waiver, and you have 30 days from account creation to opt out.
Technical Summary
This document is Shopify's Terms of Service governing merchant and developer access to and use of the Shopify platform, APIs, and associated services, founded on a clickwrap acceptance model under Canadian law (Ontario) with international jurisdictional variants. The most significant obligations include merchant compliance with Shopify's Acceptable Use Policy, payment of subscription and transaction fees, compliance with Shopify Payments terms, and Shopify's right to modify fees with notice and to suspend or terminate accounts for policy violations. Notable provisions include Shopify's broad reservation of rights to suspend accounts immediately without prior notice for AUP violations, the application of mandatory arbitration and class action waivers for US-based merchants, and Shopify's retention of broad license rights over merchant content submitted to the platform. The document engages GDPR (as Shopify acts as data processor for merchant customer data), CCPA, PCI DSS (through Shopify Payments), Canadian PIPEDA, and relevant financial services regulations across multiple jurisdictions. Material compliance considerations include Shopify's dual role as both platform operator and payment processor, the implications of its data sub-processing arrangements for EU merchant compliance, and the risk that US merchants who fail to opt out of arbitration within 30 days of account creation waive class action rights permanently.
If you have a dispute with Shopify, you must resolve it through private arbitration rather than going to court, and you cannot join a class action lawsuit with other affected merchants.
Shopify can shut down your store instantly and without warning for any reason, including violations of its Acceptable Use Policy, with no obligation to give you advance notice or an opportunity to fix the problem.
Merchants must follow Shopify's Acceptable Use Policy and all applicable laws, and any violation — including selling prohibited products — can result in immediate account termination.
Shopify is not legally responsible for any financial losses, lost profits, data loss, or other damages merchants or users suffer as a result of using the platform, even if Shopify was at fault.
Merchants must pay Shopify's legal costs and defend Shopify against any claims brought by third parties resulting from the merchant's actions or violations of the Terms — including claims arising from products the merchant sells.
When you upload content to Shopify — including product descriptions, images, and store content — you give Shopify a permanent, royalty-free license to use, share, and distribute that content through Shopify and its partners across any media.
Shopify can raise its fees or add new fees at any time as long as it gives you 30 days' notice, and continuing to use your store after that notice counts as your agreement to the new prices.
Legal disputes with Shopify are governed by Ontario, Canada law, and non-US merchants must take any court action in Canadian courts — even if they are based in the EU, UK, or elsewhere.
Merchants who use a payment processor other than Shopify's own payments product will be charged additional transaction fees by Shopify on top of the fees charged by their chosen payment processor.
Shopify can change any part of its Terms of Service at any time just by posting updates on its website, and continuing to use Shopify after that counts as your agreement to the new terms.
Added April 27, 2026
Cross-platform context
See how other platforms handle Acceptable Use Policy Compliance Obligation and similar clauses.