Embedding legal texts in order and contract confirmations

Legal content in order and contract confirmations

Legal texts are not only shown on websites. They are also needed in transactional processes: in order confirmations, contract emails, sign-up flows, checkout steps and app screens. That is often where it matters which approved version was documented for a specific transaction.

TermShelf addresses this use case as Transactional Legal Text Delivery. The Public Delivery API exposes approved legal texts in three equivalent artifact forms: HTML, JSON and PDF.

Three technical paths

Which form fits depends on the system the legal text is being embedded in. The three paths are complementary, not exclusive.

• Embed HTML inline. Legal-text sections can be embedded directly into transactional emails, footers, checkout flows or app screens. A good fit when the receiving system simply renders a snippet and has no template logic of its own.
• Fetch JSON and render yourself. Structured content is rendered by your own mail or app templates. The legal text stays a single source of truth, the visual layout stays in your system.
• Attach PDF to mails. Approved versions are available as PDF artifacts and can be attached to e.g. an order confirmation, a contract email or a sign-up receipt.

Why versioning matters especially here

In transactional processes, what matters is not only that a legal text is included but which approved version applied at the time of the transaction. TermShelf addresses this on a product level via two building blocks:

• Version pinning: A specific approved version is referenced deliberately and delivered stably.
• effective_at delivery: A timestamp lets you address the version that was approved at a given point in time.

Both building blocks are part of the delivery model as product capabilities. Concrete endpoints and parameters will follow with the activation of the Public Delivery API — see the developers overview for details.

What TermShelf does not do

TermShelf does not produce legally binding content and is not a substitute for legal advice. PDF attachments are a technical delivery path — they do not automatically satisfy every legal requirement for a specific use case. Whether HTML in a footer, JSON in a custom template, a PDF attachment or a combination of the three paths fits a specific order confirmation remains a decision for the user in coordination with qualified counsel.

What TermShelf does do

TermShelf helps systems include or attach approved legal texts in order, contract or sign-up confirmations. The Public Delivery API serves HTML, JSON and PDF from an approved version, with a stable version reference. Which form a system uses is up to the receiving system. Which legal assessment hangs on it is up to the user.