The Box Terms of Service are the online contract for all Box Services. The version in force on 2026-10-03 shows “Effective date as of August 17, 2026”, and earlier versions are archived on the same page.[1] Using, accessing or registering for the Services binds the user. A person acting for an organization binds the organization, “unless that organization has a separate paid contract in effect with us, in which event the terms of that contract will govern”.[1] The contracting Box entity depends on residence: Box, Inc. in the United States, Box.com (UK) Ltd. elsewhere except Japan, and K.K. Box Japan in Japan.[1] Catalog proof: A separate paid contract overrides the Terms of Service.
The Fair Use Policy, effective 2026-06-26, applies to all users. Customers that do not comply with it “or exceed purchased usage limits” risk extra controls, suspension or termination, or Box “declining your next service renewal”.[2] Box may change the Terms, notifying material changes in the service or by email. Continued use after the notice counts as consent.[1]
Editions
The Terms do not list plans. Section 23 refers to “the specific subscription plan that you have purchased as identified on the Box website”, so the pricing pages define what each plan includes.[1][5] Specific sections apply to Box Software (desktop and mobile clients), Box Platform and Box AI, Box Zones, and training or consulting services.[1] The plans are compared in Box plans, storage and file limits.
Metrics
Who counts as a user
Section 23 requires “a Box account for each user”. It counts two groups as the organization’s users:[1]
- users whose accounts are controlled by the organization’s administrator; and
- users permitted to access, store, retrieve or manage the organization’s Content who are employed by the organization or whose accounts use an email address it controls.
“These categories include, for the avoidance of doubt, any such users with individual plan accounts.”[1] An employee who stores company content in a free or Personal Pro account under a company email address is therefore an organization user who needs a paid user account licence. Catalog proof: Every user needs a Box account licence; Employees on individual plans count as organization users.
Accounts are personal: “Each user must have a separate account. You may not share, loan or transfer your ID or password.”[1] Catalog proof: Accounts may not be shared.
External collaborators
External collaborators are users from outside the organization whose accounts were not created in its Admin Console and do not use its email domains.[4] They need no licence on Business Plus and higher. On Starter and Business, “seats refer to both internal and external users”.[3] The Fair Use Policy forbids creating or directing the creation of individual accounts “for the purpose of avoiding limitations on service rate limits or the purchase of Box licenses in exceeding your user entitlement”.[2] Catalog proof: External collaborators count as seats on Starter and Business; External accounts may not be used to avoid buying licences.
Counting / floors
The Excess Users true-up
The Excess Users true-up is set out in sections 23 and 23.1.[1]
| Step | Rule |
|---|---|
| Report | Box “may, at any time at its discretion” notify the billing contact of users in excess of purchased account licences (“Excess Users”) |
| 7 days | The customer must “within seven (7) days of receiving such report” buy more accounts or permanently delete the Excess Users |
| Restriction | Until resolved, Box may restrict the organization’s ability to deploy additional accounts |
| 21 days | “Twenty-one (21) days after sending such report, Box will bill the then-current payment method on file” for Excess Users not permanently deleted |
| Terms of added licences | Same plan as the existing subscription, coterminous with existing licences, included in future renewals, priced per box.com/pricing |
| Refunds | “Once charged, you will not receive a refund or credit for deleting accounts of Excess Users.” |
The Terms do not back-date the charge to when the users appeared. They make the added licences coterminous with the existing ones and include them in later renewals. The customer has a seven-day window to clean up, and the bill then goes to the payment method on file without a new order. Catalog proof: Excess Users must be bought or deleted within seven days of a report; Box bills remaining Excess Users 21 days after its report; No refund after deleting billed Excess Users.
Practices the Fair Use Policy forbids
Section 2a of the Fair Use Policy requires every individual to have “an account tied to a unique email address” and forbids taking “actions to artificially decrease their user count”. Its examples are:[2]
- creating a single user account that several users share;
- creating accounts tied to a generic address or alias;
- “Deleting user accounts prior to a true-up and then subsequently re-provisioning those accounts”;
- provisioning accounts on employees’ personal email addresses to get around the user count.
User accounts also “cannot be used as a ‘system account’ or ‘service account’ that uses Box APIs” independent of a specific person without Box’s prior authorization.[2] Catalog proof: Do not deflate the user count; User accounts may not be used as service accounts.
Excess consumption
API Calls, AI Units and other enterprise-wide consumables must stay within the plan entitlements at box.com/pricing. Above them, Box may throttle, rate-limit or temporarily suspend use and, “At the direction of an Administrative User”, bill extra resources.[1] The customer is responsible for “API and AI Unit overages”.[1] See Box AI Units, Platform and add-ons. Catalog proof: Consumables above entitlement can be throttled or billed.
Virtualization & partitioning
Not applicable. The Terms count user accounts and consumables, not servers or devices. Box Software is licensed only “for the sole purpose of enabling you to use and enjoy the benefit of the Service”, so installing Box Drive or the mobile apps needs no separate count.[1] Catalog proof: Box desktop and mobile software is licensed only to use the Service.
Cloud / BYOL
The Services are provided from the United States, and content is stored there unless Box Zones is bought. Zones requires “a Box Zones account for each user” and covers only content created after the purchase.[1] Catalog proof: Box Zones needs a Zones account for each user.
Programs
Subscription periods and renewal
Section 22 offers two billing options:[1]
- Monthly Subscription Plan. One month, renewing automatically “unless you cancel your Monthly Subscription Plan at least three (3) business days prior to the renewal date”. It can be switched to annual at any time.
- Annual Subscription Plan. One year, renewing for further one-year periods unless cancelled three business days before the anniversary. “Note that under the Annual Subscription Plan you will not be permitted to cancel, reduce the number of seats, or downgrade the Box Service you have selected until the anniversary date.”
Renewals are at “the then-current price and term length”. Box may change prices at any time, but “if we have offered a specific duration and Fee for your use of the Service, we agree that the Fee will remain in force for that duration”.[1] Fees are paid in the currency quoted at purchase.[1] Where the law gives a right to cancel at the start of a subscription, Box refunds unused prepaid fees pro rata, but the customer still pays for any Excess Usage.[1] Catalog proof: Subscriptions renew automatically at the then-current price; Offered fees are fixed only for the offered duration; Annual plans cannot be reduced or downgraded mid-term.
Trials
A trial starts when the trial account is created and lasts the period shown at sign-up or, “if the length of the trial period is not specified, 14 days”. If Box has said the trial will convert and it is not cancelled by the end of the last day, it becomes a paid subscription, with no credits or refunds after that.[1] Catalog proof: Trials last 14 days unless stated otherwise.
Termination, exit and assignment
Box may suspend or terminate access for breach, for risk of harm, or when it declines to renew. Where reasonable, it gives advance notice and a chance to correct the problem.[1] After termination the customer may request access to its content, except after termination for breach. “You must make such request within fourteen (14) days following termination”. After that Box has no obligation to keep the content.[1] Catalog proof: Content must be requested within 14 days of termination.
The customer “may not assign this contract or transfer any rights to use the Service” without Box’s written consent, while Box may assign freely.[1] The Fair Use Policy forbids reselling, renting or otherwise commercializing the Service unless the agreement expressly permits it.[2] Catalog proof: No resale or commercialization of the Service.
Audits and compliance
The Terms contain no audit right. Box measures accounts and consumption itself and acts on its own reports: the Excess Users notice for users, and Excess Usage reports for consumables.[1] Practical steps that follow from the text:
- Review managed and external users in the Admin Console’s Users and Groups screen before renewal, and resolve overages by adding seats or removing users.[3]
- Find employees using individual Box accounts with company email addresses, since they count as organization users.[1]
- Act within seven days of an Excess Users report; after 21 days the charge is automatic and non-refundable.[1]
- On annual plans, reduce seats only at the anniversary date and cancel at least three business days before it.[1]
See also true-up and software license audit.
Out of scope
- Negotiated master agreements and Order Forms, which replace the online Terms where they exist.
- Data processing, privacy and regional terms (for example the EU Data Act information on Box’s Regional Information page).
- Box Sign disclosure terms and Box consulting services.