The Docker Subscription Service Agreement (DSSA) is the contract between Docker, Inc. and the customer named on an Order Form. It governs the initial purchase and “any future purchases made by Customer which reference this Agreement”.[1] The version described here was last updated on 26 August 2026. The DSSA covers paid plans and no-fee use alike, and it contains the Docker Desktop free-use threshold, the licence grant and restrictions, the payment, renewal and audit terms, and, since the 2026 update, a set of terms for AI Features and AI Agents. The Docker Terms of Use cover the website and Services in general. Where the Subscription Service Agreement governs a product, the Subscription Service Agreement prevails.[4] This article reads the clauses a licence or contract manager is most likely to need. The commercial plans themselves are described in Docker Desktop subscription licensing, and the vendor overview is Docker licensing.
Structure and precedence
The DSSA is one of several documents that make up a Docker contract. Order Forms “shall be deemed incorporated herein by reference”. A product schedule linked from the Services definition describes the Services.[1] Support is provided “in accordance with the Service Level Agreement & Terms” on Docker’s support page.[1]
The Order Form does not automatically override the DSSA. Its terms prevail “only if such Order Form expressly references this Agreement, the intent to prevail over this Agreement, and is authorized by both Docker and Customer”. Terms in a customer purchase order do not supersede the DSSA.[1] Docker may modify the terms “from time to time”. It gives notice or posts the modified terms, and specifies an effective date with the notice.[1]
Users and Entitlements
The DSSA’s licence metric is the User: “an individual human authorized by Customer to log into and/or use the Services”. On paid tiers, Users may include “employees, consultants, contractors, and agents of Customer or its affiliates”. For AI Features, the definition widens: “For purposes of AI Features use “User” shall mean a human or AI Agent.” An AI Agent is “autonomous or semi-autonomous software code performing operations on behalf of the User” (rule For AI Features a User may be a human or an AI Agent).[1]
Entitlements are “the User license quantities, usage minutes, use credits, image pull count and storage limits”, plus any other usage limits or support features in what the customer bought. On-Demand Usage is usage beyond those consumption limits.[1] On a non-individual subscription, no one other than Users may access the Services, and the number of Users may not exceed the Entitlements (rule Users may not exceed Entitlements).[1] Docker’s FAQ adds that every user authorized to access paid products or features needs a paid subscription. The customer may change which people are authorized, as long as the total stays within the paid count.[2]
Licence grant
Docker grants “a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable license during the applicable Subscription Term”. Under it the customer may let its Users download, install and run on-premises or local Services and use hosted Services, “for Customer’s internal business purposes”, subject to the Documentation and Entitlements.[1] Two carve-outs matter in practice:
- Redistribution of images. The customer “may redistribute Docker Images to third parties but solely when bundled with or incorporated into its own software products, and not on a standalone basis” (rule Docker Images may be redistributed only bundled into Customer products). Third-party images are Third-Party Products under their own terms.[1]
- Docker Hub account. “Users require a Docker Hub account to access and use the Service.”[1]
Docker owns the Usage Data it collects about use of the Services. It may use that data “to enforce this Agreement”.[1] The customer owns its Customer Data, including Input and Output.[1]
Free-use limits and personal subscriptions
Section 3 holds the restrictions that decide whether an installation needs a paid subscription.
- Docker Desktop threshold. Without a paid subscription, Docker Desktop is restricted to a non-commercial open source project or to “a commercial undertaking with fewer than 250 employees and less than US $10,000,000 (or equivalent local currency) in annual revenue” (rule Docker Desktop free use limited to fewer than 250 employees and less than US $10M revenue).[1]
- Government Entities. They “shall not use Docker Desktop or access other Entitlements of the Services without a paid subscription” (rule Government Entities require a paid Docker subscription).[1]
- Personal Service Subscriptions. These are “intended for individual, non-institutional use”. Developer Use excludes use connected with employment or engagement by a company or institution. Docker “reserves the right to audit usage patterns” and can require migration to a paid plan (rule Personal Service Subscriptions limited to Developer Use and Educational Use).[1]
- Personal accounts used for work. Users may not use a Docker account created under an email domain the customer has not authorized, or “use no-Fee accounts to provide any services” to an employer or commercial entity (rule No-fee personal accounts may not be used to provide services to an employer).[1]
The same section bars modifying, reverse engineering or sublicensing the Services, and using them to build competing products. It also bars excessive data transfer. If a customer’s bandwidth use “is significantly higher compared to other users of similar features, it may result in potential throttling or On-Demand Usage charges” (rule Excessive bandwidth may lead to throttling or On-Demand Usage charges).[1] Docker may suspend access for a breach of these restrictions. The customer then “remains responsible for all Fees incurred prior to the suspension” and gets no credit or refund.[1] Accounts inactive for more than six months “may be terminated at Docker’s discretion and without further notice”.[1]
Payment, renewal and marketplace purchases
| Clause | Rule | What the DSSA says |
|---|---|---|
| Payment Terms | Fees may change at renewal; invoices due in 30 days; 1.5% monthly late interest | Invoices, including On-Demand Usage, due within 30 days; fees may change at the end of a term; late payments bear interest at 1.5% per month[1] |
| Non-Refundable and Non-Cancelable | Fees non-refundable and payment obligations non-cancelable | “all fees and other amounts payable by Customer under this Agreement are non-refundable, and Customer’s payment obligations are non-cancelable”[1] |
| Subscription Term and Renewal | Subscriptions auto-renew for 12-month periods unless 30 days notice | Automatic renewal “for additional 12-month periods” unless either party gives at least 30 days’ written notice[1] |
| Marketplace and Reseller Purchases | Marketplace and Reseller buyers owe full Fees for the Subscription Term | The customer pays the channel but owes “full payment of the Fees for the Subscription Term”[1] |
Price protection runs only to the end of the current term. “Docker reserves the right to change the fees or applicable charges at the end of the Initial Term or then current renewal term”, and on renewal the customer pays the fees on the renewal Order Form.[1] A customer that does not want to renew sends notice by email to Docker sales. Services bought through a Reseller or Marketplace “may automatically renew via a direct invoice subject to that Reseller’s or Marketplace’s renewal terms”.[1]
For Marketplace and Reseller purchases, the agreement with the channel governs only fees and the Subscription Term. In any conflict, the DSSA “shall govern as between Docker and Customer”.[1] Docker’s separate Minimum Order Quantity policy applies to contracted annual customers and to channel purchases: 25 seats for a new Docker Business or Team annual customer and 10 seats per amendment (rule Contracted annual plans: 25-seat minimum for new customers, 10 for additions).[2]
AI Features
The 2026 DSSA adds terms for Docker AI Features, Agentic Platform Services and Sandboxes. AI Features “include any AI assistant (including the paid version of Gordon), AI Agent, or other automation that can propose or execute actions”.[1] The customer is responsible for configuring Sandbox governance and enterprise controls, choosing permitted file paths and network destinations, and “managing Users, keys, and credentials”.[1] Third-party model providers or MCP servers that the customer enables are Third-Party Products under their own terms.[1]
For licence counting, the point is that an AI Agent acting through an AI Feature is a User. For some AI Features and Cloud Sandboxes, Docker may delete usage history and data files older than 12 months, or within 90 days after the agreement ends.[1]
Records and audit
The customer “shall establish and maintain complete and accurate records related to Customer and its Users’ use of the Services”. It must also keep any other information reasonably needed for Docker to verify compliance. “Upon at least ten (10) days’ prior notice to Customer, Docker or its representative may inspect such records”. If the customer’s records or Docker’s own Services-related records show use beyond what was permitted, Docker “may invoice Customer for any past or ongoing underpaid amounts resulting from such excess use” (rule Records and audit on 10 days’ notice; excess use invoiced).[1]
Two features of this clause are worth noting. Docker can rely on its own Services-related records, such as sign-in and usage data, and not only on the customer’s records. The DSSA also sets no limit on how often Docker may inspect and no look-back period for underpaid amounts. General audit method is covered in Software license audit.
Term, termination and transfer
- Termination for breach. Either party may terminate an Order Form or the agreement if the other “materially breaches” and does not cure within 30 days of written notice.[1]
- Termination for convenience. Available only “If there are no outstanding Order Forms”, on at least 30 days’ prior written notice (rule Termination for convenience only when no Order Form is outstanding).[1]
- Effect of termination. All fees owed “will be immediately due”, and “the license to the Services will automatically terminate”.[1]
- Assignment. Neither party may assign without the other’s prior written consent, “not to be unreasonably withheld”. Docker may assign without consent to an affiliate or in a merger, acquisition, reorganization or sale of substantially all its assets (rule Docker license non-transferable; assignment needs consent).[1]
Liability and indemnity
Docker’s total liability “WILL NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNTS PAID BY CUSTOMER FOR THE RELEVANT SERVICE UNDER THE APPLICABLE ORDER FORM IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTH PERIOD” before the event, and indirect and consequential damages are excluded.[1] Docker defends claims that the Services, excluding Open Source Software, infringe a U.S. patent or copyright. It is not responsible for claims arising from customer fine-tuning or customization of AI Features, or from Input such as system prompts.[1] The customer indemnifies Docker for claims about Customer Data, for use that breaks the licence restrictions, and for “any action, Output, omission, or decision by an AI Agent or AI Feature” it initiates.[1] Trial Services and Early Access Products are provided as-is, with liability capped at the greater of US $100 or the fees paid for them.[1]
Governing law
Governing law depends on the account type and the customer’s domicile. No-fee accounts, and paid accounts in the Americas, Asia Pacific, India, Israel and other unspecified regions, fall under California law with JAMS arbitration in Santa Clara County. Paid accounts in the European Union, the European Economic Area, Switzerland, Africa or the Middle East (other than Israel) fall under the laws of the Netherlands, with the courts of Utrecht after SGOA mediation. United Kingdom customers are governed by the laws of England and Wales, with LCIA arbitration.[1]
Out of scope
- The Public Sector Subscription Service Agreement, which applies to U.S. government entities.[1]
- The Service Level Agreement & Terms and support response times, published on Docker’s support page.[3]
- Confidentiality, export control and data-processing terms, which do not change licence counts.
- Plan prices and features, covered in Docker Desktop subscription licensing.