Three Instructure documents sit beside the Master Terms and matter when a licence manager prices a renewal or reviews an integration: the Support Terms, which define the support tiers, the API Policy, which limits use of the Canvas API and the DAP Query API, and the Partner Program Terms and Conditions, which govern technology and channel partners. The Master Terms say support is provided “pursuant to the terms described on the Order Form” and that API use is “subject to the Instructure API Policy”.[4] This article summarises each and records where limits and fees apply.
Editions
The Support Terms list support offers in two groups.[1]
| Tier | Channels and availability | Initial response target (80% achievement) |
|---|---|---|
| Instructure Community Self Support | Not applicable (self support) | Not included |
| Basic Administrator Support | Email, phone, chat; 6a-6p local time | 48 hours |
| Enhanced Administrator Support 24X7 | Email, phone, chat; 24X7 | 12 hours by email, best effort phone and chat |
| Designated Support Point of Contact | Email; aligned to customer preference | Same day; named expert, roadmap and release reviews, knowledge transfer and limited event monitoring |
| Tier 1 Faculty | Email, phone, chat; 24X7; administrator and faculty access | 5 minutes chat and phone, 1 hour email |
| Tier 1 Faculty and Student (HIED) | Email, phone, chat; 24X7; all users | 5 minutes chat and phone, 1 hour email |
| Priority Tier 1 | Email, phone, chat; 24X7 | Next available resource assigned |
Availability depends on product family. For Canvas Products (LMS, Career, Studio, Catalog, Credentials), self support and Basic are “Available”, Enhanced is “Available for Additional Fee”, and the Designated Support Point of Contact is available for an additional fee plus a 24X7 subscription, excluding Career. Mastery Products (Mastery Connect, Mastery Item Bank and Mastery View formative and predictive assessments), Impact, LearnPlatform and Elevate Data Quality follow the same pattern, and the Tier 1 options are shown as available for Canvas Products at an additional fee plus the 24X7 subscription and as “Not Available” for the other families.[1] The page adds that “More available at an additional cost per year” and that response targets “are considered non-compensable”, so a missed target does not earn a credit; service credits arise only under the uptime commitment in the Master Terms.[1][4] Catalog programme: Canvas Support tiers.
Support for end users stays with the customer in the lower tiers: Basic and Enhanced give administrators access to a pool of experienced resources, while “end users are supported by the institution/school”.[1] The free Canvas Lite tier is outside these tiers and, under its own terms, excludes API token access.[5]
Metrics
The one metric in these documents is API usage. The Partner Terms define “API Usage” as API calls made by the partner or its users and affiliates; usage above the limits on the partner’s Order Form is subject to “API Overage Fees”.[3] Catalog row: API Usage. The API Policy itself states rate limits instead of fee units.
Counting / floors
Canvas API. Rate limiting adjusts dynamically as concurrent and expensive requests increase. “Rate limiting is enforced per user access token so that partners who perform requests on behalf of multiple end-users will not be throttled per developer access token that they hold.” If an application regularly exceeds the limits or uses a disproportionate number of high-impact non-GET requests, Instructure may revoke access tokens or take other measures.[2]
DAP Query API. The policy lists limits per endpoint, which are not additive:
| Method and endpoint | Limit |
|---|---|
GET table list (/dap/query/{namespace}/table) | 5 calls per minute |
| GET table schema | 500 calls per minute |
GET job status (/dap/job/) | 500 calls per minute |
| POST canvas table data | 500 calls per minute |
| POST canvas_logs table data | 5 calls per minute |
| POST object URL | 200 calls per minute |
The policy asks developers to use snapshots only for initial loads and incremental queries afterwards, and notes data retention for datasets such as web logs (30 days). Higher limits are requested through the Customer Success Manager.[2]
Floors. No minimum quantity appears in these documents. The Paid Partner Fee and any API limits are set by the partner Order Form.[3]
Virtualization & partitioning
Not applicable. The API Policy forbids “permitting direct or indirect access to or using any of our products or services in connection with our APIs in a way that circumvents the contractual usage limit”.[2]
Cloud / BYOL
All covered services are Instructure-hosted. Two API rules touch AI tooling. The restrictions prohibit “connecting to, integrating with, or accessing our products or services or our APIs or related documentation using model context protocol servers or other technologies not approved by Instructure”, and an application that uses generative AI must notify customers about it, label generated reports as AI generated, and say whether customer inputs are used for training or stored.[2]
Programs
Partner Program. A partner is either a Paid-Tier Partner, which has signed an Order Form for a paid tier and pays the Paid Partner Fee, or a Free-Tier Partner.[3]
- There is “no charge for participation in the Partner Program as a Free-Tier Partner”. A Paid-Tier Partner pays the Paid Partner Fee within thirty days of invoice and again for each renewal term unless it cancels in writing thirty days before renewal.[3]
- “Free-Tier Partners are not permitted to access or use the API”, and breach is a material breach. Paid-Tier use is subject to the API Policy.[3]
- If API usage exceeds the limits on the Order Form, the excess is charged as API Overage Fees “at rates determined by Instructure”. Instructure may change the rates on thirty days’ written notice.[3]
- As with customers, payment obligations are non-cancelable and non-refundable, fees “are based on subscriptions purchased and not actual usage”, and quantities cannot be decreased during the term.[3]
Catalog programme: Partner Program.
AI Addendum for partners. For AI products offered to Instructure customers through the Instructure Marketplace, the partner may not use “Instructure AI Data” for any purpose other than providing the AI product to the customer, and may not use it to develop, train or improve any AI product or model.[3] The addendum also requires documentation such as a model card on request and notice of AI incidents within 72 hours.[3]
Contract terms
API changes. Instructure may add, change and remove endpoints and fields. Removing a documented endpoint or field requires marking it DEPRECATED at least 90 days before removal, as does changing or removing an attribute value. Adding fields or attribute values can happen without notice, undocumented fields “can be removed or changed without notice”, BETA endpoints can change without prior notice, and security fixes may be made without prior notice.[2]
Policy changes. Instructure may modify the API Policy on reasonable notice; where an update materially affects rights or obligations it gives actual notice and at least 30 days before it takes effect.[2]
Liability and suspension. Instructure “has no liability” as a result of any change, temporary unavailability, suspension or termination of access to the Canvas API.[2] The Master Terms allow suspension for violations of the API Policy.[4]
Principles. The policy asks applications not to impersonate Instructure or its customers, not to surprise customers or users, to treat retrieved user information (such as enrolments and grades) as private, and not to overload users with pushed messages. Prohibited uses include competitive use, interference with Instructure systems, and using the APIs in a way that violates the policies of customers, for example an institution’s academic integrity policy.[2]
Partner conduct. Partners must keep Partner Applications current, may not solicit Instructure employees for twelve months after the agreement ends, and must meet security standards such as ISO/IEC 27001 or SOC 2 Type II or a completed security assessment.[3]
Audits and compliance
For partners the DPA permits Instructure to audit the partner’s compliance no more than once a year, or after a security breach or when a regulator requires it.[3] For API users, enforcement is technical: rate limiting, token revocation and suspension. The Master Terms provide no separate API audit right.[4]
Out of scope
- Prices for support tiers, the Paid Partner Fee amount and API Overage Fee rates, which are not public.
- Digitary support terms, which sit in a separate document linked from the Digitary Supplement.
- The Canvas API reference documentation and developer portal, which describe endpoints rather than licence terms.
- Partner Requirements hosted outside instructure.com, which were not retrievable.