The Personio General Terms and Conditions (GTC) and an Order Form together are the “Agreement” for a subscription to the Software and any Services. Services can have supplemental terms that form part of the Agreement. Personio’s own terms exclude deviating customer terms unless it agrees in writing, and the precedence runs from the Order Form (or similar offer document) to supplemental terms, then the Data Processing Addendum (DPA), then the GTC.[1] The current version is dated 08-2026; the Legal Hub also holds the previous 07-2024 version and a variant for the United Kingdom and Ireland.[1][2]
Editions
The terms come in documents rather than editions.
| Document | Version on the page | Governs |
|---|---|---|
| GTC | 08-2026 | Subscription, trial, term, payment, liability, amendments[1] |
| UK & Ireland GTC | 08-2026 | Same structure with English law and different liability and licence clauses[2] |
| Data Processing Addendum | 09-2024 | Processing of personal data, sub-processors[3] |
| Professional Services terms | 01-2025 | Implementation, migration, consulting[4] |
| Payroll and AI supplemental terms | 12-2024 and 08-2026 | See Payroll and AI features terms |
The trial is the first contract step. By creating an account the customer offers to conclude a free trial agreement, and Personio accepts by sending login details. The trial lasts 14 days, one per customer, extendable at Personio’s discretion, and the account is blocked after it ends. A fee-based Agreement follows by choosing plans and apps in the account or by accepting an Order Form.[1]
Metrics
The GTC do not define a seat metric in the abstract. They speak of “a predefined maximum number of users” for which the customer chooses plans and apps, and of a “User Commitment”, a minimum user number established in the Order Form that applies for the Subscription Term.[1] The practical definition of a counted user is on the pricing page and in the FAQ (all active users, no former employees): see Plans, seats and apps. The customer can switch plans and change the maximum number of users; upgrades take effect when the customer makes or confirms the change, while for downgrades and removing apps the notice periods apply and there is no (pro rata) refund.[1] Users must not share login data and shared accounts are prohibited.[1]
Counting / floors
Term and notice. The customer chooses a monthly or yearly subscription.[1]
| Subscription | Initial term | Renewal | Notice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly | One month | Monthly, automatically | Not later than 15 days before the renewal date |
| Annual | At least one year or as in the Order Form | Yearly, automatically | Not later than 90 days before the renewal date |
The pricing page adds a minimum run-time of 12 months for the yearly subscription.[5] Termination must be given in writing, including email, and all licences and rights then end immediately. Both parties keep the right to terminate for good cause.[1]
Payment. Fees are paid by direct debit or as stated in the Order Form, invoices are electronic, and the billing period starts on the commencement date.[1] Users added between billing periods are charged pro rata. Taxes are extra. Usage-based fees, including AI overage, are billed monthly in arrears in the month after use, and the payment duty for usage up to the end of the Agreement survives termination.[1] Personio may suspend access when an amount is 30 or more days overdue and not paid within five days of notice, or for a security threat.[1]
Renewal pricing. On Renewal Personio may increase fees by up to five percent compared with the preceding term. If the customer reduces scope or users at Renewal, fees follow the applicable Order Form, and fees never exceed list price.[1]
Amendments. Personio may change the GTC at any time. It announces changes by email at least four weeks ahead, and consent is deemed given if the customer does not object in writing within two weeks. If the customer objects, the change does not take effect, the Agreement continues under the existing terms and Personio may terminate extraordinarily on one month’s notice. For modifications of the Software, notice is four weeks and the objection period two weeks; Personio may also modify the Software or Services where necessary for legal compliance, court orders, security, significant changes by third-party providers, or where beneficial to the customer, with a pro rata reimbursement for separately invoiced additional functionality on annual calculation.[1]
Virtualization & partitioning
The GTC contain no rule on processors, hosting partitions or deployment topology. They set service-level and responsibility rules instead. Availability is 99.5 percent on an annual average, excluding force majeure and planned maintenance outside Monday to Friday 9:00 to 18:00 local time. For total failures reported within support hours Personio will attempt a reaction time of four hours, and for minor errors one working day. Defect claims expire within 12 months.[1]
Cloud / BYOL
Usage right. Personio grants a non-exclusive, non-transferable and time-limited usage right for the subscribed Software for the agreed term. The customer must use it in accordance with the Agreement and not provide it to third parties; the right extends to affiliates only insofar as the plan provides for it. Personio may process anonymous data and owns rights in it for development and other purposes.[1]
UK and Ireland variant. The licence is described as worldwide, non-exclusive, non-transferable and terminable, with a licence from the customer to Personio to use customer content to provide the Software. The customer must not resell the Software or make it available to unauthorised third parties, build a competing service, or reverse engineer it. A mutual intellectual-property indemnity applies, with a replacement or refund remedy.[2]
Integrations. Partner Integrations are provided under the responsibility of third parties and are not Personio Services; the customer must be entitled to use the third-party system.[1]
Programs
- 14-day trial, Monthly subscription and Annual subscription: above.[1]
- Renewal price increase of up to 5 percent: five percent cap on renewal increases.[1]
- Data export after termination: after termination Personio makes the stored data available for self-service export for 30 days, then deletes it and confirms in writing on request.[1]
- Professional Services: time-effort billing unless a fixed price is agreed, invoicing in 15-minute units, payment within 14 days, travel time at 50 percent of working time.[4]
- Self-service changes: downgrades on the customer’s own are limited to monthly customers with fewer than 50 seats and are scheduled for the next renewal date.[6]
Audits and compliance
The GTC contain no audit or inspection clause for licence use. The compliance rules are duties of the customer: evaluate fitness of the Software before purchase, provide a contact person with a deputy, review AI output, administer accounts and integrations, and report misuse and security risks without delay. Each party complies with export control and sanctions law, and the customer must not make the service available to embargoed or listed parties.[1]
Data protection. Personio acts as processor and the customer as controller; the DPA is part of the Agreement and prevails over the GTC. Sub-processors are listed in the product, new ones are announced by email, and no reasonable objection within 14 days counts as approval. If the parties cannot resolve an objection, Personio may terminate with immediate effect.[1][3]
Liability. Under the German-law GTC, Personio is liable for intent, gross negligence, injury to life, body or health and under product liability law. For slight negligence in paid services it is liable only for cardinal obligations, limited to typical foreseeable damage.[1] Under the UK and Ireland variant, Personio excludes liability for loss of profit, data and indirect loss and caps total liability at fees paid in the 12 calendar months before the claim.[2]
Governing law. German law applies to the GTC (UN Sales Convention excluded) with exclusive jurisdiction Munich as far as legally permissible; the UK and Ireland variant is governed by English law with non-exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.[1][2]
Out of scope
The text of the DPA’s technical and organisational measures, the list of current sub-processors (visible only inside the product), Order Form terms and the 07-2024 predecessor of the GTC are not analysed here.