Service Level Agreement

1. Service Description

This Service Level Agreement (SLA) governs the availability, performance, and support of the 45black regulatory data infrastructure delivered via:

• MCP (Model Context Protocol) Server
• REST API
• GraphQL API

In Scope

• API availability and uptime
• Response time commitments
• Data accuracy standards
• Support response times

Out of Scope

• Client infrastructure or network issues
• Third-party service dependencies (e.g., client's AI systems)
• Force majeure events
• Scheduled maintenance windows

2. Service Availability

Uptime Commitment

Target Availability: 99.5% per calendar month

Calculation:

Uptime % = (Total Minutes - Downtime Minutes) / Total Minutes × 100

Exclusions from Downtime:

• Scheduled maintenance (notified 48 hours in advance)
• Force majeure events
• Client-side network or infrastructure issues
• DDoS attacks or security incidents
• Upstream dependencies (legislation.gov.uk)

Maintenance Windows

Scheduled Maintenance:

• Maximum 4 hours per month
• Typically: Sunday 02:00-06:00 GMT
• 48 hours notice via email
• Emergency maintenance: 4 hours notice

3. Performance Standards

API Response Times

Target Performance (95th percentile):

Measurement:

• Measured at API gateway (server-side)
• Excludes network latency
• 95th percentile of all requests
• Calculated per calendar month

Rate Limits

Standard Tier:

• 1,000 requests per hour
• 10,000 requests per day
• Burst: 100 requests per minute

Enterprise Tier:

• Custom rate limits
• Negotiated per client requirements

Rate limit exceeded = HTTP 429, not counted as downtime.

4. Data Accuracy Standards

Verification Status

Target Distribution:

• Minimum 45% obligations with passed verification status
• Maximum 10% obligations with failed verification status
• All obligations have provenance to source XML

Reporting:

• Verification distribution published monthly
• Available via /stats API endpoint
• Transparent reporting (no misleading "100%" claims)

Temporal Accuracy

• Commencement dates accurate to source legislation
• Amendment events tracked with effective dates
• Repeals and revocations recorded
• Point-in-time queries return accurate state for specified date

Source Synchronization

• Source: legislation.gov.uk Crown Copyright XML
• Synchronization: Weekly check for amendments
• Processing: New amendments within 7 days of detection
• Notification: Clients notified of material changes

5. Support Response Times

Support Tiers

Email Support (Standard):

• Severity 1 (Critical): Response within 4 business hours
• Severity 2 (High): Response within 8 business hours
• Severity 3 (Normal): Response within 24 business hours
• Severity 4 (Low): Response within 48 business hours

Business Hours: Monday-Friday, 09:00-17:00 GMT (excluding UK bank holidays)

Severity Definitions

Severity 1 (Critical):

• API completely unavailable
• Data corruption affecting multiple clients
• Security breach or data loss

Severity 2 (High):

• Significant performance degradation
• Feature not working as documented
• Affects multiple users but workaround exists

Severity 3 (Normal):

• Minor feature issues
• Documentation errors
• Enhancement requests

Severity 4 (Low):

• General questions
• Feature inquiries
• Best practice guidance

6. Service Credits

Credit Calculation

If we fail to meet uptime commitments, clients receive service credits:

Maximum Credit: 50% of monthly fee (not cumulative with other credits)

Claiming Credits

To claim service credits:

1. Submit claim within 30 days of incident
2. Provide evidence (timestamps, error logs if available)
3. We will verify against our monitoring data
4. Credits applied to next month's invoice

Credits are your sole remedy for availability failures (not cash refunds).

7. Monitoring and Reporting

Real-Time Status

Public Status Page: [TO BE CREATED]

• Current system status
• Incident history
• Scheduled maintenance calendar

Monthly Reports

Clients receive monthly SLA reports including:

• Uptime percentage
• Performance metrics (response times)
• Incident summary
• Planned maintenance schedule

Delivery: Within 5 business days of month end

8. Incident Management

Incident Response Process

1. Detection — Automated monitoring or client report
2. Triage — Severity assessment within 15 minutes
3. Communication — Initial acknowledgment per support tier
4. Investigation — Root cause analysis
5. Resolution — Fix deployed and verified
6. Post-mortem — For Severity 1/2 incidents only

Communication Channels

During Incidents:

• Email updates every 2 hours (Severity 1)
• Email updates every 4 hours (Severity 2)
• Status page updates in real-time

Contact: wills.crump@45black.tech (incidents escalated automatically)

9. Client Responsibilities

To receive SLA coverage, clients must:

Proper Use

• Use API within documented specifications
• Respect rate limits
• Not abuse or misuse the service

Timely Reporting

• Report incidents within 24 hours of discovery
• Provide reasonable diagnostic information
• Cooperate with troubleshooting

Payment

• Maintain current subscription
• No outstanding invoices over 30 days

Reasonable Expectations

• Understand that 99.5% uptime = ~3.6 hours downtime per month
• Accept scheduled maintenance windows
• Plan for eventual consistency in data updates

10. Exclusions and Limitations

No SLA Coverage For

• Website-only use (not API/MCP services)
• Beta or experimental features (clearly marked)
• Free trial periods
• Clients with overdue payments
• Violations of acceptable use policy

Force Majeure

We are not liable for service failures due to:

• Natural disasters
• War, terrorism, civil unrest
• Government actions or regulations
• Internet backbone failures
• Third-party infrastructure failures (AWS, legislation.gov.uk)
• Cyber attacks (beyond reasonable defenses)

11. Changes to SLA

We may update this SLA:

• On renewal of service agreements
• With 60 days notice to existing clients
• Immediately for security or legal compliance

Changes will not reduce commitments during active service term.

12. Termination

Effect on SLA

SLA coverage ends:

• On service agreement termination
• After final invoice payment
• 30 days after non-payment

Final Month

SLA applies to the final month of service, including any termination grace period.

13. Governing Law

This SLA is governed by the laws of England and Wales.

Disputes subject to exclusive jurisdiction of courts of England and Wales.

14. Contact

Questions about service levels:

Email: wills.crump@45black.tech
Company: 45Black Limited, Company No. 16860363
Address: 20 Wenlock Road, London, England, N1 7GU