General Terms of Service

SERIOUS
FIRST SEEN 2026-08-28 · VERSION 20260828_rev01 · COMPARED WITH 20260825_rev01

What changed, in plain language

DreamHost narrowed its 30-day money-back guarantee so that all VPS plans — including Managed VPS, which used to qualify — are now excluded from refunds. It also expanded what customers must cover DreamHost for: indemnification now applies to all intellectual property infringement (not just copyright) and to anything DreamHost's own AI tools produce for you. The rest of the update is typo fixes.

Changes that may affect you

You pay if DreamHost's AI tools get you in troubleSERIOUS
LIABILITY LIMITS

DreamHost added AI tool output to the list of things you must defend and pay for. If a business name, website text, or design its AI generates turns out to copy someone else's work, and that person sues, you owe the legal bills — for DreamHost, not just yourself. DreamHost built and ran the tool, but the risk lands on you.

any output generated from customer use of DreamHost AI Tools, including, but not limited to Remixer and Business Name Generator.

What you can do — Before you publish anything DreamHost's AI tools make, search whether the name, logo, or text is already in use by someone else.

Your duty to cover DreamHost's legal costs got widerMATERIAL
LIABILITY LIMITS

You used to be on the hook only for copyright claims. Now it is any intellectual property claim, which also means patents, trademarks, and trade secrets. Patent claims in particular can be very expensive to defend.

intellectual property infringement;
Managed VPS lost its 30-day money-back guaranteeMATERIAL
BILLING & RENEWAL

Before this change, only Self-Managed VPS was cut out of the 30-day refund. Now every VPS plan is excluded, including Managed VPS. If you sign up for a Managed VPS and it does not work out, you cannot get a refund in the first 30 days the way you could before.

The "30-Day Money-Back Guarantee" offer is only applicable to credit card and PayPal payments for DreamHost Website Hosting Services, excluding Email Service, Dedicated Server, VPS, Managed VPS, Remixer, and DreamCompute products.

What you can do — If you want a plan you can back out of, pick a shared or WordPress hosting plan instead of a VPS — and if you already have a VPS, cancel before your renewal date since no refund is coming for unused time.

Changelog

  1. ± CHANGEDManaged VPS plans no longer get the 30-day refund

    The refund exclusion list used to name only "Self-Managed VPS." It now says "VPS, Managed VPS," which covers every VPS plan. If you buy a Managed VPS and cancel in the first 30 days, you no longer get your money back.

    excluding Email Service, Dedicated Server, Self-Managed VPS, Remixer, and DreamCompute products, within thirty (30) days of initial signup

    excluding Email Service, Dedicated Server, VPS, Managed VPS, Remixer, and DreamCompute products, within thirty (30) days of initial signup

  2. ± CHANGEDYou now cover DreamHost for any intellectual property claim, not just copyright

    The list of things you promise to pay for on DreamHost's behalf changed from "copyright infringement" to "intellectual property infringement." That is a wider net — it now also covers patent, trademark, and trade secret claims.

    3. copyright infringement;

    3. intellectual property infringement;

  3. + ADDEDYou are responsible for what DreamHost's AI tools produce

    A new item was added to the indemnification list. If something DreamHost's AI tools generate for you — like Remixer or the Business Name Generator — leads to a legal claim, you have to defend DreamHost and pay the costs, including its lawyers.

    any output generated from customer use of DreamHost AI Tools, including, but not limited to Remixer and Business Name Generator.

  4. ± CHANGEDTypo and spacing fixes

    "imagemapping" was split into "image mapping," and a missing space after a comma was added in the indemnification paragraph. No change in meaning.

    Sound, imagemapping, etc.

    Sound, image mapping, etc.

  5. ± CHANGEDLast updated date changed

    The document date moved from August 24, 2026 to August 27, 2026.

    August 24, 2026

    August 27, 2026

Full text changes — 20260825_rev01 to 20260828_rev01

COLOUR MARKS THE SEVERITY OF A FLAGGED CLAUSE · + AND − MARK ADDED AND REMOVED

11## General Terms of Service
22
33#### Last Updated:
44
5August 24, 2026
5August 27, 2026
66
77PLEASE READ THESE TERMS OF SERVICE CAREFULLY.
88
99DreamHost offers a variety of services to customers that range from hosting and website services (including shared, VPS, and dedicated hosting, WordPress hosting, Remixer, email, cloud services, and domain registration services, among others). These services are collectively referred to as "Services."
1010
1111By using DreamHost's Services, Customer agrees to these Terms of Service and any other policies or terms referenced or published by us (collectively, the "Terms"). If Customer does not accept these Terms, Customer must not register an account or purchase, access, or use DreamHost's Services in any way.
2525When creating an account, you may select your preferred currency. **Once you select a preferred currency, this choice is final and cannot be changed.** All future transactions will be processed in the selected currency. **Prices are standardized and may account for operational costs, including currency conversion fees and regional pricing policies.** By proceeding with a currency selection, you acknowledge and accept this policy.
2626
2727Customer agrees to a thirty (30) day contract minimum beginning upon commencement of service. Exact contract duration is decided upon at signup.
2828
2929Customer agrees that all charges and fees associated with an account are their sole responsibility. Failure to make payment within sixty (60) days of the due date may result in restriction of access to, or suspension of Services.
3030
31If the customer wishes to cancel DreamHost Website Hosting Services, excluding Email Service, Dedicated Server, Self-Managed VPS, Remixer, and DreamCompute products, within thirty (30) days of initial signup, they shall be able to do so for any reason (aside from disablement for Terms of Service, or incorporated policy violations) and have their money promptly refunded.
31If the customer wishes to cancel DreamHost Website Hosting Services, excluding Email Service, Dedicated Server, VPS, Managed VPS, Remixer, and DreamCompute products, within thirty (30) days of initial signup, they shall be able to do so for any reason (aside from disablement for Terms of Service, or incorporated policy violations) and have their money promptly refunded.
3232
3333Services provided by third parties and DreamHost partners are not part of the 30-day refund policy, and no early-ending credit applies. Billing will stop at the end of the term during which the service is canceled.
3434
3535**AUTOMATIC RENEWAL**: **At the end of the contract term, the contract will automatically renew at the then-current, non-promotional rate for the original contract length indefinitely until canceled. At the end of any trial period, the applicable Service will convert to the corresponding paid Service and be charged at the applicable rate, unless canceled prior to the trial end date.**
3636
3737**DreamHost will automatically renew the applicable service when it comes up for renewal and will take payment from the payment method associated with your account. If you do not wish for any service to automatically renew, you may elect to cancel that service, in which case, your Services will terminate upon expiration of the then-current term, unless you manually renew your Services before that date. Any Services must be canceled prior to their renewal date(s) in order to avoid automatic renewals. Renewal dates take effect at midnight, PST.**
3838
39**If the customer's payment card is determined to be expired, invalid, or otherwise not able to be charged, the customer agrees that DreamHost may use other payment methods linked to the customer's bank account (such as new credit card credentials from your card issuer). If a DreamHost Service is terminated after the 30-day Money-Back Guarantee period, as applicable to Website Hosting Services, excluding Email Service, Dedicated Server, Self-Managed VPS, Remixer, and DreamCompute products, the Service will be canceled before the next payment is due, and no more billing will occur, nor will any payment be refunded, even for unused portions. If any non-refundable charges have already been incurred, they must be paid before the account may be canceled.**
39**If the customer's payment card is determined to be expired, invalid, or otherwise not able to be charged, the customer agrees that DreamHost may use other payment methods linked to the customer's bank account (such as new credit card credentials from your card issuer). If a DreamHost Service is terminated after the 30-day Money-Back Guarantee period, as applicable to Website Hosting Services, excluding Email Service, Dedicated Server, VPS, Managed VPS, Remixer, and DreamCompute products, the Service will be canceled before the next payment is due, and no more billing will occur, nor will any payment be refunded, even for unused portions. If any non-refundable charges have already been incurred, they must be paid before the account may be canceled.**
4040
4141**You can cancel by accessing the [**Manage Account**](https://panel.dreamhost.com/index.cgi) panel page. Detailed and up-to-date cancellation instructions can be found [**here**](https://help.dreamhost.com/hc/en-us/articles/215202457).**
4242
43The "30-Day Money-Back Guarantee" offer is only applicable to credit card and PayPal payments for DreamHost Website Hosting Services, excluding Email Service, Dedicated Server, Self-Managed VPS, Remixer, and DreamCompute products. Other forms of payment are non-refundable. Refunds are not available for the value of any trial periods of any services. Domain registrations (including the value of any used domain registration credits included with the plan) are not refundable under any circumstances. SSL certificates are non-refundable. Remixer subscription fees, and Remixer Credits are non-refundable. The value of any AdWords credit or other third-party add-ons is non-refundable.
43The "30-Day Money-Back Guarantee" offer is only applicable to credit card and PayPal payments for DreamHost Website Hosting Services, excluding Email Service, Dedicated Server, VPS, Managed VPS, Remixer, and DreamCompute products. Other forms of payment are non-refundable. Refunds are not available for the value of any trial periods of any services. Domain registrations (including the value of any used domain registration credits included with the plan) are not refundable under any circumstances. SSL certificates are non-refundable. Remixer subscription fees, and Remixer Credits are non-refundable. The value of any AdWords credit or other third-party add-ons is non-refundable.
4444
4545Violations of DreamHost's Terms may, at DreamHost's discretion, result in immediate and permanent disablement without refund.
4646
4747DreamHost reserves the right to disable or suspend without refund any account or service at any time should it feel, in its sole discretion, that there is a reasonable suspicion that it is being used in violation of any agreed upon terms.
4848
4949Disputed charges ("chargebacks") associated with any DreamHost account, at DreamHost's discretion, may result in immediate and potentially permanent disablement of Services or the full account. Each rejected charge will incur a $50 fee on the account which must be paid before any Services may be reactivated.
7070Customer will provide DreamHost with material and data in a condition that is "server-ready", which is in a form requiring no additional manipulation on the part of DreamHost. DreamHost shall make no effort to validate this information for content, correctness or usability.
7171
7272Use of DreamHost's service requires a certain level of knowledge in the use of Internet languages, protocols, and software. This level of knowledge varies depending on the anticipated use and desired content of Customer's Webspace by the Customer.
7373
7474The following examples are offered:
7575
761. Web Publishing: requires a knowledge of HTML, properly locating and linking documents, FTPing Webspace contents, Graphics, text, Sound, imagemapping, etc.
761. Web Publishing: requires a knowledge of HTML, properly locating and linking documents, FTPing Webspace contents, Graphics, text, Sound, image mapping, etc.
77772. CGI-Scripts: requires a knowledge of the UNIX environment, TAR & GUNZIP commands, Perl, CShell scripts, permissions, etc.
7878
7979The Customer agrees that they have the necessary knowledge to create Customer's Webspace. Customer agrees that it is not the responsibility of DreamHost to provide this knowledge or Customer Support outside of the defined service of DreamHost.
8080
8181DreamHost will exercise no control whatsoever over the content of the information passing through the network, provided that it adheres to all other conditions set forth in our Terms of Service and Acceptable Use Policy documents.
8282
1631631. By using a promotional ("promo") code you waive the option to indicate who referred you to DreamHost.
1641642. You may not change/submit a promo code or referrer after you've finished signing up.
1651653. Promo codes/referrers are for new customers only - if you use one you may not host on your account any domain ever previously hosted with DreamHost.
166166
167167**Indemnification**
168168
169Customer agrees that it shall defend, indemnify, save and hold DreamHost harmless from any and all demands, liabilities, losses, costs and claims, including reasonable attorneys' fees, ("Liabilities") asserted against DreamHost, its agents, its customers, servants officers and employees, that may arise or result from any service provided or performed or agreed to be performed or any product sold by Customer,its agents, employees or assigns. Customer agrees to defend, indemnify and hold harmless DreamHost against Liabilities arising out of
169Customer agrees that it shall defend, indemnify, save and hold DreamHost harmless from any and all demands, liabilities, losses, costs and claims, including reasonable attorneys' fees, ("Liabilities") asserted against DreamHost, its agents, its customers, servants officers and employees, that may arise or result from any service provided or performed or agreed to be performed or any product sold by Customer, its agents, employees or assigns. Customer agrees to defend, indemnify and hold harmless DreamHost against Liabilities arising out of
170170
1711711. any injury to person or property caused by any products sold or otherwise distributed in connection with DreamHost's Server;
1721722. any material supplied by Customer infringing or allegedly infringing on the proprietary rights of a third party;
1733. copyright infringement;
1744. any defective product which Customer sold on DreamHost's servers.
1733. intellectual property infringement;
1744. any defective product which Customer sold on DreamHost's servers;
1755. any output generated from customer use of DreamHost AI Tools, including, but not limited to Remixer and Business Name Generator.
175176
176177**Export Control**
177178
178179Customer agrees to comply with all applicable export control laws and regulations, including, without limitation, the U.S. Export Administration Regulations (EAR), the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), and economic sanctions regulations administered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Customer represents and warrants that it is not (i) located in, or a resident or national of, any country subject to U.S. embargo or sanctions, or (ii) identified on any U.S. government restricted party list, including, without limitation, the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List or any other sanctions lists administered by OFAC.
179180
180181Customer covenants that it shall not - directly or indirectly - sell, export, re-export, transfer, divert, or otherwise dispose of any products, software, or technology (including products derived from or based on such technology) received from DreamHost under this Agreement to any destination, entity, or person prohibited by the laws or regulations of the United States, without obtaining prior authorization from the competent government authorities as required by those laws and regulations.