Terms of Use

The Gear Index is a free, nonprofit serial number registry operated as a 501(c)(3) organization. Our purpose is to help people register ownership of their gear so it can be identified and recovered if lost or stolen. The service is provided at no cost and is funded through donations.

These Terms of Use govern your access to and use of thegearindex.org, including account creation, gear registration, public search, and any other features we offer.

You must be at least 13 years old to create an account. By using the service, you represent that you meet this requirement. If you're using the service on behalf of an organization (a school, gear shop, law enforcement agency), you represent that you have authority to bind that organization to these terms.

You are responsible for keeping your account credentials secure. Don't share your password or allow others to access your account. If you believe your account has been compromised, contact us immediately at support@thegearindex.org.

You're responsible for all activity that occurs under your account. We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these terms.

When you register an item, you agree that:

• You are the lawful ownerof the item, or are registering it with the owner's permission.
• The information you provide is accurate — including the make, model, serial number, and photos. Registering false or misleading information is a violation of these terms.
• You have the right to upload any photos you submit.Don't upload photos you don't own or have rights to use.
• You won't register gear you don't ownin an attempt to obstruct a legitimate owner's registration or recovery efforts.

Intentionally registering stolen gear as your own, filing a false stolen report, or using the registry to harass or defraud someone may result in immediate account termination and referral to law enforcement.

The "Mark as stolen" feature is for reporting your own gear as stolen following a theft or loss. When you mark an item stolen:

• The item's registration details, photos, and serial number become publicly visible and searchable.
• You affirm that the item has genuinely been stolen or lost and that you are the rightful owner.
• You understand that this information may be shared with law enforcement, pawnshops, or other parties attempting to verify the item's status.

Filing a false stolen report — for example, to harass a buyer or interfere with a legitimate sale — is a violation of these terms and may expose you to legal liability.

If you register gear you purchased secondhand and a serial number conflict is detected (i.e., the serial number is already registered to someone else), we may contact the original registrant to verify the transfer. This is a good-faith process intended to protect both parties. We are not a dispute resolution service and cannot adjudicate ownership claims — if a genuine ownership dispute exists, it should be resolved through appropriate legal channels.

By uploading photos to The Gear Index, you grant us a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to store, display, and share those photos as part of the registry — including on public stolen item pages. You retain ownership of your photos. We won't use them for any purpose unrelated to operating the registry.

Don't upload photos that are offensive, illegal, contain personal information you don't want public, or that you don't have rights to use. We reserve the right to remove photos that violate these terms.

The public search feature is intended for legitimate use cases: verifying gear before purchase, recovering stolen items, or checking a serial number as part of law enforcement or insurance work. You agree not to:

• Scrape, bulk-download, or systematically harvest data from the registry
• Use the registry data to build competing commercial databases
• Use information from the registry to harass, stalk, or harm individuals
• Query the registry through automated means without our written permission

The Gear Index is provided free of charge, as-is. We do our best to keep it accurate, available, and useful, but we're a small nonprofit and can't make guarantees. Specifically:

• We don't guarantee that registration will result in recovery of stolen gear. The registry is a tool — outcomes depend on many factors outside our control.
• We don't guarantee uninterrupted availability. Maintenance, outages, or funding constraints may affect access.
• We don't verify the accuracy of every registration. The registry reflects what users report — we rely on the honesty of registrants and the integrity of the process.

The Gear Index is not a law enforcement agency, insurance provider, or legal authority. We cannot force the return of stolen gear, pursue thieves, or guarantee any legal outcome.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, The Gear Index and its officers, volunteers, and contributors will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages arising out of or related to your use of the service — including loss of gear, failed recovery, or reliance on registry data.

Our total liability to you for any claim arising from use of the service will not exceed the amount you've paid us in the past 12 months, which for most users is zero, as the service is free.

You can delete your account at any time by contacting us at support@thegearindex.org. We may suspend or terminate your account if you violate these terms, attempt to abuse the service, or for operational reasons. If we terminate your account for reasons other than a violation, we'll give you reasonable notice and a chance to export your data.

We may update these terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we'll update the date at the top of this page and notify you by email if the changes significantly affect your rights. Continued use after changes take effect means you accept the updated terms.

These terms are governed by the laws of the state in which The Gear Index is incorporated, without regard to conflict of law provisions. Any disputes will be resolved in the courts of that jurisdiction, and you consent to personal jurisdiction there.

Questions about these terms? Email us at legal@thegearindex.org. We're a small team and we'll do our best to respond promptly.