> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.reap.global/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Scopes

> Where a policy attaches, what it governs, and how overlapping policies resolve.

A policy's `scope` decides what it applies to. Scopes form a hierarchy that follows how your program is structured: the program contains cardholders, and each card belongs to a cardholder.

| Scope      | `scope` shape                          | Governs                            |
| ---------- | -------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------- |
| Program    | `{ "type": "PROJECT" }`                | Every card in your program         |
| Cardholder | `{ "type": "USER", "id": "<userId>" }` | Every card held by that cardholder |
| Card       | `{ "type": "CARD", "id": "<cardId>" }` | That one card                      |

In the API, `PROJECT` is the identifier for the program scope and `USER` for the cardholder scope. The program scope carries no id.

## What a scope means

For a **restriction**, the scope is the set of cards it governs. A merchant restriction at the program scope blocks that merchant on every card; the same restriction at the card scope blocks it on one card.

For a **limit**, the scope is also the entity whose usage is counted:

* A spend limit on a **card** counts that card's spend.
* A spend limit on a **cardholder** counts the combined spend across all of that cardholder's cards. A `$1,000` monthly cardholder limit means \$1,000 total, no matter how many cards they hold.

This distinction matters when a cardholder has more than one card. Use the card scope to cap each card on its own; use the cardholder scope to cap the person.

### What attaches where

|                          | Program | Cardholder | Card |
| ------------------------ | ------- | ---------- | ---- |
| Merchant restriction     | yes     | yes        | yes  |
| Channel restriction      | yes     | yes        | yes  |
| Transaction amount limit | yes     | yes        | yes  |
| Spend limit              | no      | yes        | yes  |
| Transaction count limit  | no      | yes        | yes  |

Running-total limits (spend and transaction count) cannot attach at the program scope, because a program-wide running total has no counted entity. To apply the same limit across many cards, attach it per card or per cardholder. If you need a program-wide rollout across a large number of cards, contact Reap.

## How overlapping policies resolve

When a card is used, Reap collects every active policy attached to that card, to its cardholder, and to the program, and checks the transaction against all of them. A transaction is declined if **any** applicable policy blocks it. The strictest rule wins, so a permissive policy at one level never overrides a stricter policy at another.

If more than one policy would block a transaction, the one reported in the `policy` field of the decline is the most specific: a card policy is reported ahead of a cardholder policy, which is reported ahead of a program policy. This only affects which policy is named as the reason; the transaction declines regardless.

Platform-enforced limits ([ATM withdrawal limits](/transactions/atm-limits) and [restricted MCCs](/transactions/restricted-mccs)) apply on top of your policies on every program and cannot be overridden.

## Seeing a card's or cardholder's policies

Fetching a single [card](/cards/overview) or cardholder returns the policies attached directly to it under a `policies` array. This is the directly-attached set only; it does not include policies inherited from a higher scope or the platform-enforced limits. To list all of your policies and filter by scope, use `GET /policies` with the `scopeType` and `scopeId` query parameters.

To see the **full set in force** for a card or cardholder - the directly-attached policies plus everything inherited from a higher scope, with the headroom remaining on each limit - use [`GET /policies/effective`](/spend-policies/overview#seeing-what-applies-and-what-remains).