Policies

Impartiality Policy

AQSCERT's top management is committed to impartiality in all certification activities. We do not offer training, and we do not allow commercial, financial or other pressures to compromise decisions. Specifically:

• Certification decisions are made only by Independent Certification Decision Makers who have not trained or assessed the candidate.
• Everyone involved in certification signs a conflict-of-interest declaration annually and declares conflicts for each case.
• Training partners have no access to exam content and no role in assessment or decisions.
• An impartiality risk register is maintained and reviewed by the Impartiality Committee at least annually.
• Pass marks are set by documented standard setting and are never adjusted to meet revenue targets.

Complaints and Appeals Policy

Anyone may complain about AQSCERT, its partners or certificate holders. Candidates may appeal decisions affecting them. Complaints are acknowledged within 5 working days and we aim to resolve them within 30 days. Appeals are decided by people independent of the original decision. See complaints and appeals.

Privacy Notice

We process personal data in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR). The full notice is at privacy notice.

Information Security Policy (summary)

• Mandatory multi-factor authentication for all staff with privileged roles; role-based, least-privilege access.
• Encryption in transit (TLS) and at rest, with additional field-level encryption for sensitive personal data.
• A tamper-evident, hash-chained audit log of security- and certification-relevant actions.
• Exam content is held in secured item banks with exposure monitoring; item writers work under NDA.
• Security incidents are managed under an incident response procedure, including notification to the competent data protection supervisory authority within 72 hours where required.

Code of Professional Conduct

Candidates and certificate holders agree to:

• act with integrity, honesty and competence, and only within the limits of their competence;
• keep all examination content confidential and never share or obtain it;
• represent their certification accurately, including its title, level, status and that it is not accredited;
• respect the confidentiality of employers' and clients' information;
• maintain their competence through continuing professional development;
• cooperate with any AQSCERT investigation of a complaint or suspected malpractice.

Certificate and Logo Use Policy

• Certificates remain the property of AQSCERT and must not be altered.
• The AQSCERT certified-professional mark may be used only by individuals holding an active certificate, alongside the certification title.
• The mark must not be used on products, reports or in a way that implies AQSCERT endorses an organisation, service or product.
• Partners may use the “AQSCERT Authorised Training Partner” designation only while authorised and only as set out in their agreement.
• No-one may state or imply that AQSCERT or any AQSCERT certification is accredited unless and until accreditation is formally granted.
• On suspension, withdrawal, revocation or expiry, all use of the certificate and mark must stop immediately.

Reasonable Adjustments Policy

We make reasonable adjustments, in line with EU equal-treatment and accessibility law, so that disabled candidates and those with other relevant needs are not put at a substantial disadvantage. Adjustments may include extra time, rest breaks, assistive technology, alternative formats or separate rooms. Requests are decided by trained staff, normally within 10 working days, and can be appealed. Adjustments never change the competence being assessed.

Data Retention (summary)

We keep personal data only as long as necessary. Key periods include: certification records 10 years after expiry or withdrawal (then anonymised); exam responses and results 6 years; identity documents 6 months after verification; proctoring recordings 3 months; payment records 6 years. The full schedule is in the privacy notice.

Cookie Policy

We use strictly necessary cookies to run the service and, only if you accept, Google Analytics cookies to understand how our websites are used. We do not use advertising cookies. Analytics is off until you choose “Accept” in the cookie banner, and you can change your choice at any time with “Cookie settings” in the footer.

Payment pages provided by Stripe may set their own strictly necessary cookies for fraud prevention. Questions: [email protected].