Challenging the Termination of a Certification Agreement
Earning a CIW certification requires that candidates accept the terms of the CIW Certification Agreement. Prior to October 2021, this Agreement was embedded in the CIW Candidate Information Center; candidates were required to login to complete this Agreement, before certification could be awarded.
Effective October 2021, as a result of several system changes, the Certification Agreement is presented at the start of any and all CIW exams. Candidates must accept the terms of this agreement, in order to proceed with the exam. This simplifies things for candidates. Any candidate who passes an exam is automatically certified as soon as the result imports to the CIW Candidate Information Center.
The CIW Certification Agreement is a standard NDA document that protects the exam content copyright, the CIW brand, logo and trademarks and governs candidate conduct. If you would like to keep a copy of this CIW Certification Agreement document for your personal records, you can download it here.
Candidates who violate any condition stated in the Agreement may have their certification revoked.
Certification Partners generally will tell a candidate why we are canceling the agreement and decertifying them. If a candidate believes the reason given by Certification Partners is incorrect or invalid, they may request an evaluation of the reason for termination by following the steps described below. The request must be submitted within five business days of notification of the cancellation.
Steps for challenging the termination of Certification Status
- Provide a copy of the notice of termination.
- Describe in detail the specific reasons you are challenging the termination. Include the date you became certified, and as much general information as may be necessary. Please include, as much specific detail indicating why you believe the reason given for termination is invalid. Your challenge will not be accepted for evaluation unless sufficient information and documentation refuting the reason(s) given for termination are provided.
- Within five business days of notification of termination, respond by e-mail to Certification Status Challenge.
- Your request will be acknowledged by e-mail. At that time, you will receive either the result of the evaluation or, if more time is needed for evaluation, an estimate of when you can expect a decision.
Please keep in mind the challenge process is provided as an accommodation by Certification Partners. The agreement you entered into allows termination for any reason. All challenge decisions by Certification Partners shall be deemed to be final. Certification Partners is not waiving any of its rights under the agreement by providing this challenge procedure.
Exam Challenge Note that this process above is to challenge the revocation of a certification. If you wish to challenge the results of an exam, including a failing score, please see the Exam FAQ Web page for details on this process.