Copyright & Use of Marks.
How PCI’s content, credentials and marks may — and may not — be used.
Overview
PCI’s standard, content and marks are intellectual property that signal trust. This policy protects them and sets out how certified professionals may state their status, while preventing false claims and misuse.
At a glance
What this covers
- Ownership of the standard, content, name, logo and credential marks
- Accurate use of credentials by genuine holders
- Protection of confidential examination content
- Consequences of misuse or false certification claims
Use by certified professionals
PCI applies this consistently and documents what it does, so the approach can be checked and improved. Final detail is published as the institute matures, and is governed by the related policies below.
Common questions
Can I use the PCI logo?
Only as permitted — marks must not be altered or used to imply accreditation that does not exist.
Can I share exam questions?
No — content is confidential and protected under examination security.
What about false certification claims?
They may lead to action and, for members or holders, disciplinary consequences.
Why this matters
Clear policies matter because they are how fairness is made real. A certification body that treats everyone consistently — on eligibility, conduct, security, impartiality and appeals — is one whose decisions can be trusted, and whose credential therefore means the same thing for everyone who holds it. These pages set out those commitments plainly.
PCI states its position honestly, including where processes are still being established. The aim is not legal cover for its own sake but genuine, transparent governance — the substance that lets a credential, and the body behind it, earn and keep professional trust.
- Substance over marketing
- Fair, transparent process
- Honesty about our status
- Responsible, governed use of AI
Founding-stage document · Version 1.0 — effective date to be confirmed · Reviewed under PCI governance. PCI makes no claims of accreditation or recognition beyond what is true today.
Stating your status accurately
Most misuse is not malicious — it is imprecision. The rule is simple: describe your relationship with PCI exactly as it stands today. A student member is a “PCI student member”, not “PCI certified”. A candidate is preparing for a PCI certification, not holding it. Only a professional who has been awarded the credential, and keeps it current, may state PCL-AI certification — and the claim should come down the day the status does. Nobody, at any grade, may imply that PCI holds accreditation or recognition it has not stated itself.
Employers and clients should not have to take a CV line on trust: point them to credential verification, which is how accurate claims are distinguished from confident ones.
Generally fine, ask first, never
Generally fine
Linking to PCI pages, quoting short passages with clear attribution, and credential-holders stating their status accurately in CVs, profiles and signatures.
Ask first
Reproducing substantial content, using PCI's name or marks in training materials, bids or advertising, and translating or adapting published documents.
Never
Sharing or reconstructing examination content, altering the marks, claiming a credential you do not hold, or implying accreditation that does not exist.
If you see a false claim
Misuse harms every honest holder, so PCI treats reports seriously. Send what you have seen — a screenshot, a link, a document — via the contact page. Reports are handled in confidence and examined under the related policies: examination content matters fall under examination security, and false claims by members or holders can carry disciplinary consequences.
Can I use PCI materials to train my team?
Pointing your team at published pages and discussing them internally is what they are for. Reproducing content into your own training packs, or presenting it under your organisation's brand, needs permission first — ask, and you will get a clear answer.
Does reporting someone make me part of a dispute?
No. You are a source, not a party. PCI investigates and, where needed, acts; your involvement can end at the report unless you choose otherwise.
Keep going
Exam content is controlled material
Examination items, forms and answer keys are the Institute’s most protected assets — disclosure destroys their value for every future candidate. Candidates agree not to copy, reconstruct or share content in any medium, including "just describing" questions afterwards; doing so is misconduct, not sharing.
Institute publications may be quoted with attribution for review and scholarship within fair-dealing norms; systematic reproduction, training-material resale, or implying endorsement requires written permission via contact.