Guidelines, policies & the emails you’ll receive
Everything that governs your enrolment, examination and membership in one place — including the communications we send you at each step.
What we’ll email you
Each step of your journey is confirmed by a clear, separate email — so a payment receipt, your secure account-setup link and your welcome never arrive jumbled into one message.
Payment confirmation
Sent the moment your payment is received — your receipt with item, amount and reference.
Account setup / login
A separate, secure link to set your password. For your security we never send a password by email.
Welcome
Your welcome to the PCI student community, your first steps and a link to your dashboard.
Exam confirmation
When you pay your PCI exam fee, confirmation that you may schedule your exam within 12 months.
Enrolment reminders
If you start but don’t finish, a friendly reminder a few hours later — then a couple more, so you can pick up where you left off.
Enquiry replies
A tailored acknowledgement for general, information, corporate / bulk and partnership enquiries.
Read or download our policies
Enrolment & payment
- Terms of EnrolmentWhat enrolment provides and the conditions that apply
- Refund & Cancellation PolicyRefund eligibility and how to request one
- Privacy PolicyHow we handle your personal data
- Cookie PolicyCookies used on this site
- Data Protection PolicyOur data-protection commitments
Examination
- Exam StructureFormat, domains and weighting of the PCI exams
- Examination RulesConduct and rules on exam day
- Certification PoliciesHow certification decisions are made
- Eligibility RequirementsWho can sit the exam
- Candidate HandbookYour end-to-end guide to certification
- Certification RoadmapThe path from member to certified professional
Membership & CPD
- RecertificationRenewing your status every three years
- CPD FrameworkContinuing professional development
- Membership BenefitsWhat your membership includes
- Accreditation StatusOur current accreditation position
Governance & conduct
- Code of EthicsProfessional and ethical standards
- Conflict of InterestHow we manage conflicts
- Appeals PolicyChallenging a decision
- Complaints PolicyRaising a concern
- Impartiality PolicySafeguarding fair assessment
- AI Governance PolicyHow governed AI is used and overseen
Looking for something else? See all policies & documents, the FAQ, or contact us. Institutes and employers can review corporate & bulk enrolment.
A sensible reading order
Nobody should have to read every policy before acting. Match your reading to the step you are actually taking:
Before you enrol
Read the Terms of Enrolment and the Refund & Cancellation Policy — they define what enrolment provides and your options if plans change. Five minutes here prevents most later surprises.
Before you book an exam
The Candidate Handbook is the single best end-to-end read, backed by the Examination Rules and Eligibility Requirements. Note the 12-month scheduling window described above.
After you certify
Shift to the CPD Framework and Recertification policy — the documents that govern keeping your credential current rather than earning it.
How these documents are governed
Policies on this page are living documents in a founding-phase programme, so it matters to know which version counts. The version published on this site is the current one, and policies are reviewed and updated as the programme develops. Where a summary — on this page, in an email, or anywhere else — differs from the full published policy, the full policy prevails. Material changes to documents that affect candidates are flagged rather than made silently, in keeping with PCI's commitment to describing its status honestly at every stage. If you have relied on a document for a decision, keep a note of when you read it; if anything seems to have changed under you, ask via the contact page before assuming the worst. The complete library, beyond the highlights grouped above, lives at all policies & documents.
Recognising genuine PCI email
Because each step of your journey triggers its own email, it is worth knowing what genuine PCI messages never do:
- They never ask you to reply with your password, and never contain one — account links are for setting a password, not confirming it
- They never demand urgent payment through a link in the email itself
- They arrive one step at a time by design: a receipt, an account-setup link and a welcome are separate messages, so a single email claiming to be all three is suspect
If a message feels wrong, do not click anything in it. Sign in by typing the site address yourself, or verify the message before acting. Reporting a suspicious email helps protect other candidates too.