Records Retention.
What PCI keeps, why, and for how long — enough to be fair, no longer than needed.
Overview
Reliable records let PCI demonstrate fair, consistent certification and support verification. This policy governs what is retained and ensures records are kept only as long as necessary, then securely disposed of.
At a glance
What is retained
- Applications and eligibility evidence
- Examination results and decision records
- Appeals and complaints records
- CPD, recertification and certification status
Retention and disposal
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
Why does PCI keep records?
To support fair, consistent decisions and credential verification.
How long are records kept?
Each category has a defined period — see the retention schedule below. As a rule, records are kept only as long as their purpose requires.
How are records protected?
Under the confidentiality and data-protection policies.
Why this matters
This matters because a credential earns its value from substance, not marketing — clear standards, fair process, transparent governance and honesty about status. Everything here is written to that test: useful to professionals and employers, and never claiming more than is true today.
PCI builds in the open. That means being candid about what is in place and what is still developing, designing around the ISO/IEC 17024 personnel-certification principles, and never implying recognition it does not yet hold. That honesty is part of how trust is earned.
- 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.
How to read this policy
Scope. Unless a section says otherwise, PCI policies apply to candidates, members, credential-holders and, where stated, to staff, volunteers and committee members. Where a specific policy and a general one overlap, the specific policy prevails.
Review. Policies carry a review cycle and are amended through the governance framework; the version published on this site is the version in force. Material changes are announced before they take effect.
Questions and concerns. If anything here is unclear, ask us — we would rather answer a question than process a dispute. Formal routes exist too: appeals, complaints and the ethics code.
Related. See all policies & documents for the complete set, including examination rules, certification policy and the candidate handbook.
The life of a record
Every record PCI holds moves through the same four stages, each with its own discipline.
Created
Records are captured at the point of decision — an application assessed, a result issued, an appeal concluded — so they are accurate at source rather than reconstructed later.
Active
While a matter is live, its records are used on a need-to-know basis and protected under the confidentiality policy.
Retained
Closed records are kept for as long as their purpose requires — fairness, consistency and verification — and no longer.
Disposed
At the end of retention, records are securely deleted or destroyed, and the disposal itself is recorded so the schedule can be audited.
Why some records live longer than others
The test for retention is purpose, not convenience. Certification decisions and examination results have the longest lives, because they must support credential verification for as long as a credential is held or claimed, and allow PCI to demonstrate the fairness of a decision years after it was made. Appeals, complaints and disciplinary records are kept long enough to show consistency between cases. At the other end, routine enquiries and marketing data have short lives — there is no fairness argument for hoarding them. The specific period for each category is set out in the retention schedule below.
Where retention meets data protection
You have rights over your personal data — access and correction among them — exercised under the data protection policy and the privacy policy. Retention creates one honest tension worth stating plainly: a deletion request cannot erase a record that certification integrity requires PCI to keep. A certification decision, for example, cannot be deleted while the credential it supports is still claimed, because that record is what protects you — and everyone relying on the credential — from impersonation and doubt. Where that limit applies, PCI keeps the minimum necessary, secures it, and deletes everything else.
Retention periods by record category
These are the concrete periods PCI applies. Where a legal obligation requires longer, the longer period governs; where a purpose ends sooner, the record is disposed of sooner.
Account & contact details
For the life of your account and up to 24 months after it is closed.
Applications & eligibility evidence
Up to 3 years from the decision, or the life of any resulting credential, whichever is longer.
Examination results & certification decisions
For the life of the credential and up to 10 years after it lapses, to support verification through the live public register.
Proctoring recordings
Webcam video, audio, room scan and screen capture: retained for 12 months after the examination, then permanently deleted.
Government-ID images & check-in photos
Retained only until identity is verified and any review closes, and in any case deleted within 90 days of the examination.
Appeals, complaints & disciplinary records
Up to 6 years, to demonstrate consistency between cases.
CPD & recertification records
For the life of the credential and up to 6 years after it lapses.
Enquiries, support & marketing
Correspondence up to 24 months; newsletter and marketing consent data until you withdraw consent.