Refund Policy.
How PCI approaches refunds and cancellations for application, examination and membership fees.
Status
Enrolment, membership and examinations are open, and fees are charged at the point of purchase. The refund schedule set out on this page is published and binding: it applies to purchases made now, and the exact fee and any non-refundable components are shown before you pay.
Scope
This policy applies to application fees, examination fees, recertification fees and membership fees, including the Membership + Exam Bundle. The specific terms shown at checkout for a purchase form part of this policy; where they add detail, they are read together with the schedule below.
Principles
- Fees, deadlines and any non-refundable elements are stated clearly before payment
- Refund eligibility depends on the type of fee and how far the process has progressed
- Where a service has not yet been delivered, a fair remedy is offered under the schedule below
- Requests are assessed honestly and consistently against this published schedule
- Refunds, where due, are returned using the original payment method where practicable
The refund schedule
The following applies to purchases made now. All amounts refer to the fee actually paid; the exact figure and any non-refundable component are confirmed at checkout.
- Membership fees (annual membership and renewal) — refundable in full within 14 days of purchase provided you have not yet used the member panel or downloaded member resources. Once member access has been used, or after 14 days, membership fees are non-refundable because access is continuous and already provided; you may still cancel to stop future renewals.
- Application and examination fees — before an examination date is booked, refundable less a non-refundable administrative component of 10% of the fee. Where an examination date is booked: 15 or more days before the booked date, 50% of the examination fee is refundable; fewer than 15 days before the booked date, once the examination has started, or after a no-show, the examination fee is non-refundable.
- Recertification fees — treated as examination fees for the recertification assessment, on the same windows and administrative component as above.
- Membership + Exam Bundle — refunds are apportioned between the membership and examination components, and each component is assessed under its own rule above.
Withdrawals and rescheduling
You may reschedule a booked examination once at no charge up to 7 days before the booked date. A reschedule requested fewer than 7 days before the date, or any further reschedule, incurs an administrative fee stated at checkout and with the examination rules. Withdrawing instead of rescheduling is handled under the refund schedule above.
Statutory cooling-off and immediate digital access
If you are a consumer in the United Kingdom, the European Union or another jurisdiction with distance-selling rules, you have a statutory right to withdraw from a purchase within 14 days of buying it, without giving a reason. Where a purchase gives you immediate access to digital content or services — for example the member panel, downloadable resources or an examination entitlement — you are asked at checkout to expressly request that access begin at once and to acknowledge that, once the service has been provided or that access has been used, the statutory 14-day withdrawal right no longer applies. If you do not give that consent, access begins after the 14-day period. This does not affect any mandatory consumer-protection right you have under the law of your home country, which continues to apply regardless of anything in this policy.
Effect of a refund or chargeback on access
A refund or a payment reversal (such as a card chargeback or dispute) returns the money a purchase paid, and so also ends the access that purchase bought. When a membership, bundle or examination payment is refunded or reversed, any unused examination entitlement it granted is revoked and the membership it funded is ended. A credential you have already earned by passing an examination is not withdrawn — the assessment genuinely took place — and an examination you have already sat is not refunded on this basis. A partial refund that leaves a purchase substantially paid does not, by itself, revoke access.
Exceptional circumstances
PCI considers documented exceptional circumstances (for example serious illness or bereavement) compassionately and case by case, and may offer a refund, transfer or reschedule beyond the standard windows where the circumstances warrant it.
Contact
Questions about fees and refunds can be directed through request information. PCI does not make payment or refund commitments beyond what is published at the time of payment.
How refunds are handled
Refunds depend on what was purchased and the circumstances. The principles below set the approach; the exact terms that apply to any purchase are confirmed at the point of sale.
Confirmed upfront
Fees and the terms attached to them are published before you commit.
Fair consideration
Requests are weighed consistently against the applicable terms.
How to request
Get in touch through PCI’s contact channels with your details.
Common questions
When might a refund apply?
Refund eligibility depends on the specific fee and how far the process has progressed. The schedule on this page states the windows and non-refundable components that apply; the exact fee is confirmed at the point of purchase.
Who do I contact about a refund?
Get in touch through the institute's contact channels with your details, and your request will be considered against the applicable terms.
Are fees confirmed in advance?
Yes — fees and the terms that apply to them are published before membership or certification opens, so you know what applies before you commit.
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
How to make a refund request well
A clear request is settled faster. Before writing, re-read the terms shown when you paid — they state which elements are refundable and which windows apply to your purchase. Then include everything an administrator needs to assess the request without a follow-up exchange:
- The name and email address used on the original order
- What was purchased — application, examination, membership or recertification fee — and the approximate payment date
- Your payment reference or receipt, if you have it
- What you are asking for: a full refund, a partial refund, or a transfer to a later window
- Brief reasons, with supporting documents attached if you are citing exceptional circumstances
Requests are acknowledged promptly and assessed against the published schedule rather than open-ended discretion, so two candidates in the same position receive the same answer. If further evidence is needed, PCI aims to ask for it once, not piecemeal. You can submit through Contact PCI.
Refund, reschedule or retake?
Not every problem needs a refund. Often another route fits better — and keeps your candidacy moving instead of restarting it.
I can no longer sit my exam on the booked date. Should I ask for a refund?
Usually not as a first step. Rescheduling within the published window, where available, preserves your booking and your preparation momentum. The windows and any fees are set out with the examination rules.
I did not pass the examination. Is any fee returned?
Sitting the examination means the service has been delivered, so the fee is not normally refundable on the basis of the result. The retake policy sets out how and when you can sit again.
My refund request was declined and I disagree. What now?
Raise it through the complaints process. Complaints about fees and service are handled separately from certification decisions, and using the process never prejudices your candidacy.