Terms of service

1. Who provides this service

The v-cert.org website and the V-Cert certification service are provided by V-Cert Inc., 2352 Coney Island Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11223, United States(“V-Cert”, “we”). By using the site or submitting an application you accept these terms. Questions go to info@v-cert.org.

2. Applications and quotes

• Submitting the application form costs nothing and commits you to nothing. Nothing is payable until you approve a written quote.
• Each quote states its own validity period on its face; after that period it lapses, and re-applying generates a fresh quote at current fees.
• A quote is an offer to review, not a promise to certify. The review outcome depends on the evidence, and a failed review does not entitle you to a refund of review fees — though if your scope was never a realistic fit, we say so at the quote stage, before any payment.
• You are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of the information you submit. Certification decisions rest on your documents; materially false or misleading submissions are grounds for refusal, suspension or withdrawal.

3. Certificates and use of marks

A certificate grants a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use the corresponding V-Cert mark — but only on the products and scope named on the certificate, only in the approved artwork forms, and only while the certificate is active. In summary:

• The mark may not be used on uncertified products, in ways that imply a broader scope than certified, or in any altered or redrawn form. Approved files and usage rules live at brand assets.
• Certificates can be suspended or withdrawn under the published rules in governance; when that happens, the license to use the mark ends and the next check of the certificate number returns the new status.
• A check of a certificate number returns that certificate’s company name, brand names, scope, status and validity dates. Answering that check is a condition of certification.
• The certificate belongs to the certificate holder named on it and may not be transferred, sublicensed or resold.

4. The website

• Site content — standards, guides, the verification pages, seal artwork — is ours or licensed to us. You may read, link to and quote it with attribution; you may not republish the seal artwork except under the brand-assets rules.
• The certificate portal exists for verification. Automated bulk scraping that degrades the service, or republishing what it returns in a way that misrepresents certificate status, is not permitted.
• We work to keep the site accurate and available but provide it “as is”, without warranty that it is uninterrupted or error-free. What the certificate portal returns for a certificate number, as of the moment you check it, is the authoritative statement of that certificate’s status.

5. Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law: our total aggregate liability arising out of these terms or the use of this website is limited to the fees you paid us in the twelve months before the event giving rise to the claim (or one hundred US dollars if you paid none), and we are not liable for indirect, incidental, consequential or punitive damages, or for lost profits or lost business. Certification is an independent assessment of documented evidence against a published standard; it is not a guarantee of product safety, regulatory compliance or merchantability, and does not transfer responsibility for the product from the manufacturer to V-Cert. Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law.

6. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms; the date at the top reflects the current version. Changes apply from posting and do not retroactively alter a certification agreement already in force.

7. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of New York, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules, and disputes under them belong to the state or federal courts located in New York.