American Computer Society

1.Agreement

1.1These terms, together with the Code of Conduct, Privacy Policy, Acceptable Use Policy and Refund and Cancellation Policy, form the agreement between you and the American Computer Society.
1.2By creating an account, submitting a membership application or purchasing an examination you accept these terms.
1.3Membership is personal to you and may not be transferred, shared or resold. Organization Membership is held by the entity named on the application and may nominate representatives as provided in the Bylaws.

2.1Payment of a subscription does not itself confer membership. Every application is reviewed by the Membership and Admissions Committee and remains pending until an executive officer approves it.
2.2If an application is declined, the subscription paid is refunded in full within 10 business days and no grade or post-nominal is conferred.
2.3You warrant that all statements, documents and references supplied are true. Material misrepresentation is grounds for immediate termination without refund and for referral under the Complaints and Disciplinary Procedure.
2.4Student Membership requires a verifiable .edu email address at a listed accredited institution and lapses at the end of the academic year in which you cease to be enrolled.

3.1Membership subscriptions are annual and renew automatically on the anniversary of activation using the payment method on file, until cancelled.
3.2We email a renewal reminder at least 14 days before each charge, stating the amount and date.
3.3Prices are stated in US dollars exclusive of any sales tax, VAT or GST, which is calculated and added at checkout according to your location.
3.4We may change subscription prices with at least 30 days' notice before your next renewal. Continuing past that renewal accepts the new price; cancelling before it avoids the charge.
3.5Upgrades between grades take effect immediately and are charged pro rata for the remainder of the subscription year. Downgrades take effect at the next renewal, with no partial refund of the current year.

4.1Certification examinations carry a fixed fee of $35 per attempt, payable in advance and consumed when the attempt is started.
4.2The pass mark for every ACS certification is 80%. Question order and answer order are randomized per candidate.
4.3Candidates must sit examinations unaided. Use of another person, a shared question bank, an automated assistant or any recording of examination content is a breach of the Examination Integrity Policy and voids the result without refund.
4.4Certificates and digital badges remain the property of the Society and may be withdrawn where a result is voided or membership is terminated for misconduct.

5.1Each member in good standing may complete one CPD course free of charge in each membership year; further courses may carry a fee stated before enrollment.
5.2CPD certificates record guided learning hours completed and are issued in the member's registered name.

6.1You are responsible for the security of your credentials and for all activity under your account, and must enable two-factor authentication once it becomes mandatory on January 1, 2027.
6.2Notify security@americancomputersociety.com without undue delay if you suspect your account has been compromised.
6.3Accounts inactive for 36 consecutive months with no subscription in force may be closed after 30 days' notice.

7.1The Society owns or licenses the site, the ACS name and marks, examination content, CPD course material, articles and research published under its imprint.
7.2Members may reproduce Society articles for personal, non-commercial professional use with attribution to the American Computer Society and a link to the source page.
7.3Systematic scraping, bulk downloading, or use of Society content to train, fine-tune or evaluate machine learning models requires prior written licence. Automated agents must respect robots.txt and identify themselves honestly in the user agent.
7.4You retain ownership of material you submit and grant the Society a non-exclusive licence to use it for the purposes of assessing and administering your membership.

8.1Services are provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis. We target 99.5% monthly availability for the member and executive portals but do not warrant uninterrupted service; planned maintenance is announced in advance where practicable.
8.2Nothing in these terms excludes liability for fraud, willful misconduct, death or personal injury, or any liability that cannot lawfully be excluded.
8.3Subject to that, the Society's aggregate liability arising out of the agreement in any 12-month period is limited to the total fees you paid to the Society in that period.
8.4We are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, loss of profit, or loss of professional opportunity arising from a declined application, a failed examination or the withdrawal of a certification.

9.1You may cancel at any time in the member portal; cancellation stops future renewals and membership continues to the end of the paid year.
9.2The Society may suspend or terminate membership for non-payment, for breach of these terms or the Code of Conduct, or where required by law, following the process in the Complaints and Disciplinary Procedure.
9.3On termination, post-nominal designations must cease to be used and the digital membership card is revoked.

10.1This agreement is governed by the laws of the State of Texas, excluding its conflict of laws rules.
10.2The parties will attempt in good faith to resolve any dispute within 30 days of written notice before commencing proceedings.
10.3The state and federal courts located in Travis County, Texas have exclusive jurisdiction, save that either party may seek injunctive relief in any competent court to protect intellectual property or confidential information.

Write to the Office of the Corporate Secretary, American Computer Society, 600 Congress Avenue, Suite 1400, Austin, Texas 78701.