A credential is worth what a stranger can trust about how it was earned. This page sets out the certification exam rules, what the platform observes and what it deliberately does not do, what happens when something looks wrong, how to appeal, and how anyone can verify a DPCert credential.
The certification exam is individual and closed-book, which includes any AI assistant. It is taken online, in the browser, with no scheduling, within a fixed time limit for each certification.
There is no camera, microphone, screen recording or remote proctor. DPCert chose not to watch the person and instead to protect the exam itself and observe objective signals, which we describe here in full.
During the certification exam, and only then, the platform records:
Leaving the exam window is not allowed. Exits shorter than 3 seconds are only recorded (a notification, an accidental Alt+Tab), and a dropped connection does not count. Each exit of 3 seconds or more is shown on screen, with the count:
Apart from the window exit rule, no signal fails anyone on its own and none changes the score. An attempt with signals (an unusually fast exam, frequent loss of focus, an attempt to paste, several exams from the same device) is reviewed by a person, who looks at the whole picture before any decision. No AI takes part in that review.
When there is proven fraud, disclosure of questions, false identity, misleading use of the credential or administrative error, the credential can be revoked. Revocation is an administrative act, decided by a person, with a mandatory written reason. The code remains searchable in the verifier, showing that it was revoked, and the digital badge is listed as revoked.
Each exam is drawn from a larger bank, following the published blueprint, and frozen at the start: reloading the page does not draw again. The options appear in a shuffled order for each candidate, so anyone memorising questions from earlier candidates meets only some of them, and in a different order.
The statistics of each question show when everyone starts getting it right, which is the sign of a leak, and the question leaves the draw by a person’s decision. Disclosing questions is prohibited by the terms of use and is a ground for revocation.
You can contest a result, the deferral of a credential, the ending of an exam or a revocation by writing to [email protected] from your account email. A person who did not take the original decision reviews the case and answers in writing, with reasons. Appeals cost nothing, and a restored credential returns to its previous state in the verifier.
DPCert’s certification scheme is designed with reference to ISO/IEC 17024, the international standard for bodies that certify persons: a published blueprint, impartial decisions, confidentiality of exam content, an appeals process and a public register of credentials. DPCert is not accredited against that standard. We say so plainly, because a certifier that talks about integrity must not overstate its own.
A DPCert credential does not expire: it is valid until revoked, with no renewal and no annual fee.
The exam is individual and closed book. Do not use help from another person and do not sit an exam in anyone else’s place; do not consult material, websites, apps or artificial intelligence assistants; do not copy, photograph or publish the questions, during or after; and do not use automation to circumvent how the exam works. The full rules are in the candidate handbook and the site policy.
No. Consulting an artificial intelligence assistant during the exam is prohibited conduct, like any other consultation, and the irony is not lost in a responsible AI certification. The rule matters even without a camera: a credential obtained that way is verifiable by any employer, permanent and issued in your name, and it is your reputation hanging on it. Proven fraud leads to revocation of the credential, with no refund.
The exam is online with no camera proctoring: we use no camera, microphone or screen recording, and we would rather say so than imply surveillance that does not exist. What exists are technical rules: a server-controlled time limit, randomly drawn questions, copying and text selection disabled, and a record of every exit from the exam window. Exits shorter than 3 seconds do not count; from the 9th, the credential is reviewed and issued within 3 business days; on the 10th, the exam ends and is scored with what was answered. Signals create flags for human review, and none fails anyone on its own.
Through the credential code, on the site verification page, or through the QR code printed on the PDF certificate. Whoever checks sees the holder name, which certification was earned, the date of issue and whether the credential is active or revoked. No account, no permission from you and no contact with you is needed. The signed Open Badge can also be checked by any system compatible with the standard.
The same verification page has a public directory of certified professionals, searchable by name, email and certification. The email search checks an exact address and never returns anyone’s address in the response. Only profiles set to public appear in the directory.
It can, and the grounds are written in the site policy: exam fraud, publishing the questions, false identity, misleading use of the credential and administrative error on our side. A revoked credential does not vanish: the code stays checkable and starts answering that it was revoked, because vanishing would make the code look forged to anyone who had verified it before. Administrative error is reversible.