Acceptable Use Policy

1. Scope

This Acceptable Use Policy (“AUP”) applies to all users of the Certified Coach platform, including coaches, organisations, players, and visitors. It supplements our Terms of Service.

2. Permitted use

You may use the Platform to:

• Create and manage a coaching profile with accurate, truthful information
• Issue, manage, and verify coaching certificates through authorised organisations
• Search for and contact coaches for legitimate coaching purposes
• Book and pay for coaching sessions (when available)
• Access public certificate verification pages

3. Prohibited conduct

You must not:

General prohibitions

• Use the Platform for any unlawful purpose
• Impersonate another person or organisation
• Attempt to gain unauthorised access to any part of the Platform
• Interfere with or disrupt the Platform's infrastructure
• Scrape, harvest, or collect data from the Platform without authorisation
• Upload malicious code, viruses, or harmful content
• Use the Platform to send unsolicited communications (spam)
• Discriminate against, harass, or abuse other users

Trust-specific prohibitions

• Fraudulent certificates: issuing, displaying, or claiming certificates for qualifications not genuinely awarded
• Credential impersonation: presenting another person's certificates as your own
• Malicious revocation: revoking a certificate without legitimate grounds (e.g. as retaliation or coercion)
• Withholding legitimate revocations: failing to revoke certificates when a qualification has genuinely lapsed, been withdrawn, or the holder no longer meets the requirements
• Issuing for unqualified individuals: awarding certificates to individuals who have not completed the required training or assessment
• Gaming verification: manipulating certificate metadata, dates, or statuses to misrepresent the true state of a qualification
• DBS misuse: accessing, sharing, or manipulating DBS check information outside the scope of safeguarding (when this feature is available)

4. Reporting violations

If you become aware of any violation of this policy, please report it to us at support@certified-coach.com. Reports can be made anonymously.

We take all reports seriously and will investigate promptly. Where appropriate, we will keep reporters informed of the outcome.

5. Consequences of violation

Violations may result in:

• A formal warning
• Temporary suspension of your account
• Permanent termination of your account
• Removal of fraudulent or non-compliant content
• Notification to relevant governing bodies or law enforcement where appropriate

The action taken will be proportionate to the severity of the violation. Fraudulent certificate issuance or credential impersonation will normally result in immediate account termination and may be reported to the relevant authorities.

6. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated revision date.