These Terms and Conditions (the Terms) apply to all applications for, and participation in, Trust AI Essentials and Trust AI Essentials Plus (together, the Scheme). The Scheme is owned and overseen by Trust AI Standards FZC-LLC (Trust AI Standards), a company established in the Sharjah Publishing City Free Zone, United Arab Emirates. Assessment and certification services are delivered either by Trust AI Standards or by an appointed licensed Certification Body. The identity of the entity providing the relevant assessment or certification service will be identified at the point of application, order, invoice, portal, or engagement. These Terms apply worldwide to all Applicants regardless of the country in which the Applicant is established or operates. By applying for, participating in, renewing, or using certification under the Scheme, You agree to these Terms.
1. Definitions
Unless the context requires otherwise, references to the singular include the plural and vice versa, references to writing include email, and headings are for convenience only and do not affect interpretation.
| Defined term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Applicant | the organization applying for or holding certification under the Scheme. |
| Applicable Law | the laws, regulations, and mandatory requirements applicable to a party in connection with its performance under these Terms. |
| Branding Guidelines | the applicable rules issued by Trust AI Standards from time to time for use of any Certificate, Certification Mark, logo, badge, statement, or claim relating to the Scheme. |
| Certificate | the certificate issued under the Scheme confirming that the Applicant has met the applicable scheme requirements for the relevant certification level. |
| Certification Body | an organization licensed or appointed by Trust AI Standards to conduct assessments and related certification activities under the Scheme. |
| Certification Mark | the relevant Trust AI Essentials or Trust AI Essentials Plus certification mark, badge, logo, or designation authorized by Trust AI Standards for use by successful Applicants in accordance with these Terms and the Branding Guidelines. |
| Fee | the fee payable for the relevant application, assessment, surveillance, change request, re-assessment, certificate reissue, or other scheme service, as published by Trust AI Standards or notified by the relevant Certification Body. |
| Scheme | Trust AI Essentials and Trust AI Essentials Plus, together, as owned and overseen by Trust AI Standards. |
| Scheme Documentation | the applicable standard, requirements, controls, policies, guidance, application forms, questionnaires, appeals or complaints procedures, Branding Guidelines, and other documents issued by Trust AI Standards from time to time in connection with the Scheme. |
| Scheme Questionnaire | the self-assessment questionnaire or other submission form used by the Applicant to provide information and evidence for assessment. |
| Terms | these Terms and Conditions, as updated from time to time in accordance with clause 14. |
| We, Us, Our | Trust AI Standards and, where applicable, the entity identified to You at the point of application, order, invoice, portal, or engagement as providing the relevant assessment, certification, administration, quality assurance, surveillance, or related scheme service, which may be Trust AI Standards or the relevant licensed Certification Body. |
| You, Your | the Applicant. |
2. Applications, assessment, and certification
2.1 We will provide access to the applicable Scheme Questionnaire and assessment process following receipt of the relevant Fee or confirmation of credit terms, if applicable.
2.2 You must complete and submit the Scheme Questionnaire and all requested supporting information within six months of issue unless We agree a different period in writing. If You do not do so, the application may lapse and no refund will be due except as expressly stated in clause 3.
2.3 You must provide complete, accurate, current, and not misleading information and must promptly notify Us of any material change affecting the application or existing certification.
2.4 We will assess applications in accordance with the applicable Scheme Documentation and may request clarifications, corrections, interviews, demonstrations, or supporting evidence.
2.5 If Your application is successful, We will issue a Certificate valid for 12 months from the date of issue unless withdrawn, suspended, replaced, or stated otherwise in the Scheme Documentation.
2.6 If Your first submission is unsuccessful, We may allow one resubmission without additional assessment charge if the resubmission is made within the period stated in the failure notice. Any further assessment, material resubmission, or re-application may be charged as a new application.
2.7 Assessment outcomes may be subject to moderation, quality assurance, verification, and scheme oversight by Trust AI Standards.
2.8 Complaints and appeals may be raised in accordance with the applicable complaints and appeals procedure published by Trust AI Standards or the relevant Certification Body.
2.9 Where assessment or certification is delivered by an appointed licensed Certification Body, that Certification Body is the entity responsible for the assessment and certification services it provides and for any Fees payable to it, and any separate assessment, order, or engagement terms You enter into with it apply in addition to these Terms. Where assessment or certification is delivered directly by Trust AI Standards, Trust AI Standards is the entity responsible for those services and for any Fees payable to it. Trust AI Standards remains the owner and overseer of the Scheme and of all Certificates and Certification Marks. The liability of Trust AI Standards and of any Certification Body is several and not joint, and each is responsible only for its own acts and omissions.
3. Fees, payment, and refunds
3.1 Fees are payable in the currency and by the payment method stated at the point of application, in the published fee schedule, or as otherwise notified by Trust AI Standards or the relevant Certification Body.
3.2 Unless expressly stated otherwise, assessment Fees include the first issue of the relevant Certificate. Additional or replacement certificates, certificate corrections requested after issue, or certificate name or address changes may be charged separately.
3.3 If You cancel an application before assessment has started, We may refund the Fee less a reasonable administration charge (not exceeding 15 percent of the Fee). Once substantive assessment has started, no refund is due unless required by law or expressly agreed by Us in writing.
3.4 All Fees are non-refundable where certification is refused, suspended, withdrawn, or terminated because of Your non-compliance, inaccurate information, non-cooperation, or breach of these Terms.
3.5 All Fees are exclusive of value added tax, goods and services tax, sales tax, and any similar taxes or duties, which will be added where applicable and are payable by You. You are responsible for any taxes, duties, levies, or similar charges properly chargeable in connection with the Fees, other than taxes on Our net income.
3.6 You are responsible for any bank, transfer, or currency conversion charges arising on payment of a Fee.
3.7 We may charge interest on overdue amounts at a reasonable rate and may suspend assessment or certification while any Fee remains outstanding.
4. Your obligations
4.1 You warrant and represent that all information, statements, and evidence submitted by You are complete, accurate, and provided honestly and in good faith.
4.2 Your application must be authorized by a person of suitable seniority and authority within Your organization.
4.3 You must comply with the Scheme Documentation and all reasonable directions issued by Trust AI Standards or the relevant Certification Body.
4.4 You must cooperate with reasonable quality assurance, surveillance, audit, moderation, and compliance activities connected with the Scheme, including by providing relevant records, information, personnel access, and explanations.
4.5 You must not make false, misleading, exaggerated, or unsubstantiated statements about Your certification, assessment outcome, scope, level of assurance, or regulatory status.
4.6 You must not do anything that may damage the reputation, credibility, or integrity of the Scheme, Trust AI Standards, any Certification Body, or any Certification Mark.
4.7 You must comply with all laws applicable to You in connection with the Scheme, including applicable anti-bribery, anti-corruption, anti-money-laundering, sanctions, and export-control laws.
5. Nature and limits of certification
5.1 Certification under the Scheme indicates only that, at the time of assessment and within the assessed scope, the Applicant was found to meet the applicable Scheme requirements.
5.2 Certification is not a guarantee that the Applicant, its systems, products, services, models, or operations are error-free, risk-free, secure, lawful in every jurisdiction, fair in every outcome, or immune from failure, regulatory action, complaint, or harm.
5.3 Certification does not constitute legal advice, regulatory approval, product safety approval, or an absolute assurance of compliance with any law, regulation, or industry standard.
5.4 The Applicant remains solely responsible for the design, development, deployment, operation, governance, compliance, and ongoing monitoring of its own AI systems, products, services, and activities.
6. Certificates and Certification Marks
6.1 Any Certificate and Certification Mark remain the property of Trust AI Standards.
6.2 Trust AI Standards grants the Applicant a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable right to use the relevant Certificate and Certification Mark only during the period in which the Certificate remains valid and only in accordance with these Terms, the Scheme Documentation, and the Branding Guidelines.
6.3 You must not alter, distort, combine with other marks, sublicense, assign, or use any Certificate or Certification Mark in a misleading or unauthorized way.
6.4 You must immediately stop using any Certificate or Certification Mark if certification expires, is suspended, is withdrawn, is rescinded, or if We instruct You to stop.
6.5 We may rescind or replace a Certificate issued in error, on incomplete or inaccurate information, or following quality assurance or scheme review.
7. Suspension, withdrawal, and termination
7.1 We may suspend, withdraw, refuse, or terminate certification or the certification process at any time if You breach these Terms, fail to meet the Scheme requirements, provide inaccurate or misleading information, fail to cooperate, fail to pay Fees, misuse any Certificate or Certification Mark, or act in a way that may harm the Scheme or its reputation.
7.2 Suspension or withdrawal may apply to Trust AI Essentials, Trust AI Essentials Plus, or both, depending on the nature of the issue identified.
7.3 On suspension, withdrawal, expiry, or termination, You must immediately cease holding Yourself out as certified to the affected extent and must stop using the affected Certificate and Certification Mark.
7.4 Termination, suspension, or withdrawal does not affect any accrued rights, outstanding payment obligations, or any provisions that are intended to survive.
8. Confidentiality and publicity
8.1 We will treat confidential information submitted by You as confidential and will use it only for assessment, certification, quality assurance, oversight, management, enforcement, audit, registry, and development of the Scheme, except where disclosure is required by law, regulation, court order, accreditation requirement, or competent authority.
8.2 We may disclose relevant information on a confidential basis to Our personnel, advisers, contractors, appointed Certification Bodies, auditors, moderators, quality reviewers, and service providers where necessary for the proper operation of the Scheme.
8.3 If You are awarded certification, You agree that We may publish and maintain on Trust AI Standards' website, registry, and related scheme materials: Your organization name, certification level, certificate status, certificate number, issue date, expiry date, and scope summary where applicable.
9. Data protection
9.1 Each party will comply with applicable data protection and privacy laws relevant to its processing activities, including, where applicable, the UAE Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021 on the Protection of Personal Data, the UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018, the EU GDPR, and any equivalent or successor legislation.
9.2 You confirm that You have a lawful basis to disclose any personal data included in Your application or supporting evidence to Us for the purposes of the Scheme.
9.3 The parties act as independent controllers in respect of the personal data each processes for its own purposes in connection with the Scheme. Neither party acts as a processor for the other.
9.4 You acknowledge and agree that personal data and evidence submitted under the Scheme may be transferred to, stored in, and processed in the United Arab Emirates and in other countries in which Trust AI Standards, an appointed Certification Body, or their service providers operate, and You confirm that You are permitted to make such transfers. We will apply the safeguards required by Applicable Law to such transfers.
9.5 To the extent permitted by law, You will be responsible for losses, claims, and reasonable costs suffered by Us arising from Your breach of clause 9.2 or Your unlawful disclosure of personal data to Us.
10. Intellectual property
10.1 All intellectual property rights in the Scheme, Scheme Documentation, Certificates, Certification Marks, website content, methodologies, templates, questionnaires, and related materials belong to or are licensed to Trust AI Standards.
10.2 Except for the limited rights expressly granted under these Terms, no intellectual property rights are transferred or licensed to You.
10.3 You must not copy, reproduce, adapt, distribute, translate, create derivative works from, or exploit Scheme Documentation or related materials except as necessary for Your internal participation in the Scheme or as expressly permitted in writing by Trust AI Standards.
11. Sanctions and trade controls
11.1 You warrant that neither You nor, so far as You are aware, any of Your directors, officers, or beneficial owners is the target of trade or economic sanctions, or is located in, organized under the laws of, or ordinarily resident in a country or territory that is the subject of comprehensive sanctions administered by the United Nations, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the European Union, or the United States.
11.2 We may refuse, suspend, withdraw, or terminate certification or the certification process where We reasonably consider that continuing would breach, or expose Us to liability under, applicable sanctions or export-control laws, and We will not be in breach of these Terms for doing so.
11.3 Each party will comply with applicable sanctions, anti-money-laundering, and export-control laws in connection with the Scheme.
12. Liability
12.1 To the maximum extent permitted by Applicable Law, We exclude liability for any loss arising from Your reliance on certification beyond the scope of the Scheme or from any vulnerability, failure, defect, error, omission, bias, harm, misuse, or regulatory issue affecting Your own systems, products, services, models, or operations.
12.2 To the maximum extent permitted by Applicable Law, We will not be liable for any indirect, consequential, special, or punitive loss, or for any loss of profit, revenue, business, contracts, goodwill, anticipated savings, or data.
12.3 Subject to clause 12.4, Our total aggregate liability arising out of or in connection with these Terms, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), misrepresentation, breach of statutory duty, or otherwise, will not exceed the total Fees paid by You for the relevant certification in the 12 months preceding the event giving rise to the claim. Where more than one entity falls within the definition of We, this limit applies to each such entity separately in respect of the Fees paid to that entity.
12.4 Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits any liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited under Applicable Law, including liability for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation and, to the extent it cannot lawfully be excluded, liability for death or personal injury caused by a party's negligence.
12.5 Nothing in these Terms affects any rights or protections You have under the laws of Your own country that cannot be excluded or limited by agreement. Where a provision of these Terms is unenforceable under such laws, that provision applies to the maximum extent permitted and the remainder of these Terms continues in effect.
13. Force majeure
13.1 Neither party is liable for any failure or delay in performing its obligations, other than an obligation to pay, to the extent that the failure or delay is caused by an event beyond its reasonable control, including act of God, natural disaster, epidemic or pandemic, war, terrorism, civil unrest, government or regulatory action, and failure of utilities, telecommunications, or third-party service providers.
13.2 The affected party will notify the other party and use reasonable efforts to mitigate the effect of the event. If the event continues for more than 60 days, either party may terminate the affected certification process on written notice, and clause 3 applies to any refund.
14. General
14.1 Nothing in these Terms creates any partnership, joint venture, fiduciary relationship, employment relationship, or agency relationship between the parties.
14.2 No delay or failure by either party in exercising any right or remedy will operate as a waiver of that or any other right or remedy.
14.3 If any provision of these Terms is held invalid, illegal, or unenforceable, the remainder will continue in full force and effect.
14.4 Trust AI Standards may update these Terms and the Scheme Documentation from time to time. The version in force at the date of Your application or renewal will apply for the term of the relevant Certificate, unless a later version is required by law, accreditation, scheme integrity, or a material regulatory change and We notify You accordingly by email, through the application or certification portal where used, or by publication on www.trustaistandards.com or the relevant scheme registry. Where reasonably practicable, notice will be given before the change takes effect. Changes to Scheme requirements will not retrospectively invalidate a Certificate that is valid at the time of the change, except where necessary to protect safety, integrity, legal compliance, or accreditation.
14.5 You may not assign, transfer, sub-contract, or otherwise dispose of any of Your rights or obligations under these Terms, or any Certificate, without Our prior written consent. Trust AI Standards may assign, transfer, or novate its rights and obligations under these Terms to an affiliate, or to a successor in connection with a reorganization, merger, or acquisition.
14.6 Notices under these Terms must be in writing and sent to the contact details last notified by the receiving party. For Trust AI Standards, notices may be sent using the contact details published on www.trustaistandards.com. Notice sent by email is effective on delivery.
14.7 Except for Trust AI Standards, any Certification Body, and their respective successors and assigns, a person who is not a party to these Terms has no right to enforce any of them. No person who relies on any Certificate or Certification Mark acquires any right or remedy against Us under these Terms.
14.8 These Terms are drawn up in the English language. Where these Terms are translated into another language, the English version prevails in the event of any conflict or inconsistency.
14.9 These Terms constitute the entire agreement between You and Us in relation to the Scheme, subject to any separate order form, application form, or engagement terms issued by Trust AI Standards or the relevant Certification Body that expressly supplement them.
14.10 The following survive expiry, suspension, withdrawal, or termination: any Fees due, clause 4 (Your obligations), clause 5 (Nature and limits of certification), clause 6 (Certificates and Certification Marks), clause 8 (Confidentiality and publicity), clause 9 (Data protection), clause 10 (Intellectual property), clause 11 (Sanctions and trade controls), clause 12 (Liability), clause 16 (Governing law and jurisdiction), and any other provision intended to survive.
15. Complaints, appeals, and dispute resolution
15.1 You may raise complaints and appeals in accordance with the applicable Scheme Documentation.
15.2 The parties will first seek to resolve any dispute in good faith through senior-level discussion.
15.3 If a dispute is not resolved within 30 days of written notice, either party may propose mediation before starting formal proceedings, except where urgent injunctive or protective relief is required.
16. Governing law and jurisdiction
16.1 These Terms, and any dispute or claim (including non-contractual disputes or claims) arising out of or in connection with them, their subject matter, or their formation, are governed by the laws of the United Arab Emirates.
16.2 The courts of the United Arab Emirates have non-exclusive jurisdiction to settle any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with these Terms. Non-exclusive jurisdiction means that We may also bring proceedings, and may seek injunctive, interim, or protective relief, in any other court of competent jurisdiction, including in any country in which You are established or in which a Certificate or Certification Mark is being misused.
17. Integrity and behaviour
17.1 Trust AI Standards has zero tolerance for bribery, corruption, fraud, bullying, abusive language, undue influence, and other improper conduct directed at assessors, reviewers, certification personnel, or scheme representatives.
17.2 We may suspend or terminate the assessment or certification process if such conduct occurs and may report suspected criminal conduct or regulatory breaches to law enforcement or other competent authorities.
If You have questions about these Terms or the Scheme, please contact Trust AI Standards using the contact details published on www.trustaistandards.com.