Legal
Certification Agreement
Version 1.0 · Effective 2026-09-11
1. Purpose
This Certification Agreement governs the relationship between AI FREE (the certifying body) and the applicant who submits a work for human-authorship certification under the AI FREE Certification Standard (AFCS-1.0). By accepting this agreement the applicant requests the assessment of a specific work and version and agrees to the terms below.
2. Truthful declaration
The applicant declares that all information, answers and evidence submitted are true, complete and accurate, and that any use of artificial intelligence in the creation of the work has been fully disclosed. False, partial or misleading statements are grounds for refusal, suspension or revocation of the certificate at any time.
3. Scope of the certificate
A certificate covers only the work, version and scope described in the application. It does not cover later editions, derivative works, translations or other materials produced by the same holder. A new application is required whenever the certified work changes materially.
4. Assessment and human decision
The assessment combines documentary review, provenance and metadata analysis and, where available, automated authenticity indicators. Automated indicators are supporting evidence only and are never conclusive on their own. Every approval, refusal, suspension and revocation is decided by a human auditor.
5. Evidence and confidentiality
Evidence files submitted by the applicant are private and accessible only to the review team. Original files are never altered. AI FREE may retain evidence for the lifetime of the certificate plus the retention period stated in the Privacy Policy, for audit and dispute purposes.
6. Public registry
Approved certificates are published in the public AI FREE registry with the certificate number, holder, work, certification level, issue date, expiry date, status, status history and verification hash. The applicant authorises this publication as an inherent condition of certification.
7. Use of the seal
While the certificate is active, the holder may display the corresponding seal on the certified work and on pages that present it, always linked to the public verification page. The seal may not be altered, imitated, applied to other works or used in a way that suggests a certification level other than the one granted. Use of the seal is also subject to the Seal and Trademark Usage Policy.
8. Validity and renewal
Certificates are valid for the period shown on the public page, normally twelve months from issue. On expiry the seal automatically shows an expired status until the certificate is renewed. Renewal may require updated evidence.
9. Suspension and revocation
AI FREE may suspend or revoke a certificate on evidence of false declaration, undisclosed AI involvement, misuse of the seal, a substantiated third-party report, chargeback or refund of the certification fee. The public status and the status history are updated immediately and every seal in use reflects the new status.
10. Appeals
The applicant may appeal a refusal, suspension or revocation within thirty days of the decision, presenting new evidence. Appeals are reviewed by an auditor who did not take part in the original decision.
11. Fees
The certification fee covers the assessment, not a guarantee of approval. Refunds follow the Refund Policy. A refunded or charged-back certification results in revocation of the related certificate.
12. Limitation of liability
A certificate expresses a documented, evidence-based opinion about human authorship at the time of assessment. It is not a guarantee of originality, of intellectual property ownership or of the absence of any AI involvement beyond what the evidence could show. AI FREE liability is limited to the fee paid for the certification concerned.
13. Changes and acceptance record
This agreement is versioned. Each acceptance records the exact version, the date and the account that accepted it. New versions apply to applications opened after their effective date.
This document is published in the registry with version control. Every acceptance records the exact version accepted.