Certification security

The HP Certification Team is committed to ensuring our certifications maintain their value within the industry. Therefore we have taken some actions to protect the integrity of our program:

• Developed this Web page to communicate the importance of security for HP Certified Professionals, partners and customers and to describe the methods by which HP protects the integrity of the HP Certified Professional Program
• Enhanced the candidate agreement and made it accessible online
• Updated the retake policy
• Created a revocation policy
• Provided a means by which our community can inform the HP Certification Security Manager of security breaches

The HP Certified Professional Program has been designed to provide the value, integrity, and professionalism the IT community has come to expect from a certification program. This renewed emphasis on program security is to ensure HP Certification provides:

• Value - ensuring that credentials provide HP Certified Professionals with job development opportunities, career growth and financial stability
• Integrity - delivering what the program says it will: experience and confidence in those professionals who support HP products and services.
• Professionalism - providing a strong sense of community among a highly recognized group of experts.

» Return to top

All HP certification content - including questions, answers and diagrams -- are the proprietary, confidential and copyrighted material of Hewlett-Packard. Any disclosure of the contents of any HP Certified Professional Certification examination is strictly prohibited.

To ensure that only qualified candidates receive these respective certifications, the HP Certified Professional program takes security very seriously and has taken steps to safeguard the integrity of the exams. As a result, the HP Certified Professional Program has developed a number of actions to combat test cheating and exam piracy.

By widely communicating our security efforts, the HP Certified Professional Program aims to educate participants about this important issue.

» Return to top

An HP candidate agreement is displayed on a screen before a candidate takes a certification exam at an authorized testing center. One of the ways HP protects the security of each exam is by requiring all candidates to agree to - and accept - the terms and conditions within the agreement in order to be able to start the exam. If the candidates do not accept the terms and conditions within the candidate agreement, they will not be able to proceed with the exam and the cost of the exam will not be reimbursed to them.

Hewlett-Packard will take the appropriate legal actions against culpable individual if there's a breach in the provisions of the candidate agreement. Candidate agreement violators are subject to injunctions, civil liability, forfeiture of profits, punitive damages and other legal sanctions. In addition, Hewlett-Packard Company will revoke any Hewlett-Packard Certifications obtained by violators of this agreement.

The HP Certification Team provides the HP Certified Professional Candidate Agreement online to give individuals the opportunity to review the terms and conditions within this agreement prior to registering for an exam. It's important that candidates review and understand the agreement, as they will be held to these terms and conditions.

» View the agreement in English (35.7KB, PDF).

The localized HP Certified Professional Candidate Agreement will be provided at a future date in the languages listed below on the respective regional or country HP Certification websites.

» Return to top

Finally, we are working hard to ensure our exams are as secure as possible. HP Certified Professionals have worked hard to achieve their certifications and the HP Certification Team is committed to upholding exam credibility.

The Revocation Policy is a section within the HP Candidate Agreement. Once again, for your convenience, we have listed it below.

Any candidate determined by Hewlett-Packard in its sole discretion to have violated Hewlett-Packard's Candidate Conduct Policy or Hewlett-Packard's Retake Policy shall, if determined necessary or appropriate by Hewlett-Packard based upon the seriousness of the incident or violation:

• be denied HP Certified Professional Certification for the applicable examination for a minimum period of twelve (12) calendar months from the date of such determination;
• have the HP Certified Professional Certification for the applicable examination revoked, if such certification was previously granted by HP Certified Professional;
• have all other HP Certified Professional Certifications previously granted to such candidate revoked;
• not be eligible to receive any Hewlett-Packard Certification for a minimum period of twelve (12) calendar months from the date of such determination; and/or
• be subject to any and all other appropriate action - including legal remedies - that Hewlett-Packard deems necessary or appropriate to enforce Hewlett-Packard's Candidate Conduct Policy or Hewlett-Packard's Retake Policy.

» Return to top

The HP Certification Team has created a way for our community to provide feedback in regards to security issues and concerns. All HP Certified Professionals can help protect their certification investments by informing other candidates of the HP Candidate Agreement and the policies within the agreement. Or, if an HP Certified Professional knows of a security breach or a violation, they can inform the HP Certification Security Manager via this email address examsecurity@hp.com. By working together, we can make sure an HP Certification continues to bring value to the IT industry.

» Return to top