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AP Exam Terms and Conditions

You will be bound by these Terms and Conditions as they exist on test day. Visit this page prior to test day to review any updates. Updates will be clearly communicated on this page.

AP EXAM TERMS AND CONDITIONS 

These Terms and Conditions (“Terms and Conditions” or “Agreement”) are a legal contract between you and College Board (“College Board” or “we”). They set forth important rules and policies you must follow related to taking an Advanced Placement® (“AP”) Exam (“AP Exam”). Please read them carefully. If you register for the AP Exam on behalf of another (for example, if you are a parent or legal guardian of the test taker), these Terms and Conditions govern both you and the test taker (collectively, “you”).

All disputes between you and College Board will be resolved through binding arbitration in accordance with Section 8 of this Agreement. You understand that by agreeing to arbitration, you are waiving your right to resolve disputes in a court of law by a judge or jury except as otherwise set forth in this Agreement. 

CONTENTS:

Section 1. Taking the AP Exam

  1. Required Items for Paper and Pencil Testing
  2. Required Items for Digital Testing
  3. Prohibited Items 
  4. Digital Testing: Additional Rules

Section 2. Prohibited Behaviors 
Section 3. Score Cancellation and Disciplinary Measures 
Section 4. Privacy 
Section 5. Miscellaneous 
Section 6. Policies and Requirements 
Section 7. Intellectual Property Rights 
Section 8. ARBITRATION OF DISPUTES AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER 
Section 9. Governing Law, Venue and Waiver of Jury Trial 
Section 10. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY 
Section 11. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES 
Section 12. Severability 
Section 13. Restricted Registrations 
Section 14. Accessibility of These Terms and Conditions 

Section 1. Taking the AP Exam

In 2024, AP Exams will be administered in two formats, (i) paper and pencil and (ii) digital. Most AP Exams will be paper and pencil this year. For those AP Exams that are available digitally, the school where you test will decide which format to administer.

  1. Required Items for Paper and Pencil Testing 
    • 2 sharpened No. 2 pencils with erasers. (Students outside the U.S.: bring HB or No. 2 pencils.) 
    • 2 pens with black or dark blue ink. 
    • A watch that does not have internet access, beep or make noise, or have an alarm. 
    • Up to 2 approved calculators with the necessary capabilities if you are taking an AP Biology, AP Calculus, AP Chemistry, AP Environmental Science, AP Physics, AP Macroeconomics, AP Microeconomics, AP Precalculus, or AP Statistics Exam. Visit apstudents.org/courses to find the calculator policy for your subject. For a list of approved graphing calculators, visit apstudents.org/calculators. 
    • A ruler or straightedge only if you are taking an AP Physics Exam. Protractors are not allowed. 
    • A current government issued or school issued photo ID if you do not attend the school where you are taking the AP Exam. Additional ID may be requested by test centers outside the U.S. caution
    • Your SSD Student Accommodations Letter from College Board if you have been approved for testing accommodations by College Board. 
    • 2 sharpened No. 2 pencils with erasers. (Students outside the U.S.: bring HB or No. 2 pencils.) 
    • 2 pens with black or dark blue ink. 
    • A watch that does not have internet access, beep or make noise, or have an alarm. 
    • Up to 2 approved calculators with the necessary capabilities if you are taking an AP Biology, AP Calculus, AP Chemistry, AP Environmental Science, AP Physics, AP Macroeconomics, AP Microeconomics, AP Precalculus, or AP Statistics Exam. Visit apstudents.org/courses to find the calculator policy for your subject. For a list of approved graphing calculators, visit apstudents.org/calculators. 
    • A ruler or straightedge only if you are taking an AP Physics Exam. Protractors are not allowed. 
    • A current government issued or school issued photo ID if you do not attend the school where you are taking the AP Exam. Additional ID may be requested by test centers outside the U.S. 
    • Your SSD Student Accommodations Letter from College Board if you have been approved for testing accommodations by College Board. 
  2. Required Items for Digital Testing 
    • A fully charged Mac or Windows device, iPad or Chromebook (“Testing Device”) that has sufficient battery charge to enable you to complete the AP Exam and that meets the requirements listed at bluebook.collegeboard.org/technology/devices/requirements. 
    • If you do not attend the school where you are taking the AP Exam, you must bring a current government issued or school issued photo ID. Additional ID may be requested by test centers outside the U.S.
    • If you have been approved for testing accommodations, your SSD Student Accommodations Letter to verify your approval.
  3. Prohibited Items
    • Electronic equipment including phones, smartwatches, fitness trackers, wearable technology, cameras, recording or listening devices, or any other type of electronic or communication device. 
    • The only exceptions to the above restrictions are laptops or other devices specifically permitted to be used for digital testing. 
    • School-owned and school-controlled digital recording devices are allowed only for the AP French, AP German, AP Italian, and AP Spanish Language and Culture Exams, and the AP Music Theory Exam. 
    • Books, reference guides, notes, compasses, protractors, mechanical pencils, pencils that are not No. 2, correction fluid, dictionaries, highlighters, or colored pencils.
    • Papers of any kind. Scratch paper will be provided.
    • Watches that beep, make a noise, or have an alarm. 
    • Computers or calculators that are not approved. 
    • Reference guides, keyboard maps, or other typing instructions.
    • Ear plugs.
    • Food or drink.
    • Clipboards. 
    • Weapons or firearms.
  4. Digital Testing: Additional Rules
    • The AP Exam is taken at a test center and administered on the Bluebook application (“Application”). For students, the test center is their high school.
    • You will be required to download the Application onto your Testing Device. If your Testing Device is managed by your school, a school administrator may have already installed the Application on your Testing Device.
    • When you open the Application, you will be required to agree to the Privacy Policy and Use of This App.
    • Once in your testing room, follow the instructions provided in the Application and by your AP Exam proctor.
    • You will be required to complete AP Exam check-in on your Testing Device, for which you will first need to connect to the test center’s Wi-Fi network.
    • You will also need to confirm your agreement to these Terms and Conditions.
    • You will not be able to keep working on a question after time expires.
    • You will be able to go backward within a section or part, however you will not be able to go backward to a previous section or part.
    • You cannot use any other program or application while the Application is running, and you cannot paste work into the Application from another program or application.
    • You must enter your answers in the Application as only answers in the Application can be submitted for scoring. Answer submission may not occur through any other means. 
    • Answer submission happens automatically if your Testing Device is connected to the internet when the AP Exam ends. If your answers were successfully submitted, you will see a confirmation screen indicating so. However, if your device is not connected to the internet when the AP Exam ends, you will need to connect to the internet during the submission window and follow the directions in the Application to submit your answers. 
    • College Board will score all AP Exams that have been started, even if a submission is incomplete or a submission error occurs. Follow the provided submission instructions and submit during the submission window to ensure that all of your answers are scored. 
    • If you wish to cancel your score, you may follow the instructions at apstudents.collegeboard.org/score-reporting-services/cancel-scores to submit your request. Note that you must cancel your score by June 15 if you do not want your score to be sent to the college, university, or scholarship program you indicated online through  the Free Score Sends page at apstudents.collegeboard.org/sending-scores/free-score-send.

Section 2. Prohibited Behaviors 

  1. You may not engage in the prohibited behaviors set forth below and located at apstudents.collegeboard.org/exam-policies-guidelines/exam-security-policies:
    • Attempting to cheat or otherwise obtain an unfair advantage on the AP Exam.
    • Obtaining, or attempting to obtain, improper access to the AP Exam, or a part of the AP Exam, or information about the AP Exam.
    • Referring to, looking through, or working on any AP Exam, or AP Exam section, other than during the timed testing period for that AP Exam or AP Exam section.
    • Accessing or attempting to access any prohibited aids, including prohibited formula sheets and prohibited scratch paper.
    • Accessing or attempting to access a phone of any kind or electronic device during testing or during breaks.
    • Utilizing or attempting to utilize any artificial intelligence tools, including Generative Pre-trained Transformer tools (e.g., GPT-4). 
    • Leaving the testing room, building, or designated break area without permission and/or taking an unapproved extended break. 
    • Improperly accessing or attempting to improperly access any electronic device during testing, except as permitted by the AP Exam instructions.
    • Reproducing or attempting to reproduce any portion of any AP Exam in any form (e.g., by taking photos or making photocopies). 
    • Sharing AP Exam content during or after the AP Exam through any means, including, but not limited to, email, text messages, phone calls, photographs, social media, or the internet.
    • Having subject-related information on your clothing, shoes, body, or object.
    • Using testing accommodations not approved by College Board.
    • Removing or attempting to remove a page or portions of a page from the AP Exam book.
    • Attempting to remove from the testing room any part of the AP Exam or any notes related to the AP Exam.
    • Bringing food or drink into the testing room (unless it is preapproved as an accommodation by College Board).
    • Sharing a calculator with another person during testing. 
    • Copying the work of another student or of published or unpublished sources. 
    • Attempting to give or get assistance, or otherwise communicate, through any means, with another person about the AP Exam, during the AP Exam administration, or after the AP Exam administration. Anyone giving or accepting assistance will be investigated.
    • Attempting to take or taking the AP Exam for someone else.
    • Attempting to have or having someone else take the AP Exam on your behalf.
    • Creating a disturbance.
    • Engaging in confrontational, threatening, or unruly behavior, conduct, or communication toward or concerning any AP exam taker, test administrator or proctor, or employee of College Board or its contractors.
    • Failing to follow any of the test administration rules set forth in these Terms and Conditions, the Instructions, the Application, or in other registration materials, or directions given by the testing staff.
  2. Original Work
    • No part of your AP Exam answers, work, or submission (collectively, "submissions") may be generated in whole or in part using any AI tools, including but not limited to ChatGPT. 
    • Submissions to College Board must be your original work, and your submissions may not include any content (e.g., text, image, graph) that was copied from some other source (“preexisting materials”).  Any use of preexisting materials in a submission not expressly authorized in this Section 2(b) is referred to herein as "plagiarism.” 
    • College Board uses various methods and services to detect the use of AI and plagiarism in submissions. 
    • For AP Art & Design Only:  You may include “pre-existing materials” in a submission, you must:   
      • Provide clear attribution and/or citation and identification all pre-existing material in the written prompt responses and the written evidence section accompanying the visual images. 

Section 3. Score Cancellation and Disciplinary Measures

  1. Score Cancellation and Disciplinary Measures. In the event that College Board and/or its contractors determine that your scores are invalid under Section 3(b) below, or you have engaged in Misconduct under Section 3(c) below, we may, in our sole discretion, take one or more of the following measures (“Measures”): deny you the right to take an AP Exam, decline to score your AP Exam, cancel your scores, ban you from taking future College Board assessments (including, without limitation, the SAT, CLEP exam or any future AP Exam), and/or share information with others as set forth in Section 3(f) below.

CAUTION! THE CONSEQUENCES OF CHEATING ON THE AP EXAM ARE SEVERE. ALL INSTITUTIONS YOU SEND AP SCORES TO MAY BE NOTIFIED OF YOUR MISCONDUCT.

  1. Invalid Scores. We may cancel your scores and/or take any of the other Measures described above if after following the procedures set forth in this section, we determine, in our sole discretion, that there is substantial evidence that your scores are invalid (“Invalid Scores”). Examples of evidence of Invalid Scores include, without limitation, discrepant handwriting, unusual answer patterns, similar essays or code, inappropriate AI use, or other evidence that indicates these Terms and Conditions may have been violated. Before canceling your scores under this Invalid Scores section, we will notify you in writing (via email if an email address is available) and provide you with an opportunity to submit written information to us to help resolve our inquiry. If you opt for a further review by a College Board review panel, and it confirms, in its sole discretion, that your scores are invalid, we will offer you 3 options: applying a score of zero to affected sections, voluntary score cancellation or arbitration as set forth in Section 8 below. This process is referred to as the “Score Validity Process.” The arbitration option is available only for AP Exams administered in the United States and U.S. Territories. AP Exam score components rendered by a school and not College Board are not subject to review or adjustment.
  2. Misconduct. Notwithstanding Section 3(b) above, if we determine, in our sole discretion, that there is overwhelming evidence that you violated these Terms and Conditions (“Misconduct”), the Score Validity Process will not apply, and we may cancel your scores and/or take any of the Measures described above. Examples of Misconduct might include, without limitation, having someone else assist you during the AP Exam, having someone else take the AP Exam for you, giving assistance to another test taker during the AP Exam, or plagiarizing, which includes submitting an AP Exam with any material other than the exclusive product of your own work, or that includes any text, content, graphics, pictures, or other content from a third-party source. Misconduct may be established in various ways, including, without limitation, by evidence discovered after the administration.  
  3. Testing Irregularities. We may cancel your scores if we determine, in our sole discretion, that any testing irregularity occurred (collectively, “Testing Irregularities”). Examples of Testing Irregularities include, without limitation, problems, irregular circumstances, or events associated with the administration of an AP Exam that may affect one test taker or groups of test takers. Such problems include, without limitation, administrative errors (e.g., using accommodations not approved by College Board or defective equipment), network outages, system errors, evidence of possible pre-knowledge of secure AP Exam content, and disruptions of testing administrations caused by events such as natural disasters, epidemics, wars, riots, civil disturbances, or other emergencies. When Testing Irregularities occur, we may cancel an entire administration or individual registrations, decline to score all or part of the AP Exam, or cancel scores. We may do this regardless of whether or not you caused the Testing Irregularities, benefited from them, or violated these Terms and Conditions. We may, in our sole discretion, give you a refund. This is the sole remedy that may be available to you as a result of Testing Irregularities.
  4. Test Taker Reporting Misconduct or Suspicious Behavior. You may confidentially report any suspected violation of these Terms and Conditions, or any suspicion concerning the security of an AP Exam administration, by immediately emailing the AP Hotline at [email protected].
  5. College Board Sharing Information with Third Parties. We may share the results of test security investigations (including, without limitation, those relating to Misconduct and Invalid Scores described above, and other disciplinary-related information), with third parties, including with your test center, teacher, school, any score recipient, college, higher education institution or agency, scholarship organization, admissions office, potential score recipient, government agency in the United States or abroad, parents, legal guardians, or law enforcement. College Board may also share such information with third parties that have a legitimate reason for knowing the information or who may be able to assist College Board in its investigation or who may be conducting their own investigation. College Board may respond to inquiries from any institution to which you submitted a score. If you publicize any review, investigation, or decision of College Board, College Board may make any and all details of such matter public. 

Section 4. Privacy

  1. Privacy Policies. College Board recognizes the importance of protecting your privacy. Our privacy policies located at collegeboard.org/privacy-center (“Privacy Policies”) and also available to you under Help on the Application homepage are part of these Terms and Conditions. You consent to the collection, use, and disclosure by College Board of your information, including personally identifiable information, described in the Privacy Policies and in these Terms and Conditions. College Board may update its Privacy Policies from time to time, and they are subject to change up to one week prior to your AP Exam date. You are required to review the Privacy Policies located at collegeboard.org/privacy-center prior to taking the AP Exam.
  2. Testing Device and Activity Data.
    • Testing Device Data: When you download and use the Application, College Board will receive certain information about your Testing Device, including device type, operating system type and version, applications and processes running on your Testing Device, Internet Protocol (IP) address, screen size and resolution, number of screens, available memory, storage and disk bytes, disk mount, type and size, battery level, and other device-specific information for the purposes described below.
    • Activity Data: We also capture and monitor the actions you take in the Application, including your responses, where you click, where you put your mouse on the page, how long you spend on each page, ctrl/alt/delete attempts, and how you navigate through the Exam App.
    • Testing Device Data and Activity Data: Testing Device Data and Activity Data (collectively, "Data") may be used by College Board to make sure your Testing Device is compatible with the Application, for test security purposes, for test validation and research, and to develop and improve College Board products and services. Data may be disclosed to trusted vendors, but only in their provision of services to College Board, and we may disclose aggregated and de-identified Data. Data is not sold or licensed to third parties, including without limitation for their marketing purposes or other commercial purposes. We may share Data with your school, district or state education department related to the SAT you take on the Application, including any misuse of the Exam App. You will also be asked to type specific sentences in the Application. Neither Data nor those typed sentences are used for biometric identification.
  3. Kentucky Scholarship Program. If you’re a resident of the state of Kentucky, College Board automatically sends your AP Exam scores and personally identifiable information to the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority (“KHEAA”). This information is used by KHEAA to consider your eligibility for and award its state scholarship program.
    • Opt-out: You can opt out by notifying College Board, in writing, no more than 15 days after the test date, at AP Program, Educational Testing Service, 1425 Lower Ferry Road, 29Q, Ewing, NJ 08618. Include your full name, mailing address, date of birth, gender, 8-digit AP ID, and your 6-digit high school code number.
  4. Educational Reporting.
    • We send your scores, data derived from your scores, other information you provide in connection with testing, and certain demographic information to your school and district. We may also send your scores, grade level, and student ID to the school that placed the AP Exam order on your behalf (provided you are enrolled in a standard section) if that is different from your attending institution. In addition, your scores may be sent to your state for educational, diagnostic, and/or reporting purposes. (Homeschooled students’ scores won’t be shared with the school that administers the AP Exam).
    • When you request that we send your scores to colleges or other organizations as designated by you on during testing and/or via your College Board account, we send your scores, certain demographic information, and other information you provide during testing to those colleges and organizations in accordance with apstudents.collegeboard.org/sending-scores. We share with your school and district the names of the organizations you select to send your AP Exam scores. Colleges may use your official score report to determine credit or placement, if applicable. These organizations may also use your information and official score report to send you information about admissions, educational, financial aid, and scholarship opportunities. Being contacted by these organizations does not mean you have been admitted or are eligible for a scholarship or financial aid program. You must submit an application to be considered for admission at a college or university, and complete any steps required by any scholarship programs to be considered for their opportunities.
  5. Voluntary Student Search Service (where available). If you are provided an opportunity opt in to our voluntary Student Search Service (“Search”) and you choose to opt-in:
    • We will share information about you that you provide to College Board (including without limitation your  name, address, email, date of birth, the high school you attend, your expected graduation year, score ranges, information you provide during testing and when using the College Board college planning website, Big Future) with participating accredited colleges, universities, nonprofit scholarship programs, and nonprofit educational organizations (“Education Organizations”). If you opt in to Student Search Service, we may share information that you provided prior to and after opting in to Student Search Service, but we will not share any information until you opt in. 
    • Education Organizations may use this information to send you, or your parent, email and postal mail with information about educational, financial aid, and scholarship opportunities. Being contacted by Education Organizations doesn’t mean you have been admitted. You must submit an application to be considered for admission.
    • Education Organizations may pay a license fee to College Board to license (use) your information. College Board uses these license fees to help support its mission-driven work. Students do not pay a fee for Student Search Service.
    • Education Organizations may only use your information for the purpose of sending you information about the opportunities they provide. They (i) may not share your information with others except to their contractors such as direct mail service providers, and (ii) may only keep your information for a limited time period.
    • Opt Out: You can opt out of Student Search Service at any time at my.collegeboard.org/profile/privacy, by completing the Your Privacy Choices webform at form.collegeboard.org/f/data-subject-rights-request, or by contacting us at [email protected].
    • More information on Student Search Service is available at studentsearch.collegeboard.org.
  6. Connections. College Board has a separate program called Connections that is offered to schools and school districts and that connects students with information about nonprofit colleges, universities, scholarship organizations, and other nonprofit educational organizations, without disclosure of their personally identifiable information.  Where available, students who take the PSAT/NMSQT, PSAT 10, or the SAT during the school day can opt-in to Connections.  You can't opt-in to Connections as part of this AP Exam, but if you have already opted-in to Connections or if you opt-in later, your AP Exam score range is included in the information used to match you to organizations as part of Connections. More information about Connections is available at satsuite.org/bigfutureschool.

Section 5. Miscellaneous

  1. In the event of a test security related concern, public health threat, natural disaster, terrorist act, civil unrest, epidemic, or other unexpected events or circumstances, College Board may cancel testing for all or a specific group of test takers. In addition, College Board may cancel at any time due to issues related to covid-19 in College Board’s sole discretion. If this occurs, College Board will notify you in advance, if feasible.
  2. To ensure the integrity of the AP Exam, for security reasons, or for other reasons in our sole discretion, College Board reserves the right to bar any individual or group of individuals from registering for and/or taking any College Board assessment. 
  3. We reserve the right to contact the appropriate individuals or agencies, including your parents, guardians, high school, or law enforcement agencies if College Board becomes aware that you or someone else may be in imminent danger. We may also provide the relevant content, along with your personal information, to those contacted. 
  4. College Board takes steps to ensure that registration records are properly handled and processed, and that answers are properly handled and scored. In the unlikely event of a problem with registration materials, answers, or score reports, or with scoring the AP Exam, or score reporting, College Board will correct the error, if possible, and may allow a retest for impacted test takers, offer a projected score when feasible, or provide a refund of the AP Exam fee. These are your sole remedies in relation to such issues. College Board has sole discretion in determining whether to score missing AP Exam submissions that are eventually recovered. 
  5. Scoring of student responses and the determination of AP Exam scores are within College Board’s sole discretion.  If any portion of your AP Exam or any of your submissions are scored by your school or AP Teacher,  those scores are final and you may not challenge them in arbitration (under Section 8 below) or otherwise.  
  6. Each College Board contractor is a third-party beneficiary and is entitled to the rights and benefits under this Agreement and may enforce the provisions of this Agreement as if it were a party to this Agreement.
  7. College Board is not responsible for providing an internet connection or for internet service interruptions or errors outside of College Board’s control, such as data transmission errors on the public internet.
  8. College Board is not responsible for any equipment. 
  9. College Board is not responsible for personal property, including prohibited items, brought to the AP Exam that are lost, stolen, or damaged. 
  10. College Board is not responsible for your failure to follow directions and instructions relating to taking the AP Exam. 

Section 6. Policies and Requirements

  1. All College Board policies and requirements (i) referenced in these Terms and Conditions and (ii) relating to registering for the AP Exam located at  apstudents.collegeboard.org/register-for-ap-exams, taking the AP Exam located at apstudents.collegeboard.org/about-ap-exams, and scores located at apstudents.collegeboard.org/about-ap-scores are part of these Terms and Conditions.
  2. College Board may update its policies and requirements from time to time and they are subject to change up to one week prior to your test date. You are required to review these prior to each test administration.

Section 7. Intellectual Property Rights

  1. All College Board tests, including AP Exams, test-related documents and materials, and test preparation materials (“Test Content ”) are copyrighted works owned by College Board and protected by the laws of the United States and other countries. 
  2. All software, webpages, algorithms, processes, and technologies, including the Application, through which you access and take the AP Exam, your answers are scored, and the test is secured and proctored, but excluding your device, your internet service provider (ISP) and the public internet, (collectively, the “Test Platform ”) belong to College Board and its licensors.  
  3. You shall not screenshot or attempt to make any image, copy, or download Test Content or the Test  You shall not attempt to decompile, reverse engineer, or disassemble the Test Platform. 
  4. All answers and answer documents you submit including all essay responses, portfolios, and audio or visual work are owned by the College Board, and these may be used by College Board for any purpose, subject to the Privacy Policies located at privacy.collegeboard.org, and in these Terms and Conditions; however, you have independent rights to your scores, including the right to access, retain, and use your scores.

Section 8. ARBITRATION OF DISPUTES AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER

  1. General Arbitration Rules ("General Arbitration Rules")

    All disputes between you and College Board (each a “party”) that relate in any way to registering for, participating in, or taking an AP exam, including but not limited to requesting or receiving test accommodations, score reporting, the use of your data, test security issues, or the Score Validity Process (defined in the “Invalid Scores” Section herein), will exclusively be resolved in binding arbitration or small claims court. By agreeing to arbitration in accordance with this Section, you are waiving your right to have your dispute heard by a judge or jury except as set forth below. Disputes relating to the Score Validity Process are subject to both these General Arbitration Rules and the Supplemental Arbitration Rules defined in Section 8(b) below. If there is a conflict between the General Arbitration Rules and the Supplemental Arbitration Rules, the Supplemental Arbitration Rules will control.

    Either party can seek to have a claim resolved in small claims court if the rules of that court will allow it. Additionally, and except for disputes relating to the Score Validity Process under the Supplemental Arbitration Rules below, if the claims asserted in any request or demand for arbitration could have been brought in small claims court, then either you or College Board may elect to have the claims heard in small claims court, rather than in arbitration, at any time before an arbitrator is appointed, by notifying the other party of that election in writing. Any dispute about whether a claim qualifies for small claims court will be resolved by that court and not by an arbitrator. In the event that either party elects to have their claims heard in small claims court, the arbitration proceeding will remain closed unless and until there is a decision by the small claims court that the claim should proceed in arbitration.

    All claims that are not decided in small claims court must be resolved through binding, individual arbitration before a single arbitrator. The arbitration will be administered by the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") under the AAA Consumer Arbitration Rules, supplemented the AAA Mass Arbitration Supplementary Rules as applicable, in effect at the time a request for arbitration is filed with the AAA. Copies of the AAA Consumer Arbitration Rules and the AAA Mass Arbitration Supplementary Rules are located at adr.org. The arbitrator will have the authority to resolve any dispute regarding the scope or enforceability of this Agreement, except only a court can decide claims that a party violated the intellectual property rights of the other party. In addition, only a court can decide issues relating to (a) the pre-arbitration requirements contained in this Agreement or (b) the interpretation of the prohibition of class and representative actions contained in this Agreement.

    Before commencing a small claims court or arbitration proceeding, that party (the “complainant”) must provide the other party (the “respondent”) with a written notice of dispute that includes the complainant’s name and contact information, a detailed description of the dispute, relevant documents, the specific relief sought, and the complainant’s physical signature (signature by counsel to the party is not sufficient). If you are the complainant, you must send the notice of dispute by first class mail, FedEx, or UPS to Legal Department, 250 Vesey Street, New York, NY 10281. College Board will send its notice to your address as reflected in College Board’s records. 

    Also, before the complainant may commence a small claims court or arbitration proceeding, the parties must attempt to resolve the dispute through informal, good-faith negotiation. If the parties have not resolved the dispute within sixty (60) days of the respondent’s receipt of the written notice of dispute, the parties will mutually schedule a settlement conference which must occur within fourteen (14) days of the completion of the sixty (60) day period, unless otherwise mutually agreed by the parties. Each party must personally appear at the settlement conference (if a party is represented by counsel, their counsel may also participate), and appearances may be made telephonically or by video. If the parties are unable to resolve the dispute at the settlement conference, either party may commence arbitration or file a small claims court proceeding. The statute of limitations and any filing fee deadlines will be tolled while the parties engage in this informal dispute resolution process. If any aspect of the requirements in this subsection 8(a) have not been met, a court can enjoin the filing or prosecution of an arbitration or the assessment of any arbitration fees. In addition, unless prohibited by law, the AAA cannot accept or administer the arbitration, nor assess any fees for an arbitration that has not met the requirements of this subsection 8(a). If the arbitration already is pending, it must be dismissed.

    If the dispute proceeds to arbitration, the complainant must personally attend all arbitration conferences, hearings, and mediations scheduled by the AAA or by an arbitrator or mediator appointed by the AAA. If the complainant is represented by counsel, complainant’s counsel may also participate, and all participation may be made telephonically or by video except as directed by the arbitrator or mediator. If a complainant fails to personally appear at any conference, hearing or mediation scheduled by the AAA or by a AAA arbitrator or mediator, regardless of whether the complainant’s counsel attends, the arbitrator will administratively close the arbitration proceeding without prejudice, unless the complainant shows good cause as to why the complainant was not able to attend the conference, hearing, or mediation.

    This arbitration will be conducted as a documents-only arbitration (i.e., there will be no in-person or telephonic hearing) unless otherwise agreed by the parties or required by the arbitrator. If the parties agree to or the arbitrator requires proceedings, such proceedings should be conducted at a location which is reasonably convenient to both parties with due consideration of their ability to travel and other pertinent circumstances. If the parties are unable to agree on a location, the parties agree that the proceedings will be conducted via a video or telephonic call or, in the event that face-to-face proceedings are agreed to by the parties or required by the arbitrator, at a location that is reasonably convenient to both parties in accordance with the AAA Consumer Arbitration Rules. The arbitrator may consider rulings in arbitrations involving other individuals, but an arbitrator's rulings will not be binding in proceedings involving different individuals. The existence and content of the arbitration proceedings, including documents and briefs submitted by the parties, any correspondence from the AAA, and correspondence, orders, and awards issued by the arbitrator, will remain strictly confidential and will not be disclosed to any third party without the express written consent from the other party, unless disclosure to the third party is reasonably required in the context of conducting the arbitration proceedings or related court proceedings.

    For disputes meeting the definition of “Mass Arbitration” under the AAA Mass Arbitration Supplementary Rules, the parties agree that the dispute is subject to the AAA’s Mass Arbitration Supplementary Rules and the parties agree to the appointment of a Process Arbitrator, except as may otherwise be decided by the arbitrator or the AAA.

    The parties agree that the Federal Arbitration Act ("FAA") 9 U.S.C. § 1 et seq. governs this Section, and it is the intent of the parties that the FAA will preempt all State laws to the fullest extent permitted by law.

    No arbitration may be maintained as a class or collective action; a party may only bring a claim only on their own behalf and cannot seek a relief that would affect other individuals. Unless all parties agree otherwise, the arbitrator will not have the authority to consolidate the claims of more than 1 individual, conduct any class or collective proceeding, make any class or collective award, or make an award to any person or entity not a party to the arbitration, without the express written consent of College Board.

    Payment of all filing, administrative, and arbitrator fees and costs will be governed by the AAA's rules. If the arbitrator finds that either the substance of your claim or the relief sought was frivolous or was brought for an improper purpose (as measured by the standards set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(b)), then College Board may seek applicable fee-shifting.

  2. Supplemental Arbitration Rules for the Score Validity Process ("Supplemental Arbitration Rules")

    If you receive a notice from College Board that your scores are subject to the Score Validity Process, you may be provided with the option to choose arbitration. In addition to the General Arbitration Rules, except as set forth herein, the below rules will apply.

    The sole issue for the arbitrator to decide is whether College Board acted in good faith and followed the Score Validity Process.

    This arbitration will be based only on (i) the documents you submitted to College Board pursuant to the Score Validity Process and (ii) College Board documents unless otherwise agreed by the parties or required by the arbitrator.

    If the arbitrator finds that College Board did not act in good faith in deciding to cancel your scores, your scores will not be canceled (or they will be reinstated, if applicable).

    All other disputes with College Board will be resolved solely by the General Arbitration Rules in Section 8(a) above, except as set forth herein.

Section 9. Governing Law, Venue and Waiver of Jury Trial

This Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the state of New York without regard to choice or conflict of law principles. All disputes arising from or related to this Agreement that are not subject to arbitration under Section 8 shall be resolved exclusively in the state and federal courts located in New York County, New York State and each party to this Agreement irrevocably consents to the jurisdiction of such courts. Each Party expressly waives any right to a jury trial in any lawsuit arising from or related to this Agreement. 

Section 10. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT FINALLY DETERMINED TO BE PROHIBITED BY LAW, THE TOTAL LIABLITY OF COLLEGE BOARD TO YOU OR ANYONE CLAIMING BY OR THROUGH YOU OR ON YOUR BEHALF, FOR ANY CLAIMS, LOSSES, COSTS, OR DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR RESULTING FROM OR IN ANY WAY RELATED TO COLLEGE BOARD, OR ANY TEST ADMINISTRATION BY COLLEGE BOARD, FROM ANY CAUSE, SHALL NOT EXCEED THE TEST REGISTRATION FEES YOU PAID OR $100.00, WHICHEVER IS GREATER. IN ADDITION, COLLEGE BOARD WILL NOT BE LIABLE IN ANY EVENT FOR ANY CONSEQUENTIAL, INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, EXEMPLARY, OR SPECIAL DAMAGES. 

Section 11. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES

COLLEGE BOARD MAKES NO WARRANTIES REGARDING THE AP EXAM, EXAM CONTENT, OR TESTING APPLICATION INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION A WARRANTY THAT THE TESTING EXPERIENCE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR FREE. YOU ACCEPT THE AP EXAM, EXAM CONTENT, AND TESTING APPLICATION AS IS. 

Section 12. Severability

If any section or part of this Agreement is held to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable, the remaining sections or parts will nevertheless continue in full force and effect without being impaired or invalidated in any way and to the extent possible, the invalid, illegal, or unenforceable provision shall be modified so that it is valid, legal, and enforceable and, to the fullest extent, reflects the intention of the parties. 

Section 13. Restricted Registrations

College Board, along with our service providers outside of the U.S., is subject to U.S. economic sanctions, laws, and regulations and is prohibited from providing testing services to, or accepting registrations from, persons residing in certain areas or designated by the U.S. government as Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (collectively, “Sanctioned Persons”), unless specifically licensed or otherwise authorized by the U.S. government. If a Sanctioned Person attempts to register despite U.S. sanctions that prohibit College Board from doing business with such Sanctioned Person, College Board or a U.S. financial institution may block the registration or payments submitted by or for such Sanctioned Persons. If payment is not blocked, College Board will cancel the registration and may not be able to refund the payment. Please contact AP Customer Service at 888-225-5427 (+1-212-632-1780 internationally) or visit home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/financial-sanctions/sanctions-programs-and-country-information to obtain the current list of sanctioned programs and Sanctioned Persons. 

Section 14. Accessibility of These Terms and Conditions

If you have difficulty accessing these Terms and Conditions, including our policies and requirements, please contact AP Customer Service at 888-225-5427 (+1-212-632-1780 internationally) or fill out the AP Services for Students contact form in advance of registering for or taking the AP Exam. We will be happy to provide these Terms and Conditions in an alternative format or assist you in some other manner as reasonably necessary to enable you to access these Terms and Conditions.

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