Training & Certification

CKA & CKAD Certification and Confidentiality Agreement

Published: July 2018

Table of contents

  1. Definitions
  2. Confidentiality and Intellectual Property Ownership
    1. Confidentiality
    2. Intellectual Property Ownership
  3. Certification
    1. Certification Requirements
    2. Certification Period
    3. Program Changes
    4. Certification Revocation
    5. Certification of Minors
    6. Use Of “Cloud Native Computing Foundation Certified” Trademark(s)
  4. Examinations
    1. Candidate ID and Consent to Photo, Video and Audio Recording
    2. Exam Rules and Policies
      1. Testing Location Policy
      2. Rules During Exam
      3. Policy on Warnings and Exam Terminations
      4. Policy on Tools and Resources During Exam
    3. Exam Misconduct Policy
    4. Accuracy and Integrity of Examination Process
    5. Special Needs
  5. Professional Code of Conduct
  6. Exam Misconduct and Professional Code of Conduct Violations
  7. Appeals
  8. Term and Termination
    1. Term
    2. Termination for Convenience
    3. Termination By The Linux Foundation
    4. Notice of termination
    5. Effect of Termination
  9. Limitation of Liability
  10. Privacy and Delivery of Certification Information to Third Parties
  11. Assignments
  12. Miscellaneous
    1. Waiver and Modification
    2. Severability
    3. Survival
    4. Controlling Law and Jurisdiction
    5. Entire Agreement
    6. Notices
  13. Confirmation

The Cloud Native Computing Foundation (“CNCF”) is a project of The Linux Foundation. This Agreement is entered into between you and the The Linux Foundation as of the date of your exam registration (the “Effective Date”), and sets forth, among other provisions, your requirements with respect to certain certification exams involving CNCF offered by The Linux Foundation

For good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged, The Linux Foundation and you agree as follows:

1. Definitions

1.1 “Certification(s)” means any professional certification programs offered by The Linux Foundation on behalf of CNCF.
1.2 “Program(s)” means the Certification programs offered by The Linux Foundation on behalf of CNCF under this Agreement.
1.3 “Exam Proctoring Partner” means the entity engaged by The Linux Foundation to administer the applicable examination.
1.4 “Mark” means one of the trademarks and logos related to CNCF Certification of the form “Certified Kubernetes  ___________,” such as “Certified Kubernetes Administrator” or “Certified Kubernetes Application Developer.”
1.5 “Examination” or “Exams” means a test provided by The Linux Foundation, possibly through an Exam Proctoring Partner, which is used to determine whether to issue Certification(s).

2. Confidentiality and Intellectual Property Ownership

2.1 Confidentiality

The Linux Foundation  makes exams available to you solely to test your knowledge of the exam subject matter for which you seek Certification. You are expressly prohibited from disclosing, publishing, reproducing, or transmitting any exam and any related information including, without limitation, questions, answers, worksheets, computations, drawings, diagrams, length or number of exam segments or questions, or any communication, including oral communication, regarding or related to the exam (known collectively as “Confidential Information”), in whole or in part, in any form or by any means, oral or written, electronic or mechanical, for any purpose.  Confidential Information includes the contents of the exam, which may not be disclosed as set forth above, including to any employee of The Linux Foundation not affiliated with the CNCF Certification Program.  A disclosure of Confidential Information by any means in violation of this Agreement undermines the integrity and security of the Program. Information relating to current or future versions of Kubernetes system components, or other materials that are made available under an open source license, is not considered Confidential Information under this Agreement.

2.2 Intellectual Property Ownership

Examination Materials are the proprietary, confidential and copyrighted materials of The Linux Foundation (except open source materials incorporated therein, which may have other copyright holders and are used pursuant to the applicable open source license).  Violators of copyright law are subject to injunctions, civil liability, forfeiture of profits, punitive damages and other legal sanctions. The Linux Foundation will take appropriate legal action against you to protect The Linux Foundation’s rights if you breach the provisions of this Section.

3. Certification

3.1 Certification Requirements

Certification is based upon a candidate meeting the minimum requirements of the Program, including achieving passing scores on required examinations in accordance with The Linux Foundation’s  testing guidelines.  If you meet these requirements you will receive a certificate from The Linux Foundation signifying your accomplishment. Program requirements for Certification and renewal of Certification are available on the CNCF website at https://www.cncf.io/certification/expert/ and include the requirements set forth in this Agreement.

Certification is only available for natural persons, not corporations or other legal entities.  Should the candidate misuse any certificate or Mark, appropriate action may be taken in The Linux Foundation’s sole discretion to resolve the case and prevent recurrence. You agree to comply with all of The Linux Foundation’s requests and demands from time to time regarding your use of the Marks. Misuse may give rise to Certifications being withdrawn and legal action being taken in The Linux Foundation’s sole discretion. (Use of Marks is defined in Section 3.6.)

3.2 Certification Period

Certifications expire 24 months from the date that the Program certification requirements are met by a candidate. Candidates must meet Certification renewal requirements prior to the expiration date of their certification in order to maintain active certification.  If Certification renewal requirements are not met before the expiration date, Certification will be deemed revoked without further action by The Linux Foundation and this Agreement shall terminate effective as of the expiration date, subject to the provisions of Section 12.3.

3.3 Program Changes

The Linux Foundation may, in its sole discretion, change the Program without notice.  Such changes may include, without limitation, adding or deleting available Certifications and modifying Certification requirements, testing objectives, outlines, recommended training courses, and exams.  It is your responsibility to keep informed of any such modifications and if applicable, to complete new requirements for maintaining and/or renewing Certification.  If any CNCF Certification requirements are modified, this Agreement and your CNCF Certification may be terminated by The Linux Foundation without further notice, unless you adhere to any applicable CNCF Certification requirements.

3.4 Certification Revocation

The Linux Foundation may revoke any Certification if you fail to comply with Certification renewal requirements or other Certification requirements. In addition, The Linux Foundation may, in its sole discretion, revoke any and all Certifications you may have earned and permanently ban you from earning future Certifications under any of the following circumstances:

3.5 Certification of Minors

If you are under the age of 18 years old, you are not eligible for testing or Certification. The Linux Foundation reserves the right to impose additional restrictions to comply with local data protection laws.

3.6 Use Of “Certified Kubernetes Administrator” or “Certified Kubernetes Application Developer” Trademark(s)

If you successfully pass an Exam and receive written indication from The Linux Foundation that you may use the Mark corresponding to the Exam, then The Linux Foundation grants you a nonexclusive revocable license to use that Mark for the purpose of indicating that you have achieved the Certification. This license will terminate immediately (a) upon a breach of any of the material terms of this Agreement, (b) upon termination of this Agreement, or (c) if The Linux Foundation  notifies you of a violation of the rules regarding your use of the Mark and within seven days, in the sole discretion of The Linux Foundation, such violation of the rules is not corrected. The rules are:

4. Examinations

4.1 Candidate ID and Consent to Photo, Video and Audio Recording

Candidates are required to provide government-issued photo identification containing their photo and their full name in the Latin alphabet before the Exam can be launched.  Acceptable forms of photo ID include current, non-expired: passport, government issued driver’s license/permit, national identity card, state- or province-issued identity card, or other form of government issued identification.  If acceptable proof of identification is not provided to the exam proctor prior to the exam, entry to the exam will be refused. Candidates who are refused entry due to lack of sufficient ID will not be eligible for a refund or rescheduling.  Candidates consent to the sharing of their personal information with the Exam Proctor and The Linux Foundation.

Candidates must consent to having their photo taken and may be required to scan their government issued identification for the exam Proctoring Partner.  These will be used for identity verification only and are not retained for any other purpose.

In addition, live audio and video of a candidate’s testing session will be streamed to a remote proctor and may be stored for future reference.

4.2 Exam Rules and Policies

Candidates must start their exam no later than 15 minutes after the scheduled start time. If a candidate does not start their exam within 15 minutes of the scheduled start time, they will be automatically marked as a no-show and no refund or rescheduling will be allowed.

Candidates must also comply with the following rules and policies during the Exam, and the Proctor cannot release the Exam until the Candidate has indicated that they have read, understood and accept these rules and policies:

Testing Location Policy

Rules During Exam

*unless medically necessary

Policy on Warnings and Exam Terminations

Certain kinds of violations will result in a warning from the Proctor, while certain other violations result in IMMEDIATE TERMINATION OF THE EXAM WITHOUT WARNING.

The following actions result in IMMEDIATE TERMINATION OF THE EXAM WITHOUT WARNING:

Policy on Tools and Resources During Exam

The following tools and resources are allowed during the exam as long as they are used by candidate to work independently on exam objectives (i.e. not used for 3rd party assistance or research) and are accessed from the shared screen which the proctor can observe (accessing resources which are not visible to the proctor will be treated as a serious violation). Candidate may:

The following resources are forbidden during the Exam:

4.3 Exam Misconduct Policy

Candidates engaging in Exam Misconduct, as defined below, will not be allowed to complete the Exam or receive an exam result.  Such candidates will also be barred from taking any other CNCF Certification Exam and if applicable, will have any active CNCF Certification(s) withdrawn.  Refunds will not be given and rescheduling will not be allowed in event of early termination of an exam due to misconduct. Misconduct may, at any time, result in application of the sanctions specified in Section 6. You shall adhere to all Program rules and shall not engage in any action to subvert, or attempt to subvert, the examination process (“Exam Misconduct”) including but not limited to:

4.4 Accuracy and Integrity of Examination Process

Upon completion, exams are scored automatically and a score report will be emailed 36 hours from the time that the Exam was completed. The Linux Foundation and/or the Exam Proctoring Partner will review your exam record for scoring accuracy, for evidence of possible misconduct, and for response patterns that may suggest that your scores do not represent a valid measure of your knowledge or competence as sampled by the examination (measurement error). The Linux Foundation will use statistical analyses of exam data (“Data Forensics”) to identify patterns indicative of test fraud including cheating and piracy. The Linux Foundation reserves the right to invalidate your exam score and certification result if review of your exam record reveals scoring inaccuracies (attributable to The Linux Foundation or the Exam Proctoring Partner) or response patterns indicative of possible misconduct or measurement error. If The Linux Foundation determines that an Exam score is invalid due to issues that are beyond the control of the candidate, the candidate will be advised of options to retake the Exam at no charge.

4.5 Special Needs

If candidates have special needs that need to be taken into account in the exam environment, they must notify The Linux Foundation two weeks in advance so any accommodating measures can be communicated to the Exam Proctoring Partner.

5. Professional Code of Conduct

Candidates, before and after Certification, shall:

6. Exam Misconduct and Professional Code of Conduct Violations

If The Linux Foundation, in its sole discretion, determines that you have engaged in Exam Misconduct (as specified in Section 4.3) or violated the Professional Code of Conduct (as specified in Section 5), you will receive written notice of the violation(s) and sanctions. It will be your sole responsibility to ensure that The Linux Foundation has your current postal address and email address and any notice by The Linux Foundation will be effective upon sending to the last postal address and/or email address you provided to The Linux Foundation. In determining what sanctions to apply, The Linux Foundation will consider the circumstances of the violation, including information related to the frequency of violations and their implications on the security of exam content and on the reputation of the Certification Program.  Sanction decisions may include, but will not be limited to, cancellation of your exam score, a temporary or permanent ban on future examinations of The Linux
Foundation (including without limitation CNCF) and the cancellation of previously earned Certifications of The Linux Foundation (including without limitation CNCF).

7. Appeals

In the event that sanctions are imposed pursuant to Section 6, or your exam score is invalidated pursuant to Section 4.4, you will have thirty (30) calendar days from the date of your notification letter to file an appeal.   If you believe you have valid grounds for an appeal, please contact The Linux Foundation within the appeals period and submit a Certification Appeals Submission Form as instructed in the notification letter.  Incomplete submissions will not be considered nor will requests be received after the thirty (30) calendar day period.  If The Linux Foundation determines that a request for appeal is filed within the allowable time, the submission follows required guidelines for consideration and the original sanction and invalidation decision is upheld by The Linux Foundation, such appeal and the information submitted by you will be forwarded to the Certifications Appeals Committee of The Linux Foundation for consideration.  You may expect to receive a written response from The Linux Foundation  within approximately ninety (90) calendar days after the Appeals Committee meets.  Decisions rendered by the Appeals Committee are final.

8. Term and Termination

8.1 Term

The Agreement commences when you first accept this Agreement and shall remain in effect until terminated pursuant to its terms.

8.2 Termination for Convenience

Either you or The Linux Foundation may terminate this Agreement at any time, with or without cause, upon thirty (30) days written notice to the other.

8.3 Termination By The Linux Foundation

The Linux Foundation may, in its sole discretion, terminate this Agreement at any time if you breach any of the material terms of this Agreement (including, without limitation, the terms set forth under Exam Misconduct in Section 4.3 or Professional Code of Conduct in Section 5), or if you violate or fail to meet any Program requirements.

8.4 Notice of termination

All notices of termination must be made in accordance with the notice requirements set forth in Section 12.6 below.  The Linux Foundation will provide you written notice of termination at your last known address.  Termination notices sent by The Linux Foundation are effective as of the date set forth in the notice.  Written notices of termination directed to The Linux Foundation are effective upon receipt by The Linux Foundation.  The Linux Foundation, without waiving its right to immediately terminate this Agreement, may provide you with thirty (30) days notice to correct any default if this Agreement is terminated under Section 8.3.  If The Linux Foundation permits such a cure period, your failure to cure any default within the cure period shall automatically cause the termination of this Agreement without further notice.

8.5 Effect of Termination

Upon the termination of this Agreement or The Linux Foundation’s revocation of your Certification, you shall immediately cease to represent yourself as Certified by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation and you must cease all uses of any Mark.

9. Limitation of Liability

IN NO EVENT WILL THE LINUX FOUNDATION’S LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THIS AGREEMENT EXCEED AMOUNTS PAID BY YOU PURSUANT TO THIS AGREEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE LINUX FOUNDATION BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOST PROFITS, OF ANY KIND REGARDLESS OF THE FORM OF ACTION, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF THE LINUX FOUNDATION HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.  THIS LIMITATION WILL APPLY NOTWITHSTANDING ANY FAILURE OF ESSENTIAL PURPOSE OF ANY LIMITED REMEDY PROVIDED HEREIN. THE LINUX FOUNDATION’s LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT EXCEED THE DOLLAR AMOUNT OF THE PAYMENTS MADE BY YOU TO THE LINUX FOUNDATION FOR CERTIFICATIONS.

10. Privacy and Delivery of Certification Information to Third Parties

You acknowledge that your personal information,  including, without limitation, your photograph, signature, biometric data or any other personally identifying data will be collected from you by The Linux Foundation or its authorized agents, including, without limitation, any Exam Proctoring Partner, and you agree to allow The Linux Foundation and/or its agents to gather and store this information.  Your personal information may be shared outside The Linux Foundation and its authorized third party vendors under the following conditions and you consent to such disclosure by your execution of this Agreement:

I. Verification of Certification. The Linux Foundation often receives requests from third parties, particularly employers, to verify an individual’s Certification status. The Linux Foundation may, but has no obligation to, provide such information about your Certification status to others. The Linux Foundation provides such information as a courtesy to you, and you agree that The Linux Foundation has no liability for providing this information.

In response to verification inquiries that are submitted against a specific Certificate ID number and that include the Last Name corresponding to that certificate, The Linux Foundation will disclose the candidate name, certification title and status, and date of certification for that Certificate ID.

YOU HEREBY AUTHORIZE THE THE LINUX FOUNDATION TO DISCLOSE YOUR NAME, CERTIFICATE ID AND TITLE, THE DATE UPON WHICH SUCH ACHIEVEMENT WAS MADE, AND STATUS AS BEING ACTIVE OR INACTIVE, TO ANY PERSON OR ENTITY THAT MAKES A REQUEST TO THE LINUX FOUNDATION REGARDING A SPECIFIC CERTIFICATE ID NUMBER, PROVIDED THAT THE REQUEST ALSO INCLUDES THE LAST NAME THAT CORRESPONDS TO THAT CERTIFICATE ID.

II. Data Sharing. The Linux Foundation may also share personal data provided by the candidate and details of examination scores with a third party, including Exam Proctoring Partners, in order to administer the Exams, to improve the testing program and experience, to facilitate statistical analyses, and to determine if Candidate passed the Exam.

III. Limited Disclosure. The Linux Foundation may share your information in the following ways: (a) to comply with the law or legal process (such as responding to subpoenas or court orders), (b) to exercise our legal rights or defend against legal claims related to this Agreement, (c) to investigate, prevent, or take action regarding illegal activities, suspected or potential fraud, and brand protection matters (such as use of CNCF’s trademark without a license), (d) situations involving potential threats to the physical safety of any person, or (e) as otherwise provided under the terms of the then-current Privacy Policy of The Linux Foundation.

Candidate Information may be transmitted or otherwise transferred outside of the country or geographic region in which you reside or in which you took any certification examination of The Linux Foundation. You are aware that data protection regulations in other countries, including, without limitation, the United States of America, may not fully correspond with data protection regulations in your region and may provide less effective protection.

11. Assignments

You may not assign any rights, licenses or obligations received under this Agreement to anyone.  Any attempted assignment in violation of this Agreement is null and void and without effect.

12. Miscellaneous

12.1 Waiver and Modification

You waive any right to challenge the validity and enforceability of this Agreement on the grounds that it was transmitted and entered into electronically.  You agree that entering into the Agreement electronically is equivalent to signing the Agreement.  Failure by either party to enforce any provision of this Agreement will not be deemed a waiver of future enforcement of that or any other provision.  Any waiver, amendment or other modification of any provision of this Agreement will be effective only if in writing and signed by both you and The Linux Foundation.

12.2 Severability

If a court of competent jurisdiction finds any provision of this Agreement to be unenforceable, that provision of the Agreement will be enforced to the maximum extent permissible so as to affect the intent of the provision, and the remainder of this Agreement will continue in full force and effect.

12.3 Survival

Sections 2 (Confidentiality and Intellectual Property Ownership), 3.4 (Certification Revocation), 4.3 (Exam Misconduct Policy), 6 (Exam Misconduct and Professional Code of Conduct Violations), 8.5 (Effect of Termination), 9 (Limitation of Liability), 10 (Privacy and Delivery of Certification Information to Third Parties), and 12 (Miscellaneous) will survive any termination of this Agreement.

12.4 Controlling Law and Jurisdiction

This Agreement will be governed exclusively by the internal laws of the State of Oregon, without reference to: such State’s principles of conflicts of law; the 1980 United Nations Conventions on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods; or other international laws.  The parties consent to the personal and exclusive jurisdiction of the federal and state courts in Oregon.

12.5 Entire Agreement

This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between you and The Linux Foundation with respect to the subject matter hereof, and supersedes all prior and contemporaneous understandings or agreements, written or oral, regarding such subject matter.

12.6 Notices

All notices sent or required to be sent shall be in writing or by e‐mail to the other party at the address for the other party set forth below.  It shall be your sole responsibility to ensure that The Linux Foundation has a current address for you.

certificationsupport@cncf.io

The Linux Foundation
1 Letterman Dr., Suite D4700
San Francisco, CA 94129

13. Confirmation

By indicating your acceptance of the terms and conditions of this Agreement, you hereby represent to The Linux Foundation that you: (1) have read and understood the terms of this agreement; and (2) are 18 years of age or older.  Certification is not permitted for candidates under 18 years old.  You acknowledge that The Linux Foundation is relying upon such representations in granting certification. The Linux Foundation shall have the right to deny certification should you fail to meet these requirements or in the event otherwise prohibited by law.