AP Comparability Study 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.

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

This AP Exams will be administered in paper and pencil format.

  1. Required Items for Paper and Pencil Testing
    You must bring:
    • 2 sharpened No. 2 pencils with erasers.
    • 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 Exam. For a list of approved graphing calculators, visit apstudents.org/calculators.
    • A current government issued or school issued photo ID if you do not attend the school where you are taking the AP Exam.
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  3. Prohibited Items
    You may not bring prohibited items to the AP Exam. Prohibited items include:
    • Electronic equipment including phones, smartwatches, fitness trackers, wearable technology, cameras, recording or listening devices, or any other type of electronic or communication device.
    • 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.
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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.
    • 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.
    • Submitting any work that is not entirely your own. This includes submitting any text, content, graphics, pictures, or other content obtained from another source, including the internet, books, or class materials, for any part of the AP Exam.
    • 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 make your best attempt to complete the AP exam.
    • 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.

Section 3. Disciplinary Measures

  1. Disciplinary Measures. In the event that College Board and/or its contractors determine that 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"): ban you from taking future College Board assessments (including, without limitation, CLEP), withhold the gift card compensation for your participation, 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.
    THE INSTITUTION WHERE YOU ARE ENROLLED MAY BE NOTIFIED OF YOUR MISCONDUCT.
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  3. Misconduct. if we determine, in our sole discretion, that there is overwhelming evidence that you violated these Terms and Conditions ("Misconduct"), we may 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.
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  5. 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].
  6. College Board Sharing Information with Third Parties. We may share the results of test security investigations (including, without limitation, those relating to Misconduct described above, and other disciplinary-related information), with third parties, including with your teacher, college, higher education institution or agency, scholarship organization, admissions office, 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. 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") are part of these Terms and Conditions. You consent to College Board’s collection, use, and disclosure of your personally identifiable information as 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.
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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. College Board reserves the right to contact any appropriate individuals or agencies—including your high school—if we believe you may be in imminent danger of harming yourself or others, based on any information you provide to College Board, including in your responses to AP Exam questions. We might also provide the relevant essay or other content, along with your personal information, to those we contact.
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  5. Scoring of student responses and the determination of AP Exam scores are within College Board’s sole discretion.
  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, and taking the AP Exam located at apstudents.collegeboard.org/about-ap-exams 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.
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  3. You shall not screenshot or attempt to make any image, copy, or download Test Content.
  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 collegeboard.org/privacy-center, and in these Terms and Conditions.

Section 8. ARBITRATION OF DISPUTES AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER

  1. General Arbitration Rules ("General Arbitration Rules")
    • Any dispute regarding the enforceability of these arbitration provisions, or whether a dispute is subject to these arbitration provisions, shall be resolved by the arbitrator.
    • All disputes between you and College Board and/or any or all of its contractors that relate in any way to registering for, participating in, or taking the AP Exam, including but not limited to requesting or receiving test accommodations, the use of your data, or test security issues, but excluding all claims that a party violated the intellectual property rights of the other party, shall exclusively be resolved by a single arbitrator through binding, individual arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") under the AAA Consumer Arbitration Rules in effect at the time a request for arbitration is filed with the AAA. Copies of the AAA Consumer Arbitration Rules are located at adr.org.
    • This arbitration will be conducted as a documents-only arbitration (i.e., there will be no in-person or telephone hearing) unless otherwise agreed by the parties or required by the arbitrator. Should the parties agree to or the arbitrator require proceedings, such proceedings should be conducted at a location that 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 parties agree that the Federal Arbitration Act ("FAA") 9 U.S.C. § 1 et seq. governs this provision, and it is the intent of the parties that the FAA shall preempt all State laws to the fullest extent permitted by law.
    • No arbitration may be maintained as a class or collective action, and the arbitrator shall not have the authority to combine or aggregate the disputes 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.
    • 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.
    • To commence arbitration, you must pay the AAA filing fee (unless AAA agrees to waive the fee for you) and follow the AAA Consumer Arbitration Rules. The filing fee will be reimbursed by College Board if you prevail in arbitration. Each party will be responsible for its own attorney's fees and expenses. College Board generally pays the arbitrator’s compensation but the arbitrator may require you to pay those fees if the arbitrator determines that your claim was filed for purposes of harassment or is patently frivolous, as per the AAA Consumer Arbitration Rules.
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  3. Notwithstanding the foregoing arbitration provisions in Sections 8(a) and 8(b) above, either party may take a claim to small claims court instead of arbitration if the party’s claim is within the jurisdiction of the small claims court, as permitted in the AAA Consumer Arbitration Rules. If either party institutes an action in small claims court, you and College Board agree to accept the findings of the small claims court as a final resolution of the parties' dispute and not to appeal the small claims court’s decision or pursue any other claim (including a claim asserted in arbitration) relating to that dispute.

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 email [email protected] in advance of 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.