Last updated: 4 August 2026
These Terms explain the rules for using BAQAStandards.com, BAQA membership, applications, accreditation, training, public verification and member tools. BAQA serves an international body art community. Nothing on this website replaces the laws, licences, age restrictions, public-health rules, tax duties or professional obligations that apply in your country or region.
1. About BAQA and these Terms
BAQA Standards (“BAQA”, “we”, “us” or “our”) provides an independent professional standards, membership, accreditation and verification platform for body artists, studios, suppliers, colleges, trainers, students and related organisations. BAQA is not a government regulator, licensing authority, medical provider or legal adviser.
By creating an account, submitting an application, buying a service, enrolling in a BAQA course or continuing to use the website, you agree to these Terms and the policies linked from them. If you act for a studio, college, supplier or company, you confirm that you are authorised to do so.
2. Local law always matters
You are responsible for identifying and following the national, regional, state, provincial, municipal and professional rules that apply where you work, train, teach, supply products or serve clients. If a BAQA standard differs from a mandatory local rule, the mandatory local rule takes precedence. BAQA recognition does not itself grant a licence to practise, trade, teach or issue a government-recognised qualification.
3. Accounts and accurate information
You must provide complete, current and truthful information, keep your login secure and use an email address you can access. Do not share an account or impersonate another person or organisation. Tell BAQA promptly through the contact form if you believe an account or private link has been compromised.
Member Details are the primary source for current personal and contact information. Applications may request additional evidence relevant to a particular membership or accreditation.
4. Applications, evidence and decisions
Submitting an application does not guarantee approval. BAQA may request evidence, clarification or corrected information; place an application on hold; approve it; reject it; or revoke an approval where information is materially inaccurate, payment is not completed, eligibility ends or these Terms and the Code of Conduct are breached.
Application states such as Submitted, Pending, Approved, Paid, Active, Rejected, Expired and Renewal describe different stages. An approval is not active until every required step, including payment where applicable, has been completed. A rejected applicant may edit and resubmit when the application page provides that option.
5. Fees, payments, currencies and taxes
Current fees and the charging currency are shown in the relevant application, course or checkout before payment. Your bank or payment provider may apply conversion or transaction charges. You are responsible for taxes or duties that apply to you unless the checkout expressly says they are included.
Payments may be handled by an external provider such as PayPal. BAQA activates a paid service only after the payment has been verified. Do not submit the same payment repeatedly while confirmation is pending. BAQA does not make recurring charges unless the checkout clearly describes them and you expressly authorise them.
Refund and cancellation requests are governed by the Refund & Cancellation Policy and any mandatory consumer rights in your country.
6. Membership, accreditation and renewals
Membership and accreditation apply only to the person, organisation, course or location identified in the approved record. They cannot be transferred or represented as covering a different person, course, branch or service. Benefits and public verification remain available only while the record is current and in good standing.
Renewal is the member or provider’s responsibility. BAQA may send reminders, but a missed or undelivered reminder does not extend an expiry date. Expired records may be removed from directories and shown as expired on validation pages.
7. Certificates, badges and QR validation
Certificates, badges, profile pages and QR codes may be used only for the approved scope and while the underlying record is active. The live BAQA validation result is authoritative if it differs from a saved image, printed certificate or screenshot. You must stop displaying a BAQA mark if the related approval expires, is suspended or is revoked.
Altering a certificate, validation code, QR destination or membership badge, or using one to mislead the public, is prohibited.
8. Courses and training
BAQA course accreditation assesses a course against BAQA criteria. Unless a page expressly identifies recognition by a named government or qualifications authority, BAQA accreditation is not a government qualification, occupational licence or automatic permission to practise. Training providers remain responsible for teaching quality, learner support, assessment integrity, local approval requirements and the accuracy of their claims.
Learners are responsible for checking whether a course meets the licensing, employment, insurance or continuing-education requirements relevant to them before enrolling.
9. BAQA Studio, bookings and indemnity forms
BAQA Studio provides optional appointment and digital-form tools. The artist, studio or trainer using those tools is responsible for the client relationship, service, local consent requirements, age and guardian checks, form wording, medical referral decisions, record-retention period and secure handling of downloaded records. BAQA templates are a starting point, not medical or legal advice.
A public booking submission is a request until the member accepts it. Members must communicate deposits, cancellations and form requirements clearly. Clients should contact the relevant studio or artist first about an appointment or client record.
10. Public profiles and directories
You control the information submitted for your public profile, subject to BAQA review. By requesting publication, you authorise BAQA to display approved professional details and verification status. Do not publish private client information, evidence documents, misleading claims or content you do not have the right to use. You can request a correction or removal through the member tools or contact form, subject to records BAQA must retain.
11. Acceptable use
You must not attempt to bypass access controls, probe private links, upload malware, scrape personal data, interfere with payment verification, send unlawful or abusive content, misuse another person’s identity, or use BAQA material to create a misleading competing credential. Reasonable public search-engine crawling is permitted where the website allows it.
12. Intellectual property
BAQA owns or licenses the website design, original standards material, badges, certificates, document packs and other protected content. Limited member use is governed by these Terms and the Copyright & Trademark Policy. Your own uploaded content remains yours, but you grant BAQA the limited rights needed to host, review, display and process it for the service you request.
13. Email and service communications
By creating an account and logging in, you agree that BAQA may send essential service messages needed to operate your account or membership. These can include verification links, security notices, application decisions, payment confirmations, certificate or validation updates, renewal notices, and material changes to the service or these Terms.
Newsletters, promotions and other marketing are separate. BAQA sends them only where there is an appropriate permission or other lawful basis, clearly identifies them as marketing, and provides an unsubscribe method. Unsubscribing from marketing does not stop essential account or transaction messages.
14. Privacy and cookies
Personal information is handled as described in the Privacy Policy. Cookies and similar storage are described in the Cookie Policy. Members using BAQA Studio must also give their own clients the privacy information required by the law that applies to their practice.
15. Availability, security and third parties
BAQA works to keep the service secure and available but cannot promise uninterrupted or error-free operation. Maintenance, network failure, external email delivery, payment providers and other third-party services can affect availability. Keep copies of records you are professionally or legally required to retain.
Links to external websites are provided for convenience and do not transfer responsibility for those websites to BAQA.
16. Disclaimers and liability
BAQA standards and tools provide professional guidance and administrative support. They do not guarantee a business outcome, legal compliance, licensing approval, treatment result, client suitability or absence of risk. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, BAQA is not liable for indirect or consequential loss arising from reliance on member-submitted information, external providers, unlawful professional practice or failure to follow local requirements.
Nothing in these Terms excludes liability or consumer rights that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited.
17. Suspension and termination
BAQA may restrict or suspend access where reasonably necessary to protect people, data, payments, platform security or the integrity of its standards. Where appropriate, BAQA will explain the reason and provide a route to correct information or raise a concern. You may stop using the service at any time, but outstanding fees, evidence-retention duties and provisions intended to survive termination remain in effect.
18. Changes, disputes and contact
BAQA may update these Terms when services, risks or applicable requirements change. Material changes will be communicated through the website or an account email and will apply from the stated date.
Because BAQA serves an international community, these Terms do not use one country’s law to remove mandatory rights available elsewhere. The applicable law and forum can depend on where you are, the service or transaction involved and the responsible service operator identified in your transaction or correspondence. Please raise questions through the contact form and formal concerns through the complaints process so they can be reviewed first.