Privacy Notice


Last updated: 09 June 2026

This Privacy Notice governs the collection, storage, use and other processing of personal data carried out by us, ISTQB®, during our activities. This includes processing via our websites at www.istqb.org, awards.istqb.org, partner.istqb.org, scr.istqb.org and glossary.istqb.org (the “Website”), as well as via other means. It explains the personal information we collect from you, how and why we use it, and your rights to control the personal information we hold about you. Please read this Privacy Notice carefully.

Please check back regularly to keep informed of updates.

Who we are

ISTQB® is a not-for-profit association registered under Belgian law with registration number 0889.625.305, and with its registered office at Avenue des Arts 47, 1000 Brussels. We respect your right to privacy and will only process personal information you provide to us in accordance with applicable data protection laws, which include (i) the General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation 2016/679) (“GDPR”); and (ii) other applicable privacy laws.

If you have any questions about how we process your personal information, or any other privacy-related questions, please contact the ISTQB® Secretariat by either of the following means:

We do not and will not knowingly collect information from any unsupervised child under the age of 16. If you are under the age of 16, you may not use this Website unless you have the consent of, and are supervised by, a parent or guardian.

The personal information we collect about you

This Notice applies to visitors to the Website (including when you submit personal information to us, for example through data entry fields on the Website), candidates, partners, award nominees and service providers working with ISTQB®. We may collect the following information from you:

  • (A) Personal identification data (full name, telephone number);
  • (B) Electronic identification data (e-mail address, IP address);
  • (C) Personal characteristics (country of residence);
  • (D) Professional data (employer, function, CV, etc.);
  • (E) Any additional personal information relating to the Successful Candidate Register, including candidate certificate number, certificate date, name of the exam provider and level of the exam passed;
  • (F) In the event that you are nominated for an ISTQB® award, certain personal information such as your full name, career history, etc.;
  • (G) Any other personal information that you provide to us, such as via the contact form on our Website.

How and why we may store and use your information

We (and third-party data processors acting on our behalf) may collect, store and use the personal information listed above for the following purposes:

  • (1) to make this Website and its content (including the Successful Candidate Register) available to you;
  • (2) upon your consent, to include your name and relevant information in the Successful Candidate Register, in order to prevent uncertified people from posing as certified and to allow third parties to swiftly check the validity of credentials online;
  • (3) for ISTQB® award nominees, to collect your full name and career history for the purpose of obtaining nominations via the Website;
  • (4) for ISTQB® award winners, to include the winner’s full name, picture and relevant CV information in the Award Winners section of the Website for communication purposes;
  • (5) to respond to any queries or requests that you submit to us through the Website (e.g. by using the online contact form);
  • (6) to manage and maintain our business relationship with contractors and sub-contractors, including to coordinate services, projects and day-to-day operations.

We rely on your consent for processing under purposes (2) and (4). We rely on the necessity of performing a contract to which you are a party, or taking steps at your request prior to entering into a contract, for processing under purposes (1), (3) and (6). We process your Website queries and requests (purpose (5)) on the basis of our legitimate interest in ensuring proper communications with you and providing the necessary information or assistance.

We will not sell or rent your personal information to any third party. We may disclose your personal information where we are required to do so by applicable law, by a governmental body or by a law enforcement agency. We may also collect details about visitors to our Website, including for aggregate statistics or reporting purposes, based on your consent or our legitimate interest, as further described in our Cookie Policy: https://www.istqb.org/cookie-policy.

We do not use your personal data for automated decision-making, including profiling, that produces legal or similarly significant effects.

Retention of your personal data

We will delete personal data once it is no longer required to fulfil the purposes outlined in this Privacy Notice. Retention periods differ depending on the type of processing activity and the purpose for which the personal data was collected. In all cases, personal data may be retained for a longer period where there is a legal or regulatory reason to do so, or where it is needed to handle claims and resolve disputes; it may be retained for a shorter period where you object to the processing and there is no longer a legitimate reason to retain it.

In particular, we keep personal data for the following periods:

  • For the retention period of any cookies used on this Website, please refer to our Cookie Policy: https://www.istqb.org/cookie-policy;
  • Personal data relating to the Successful Candidate Register will be deleted when the person withdraws their consent to be included in the Register;
  • Where a nominee is not selected for an ISTQB® award, their personal data will be deleted within six months of the award decision;
  • Personal data relating to ISTQB® award winners will be deleted when the winner withdraws their consent to the publication of this information on the Website;
  • Personal data submitted within the framework of any query or request through the Website (e.g. via the online contact form) will be deleted once we have responded to or dealt with your query or request.

International transfers

We may transfer personal information that we collect from you to third-party data processors located in countries outside the European Economic Area (EEA) in connection with the purposes described above. Where we transfer data to a country outside the EEA that does not benefit from an adequacy decision of the European Commission, we put appropriate safeguards in place, such as the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses. You may request a copy of the relevant safeguards by contacting us at the address above.

Cookies

For further information on the cookies used in connection with the Website, please refer to our ISTQB® Cookie Policy: https://www.istqb.org/cookie-policy.

Security

ISTQB® has taken appropriate technical and organizational measures to safeguard the personal information you provide against unauthorized or unlawful processing and against accidental destruction, loss or damage.

Your rights

You have the following rights in respect of the personal data we hold about you:

  • The right to access the personal information that we hold about you;
  • The right to ask us to update and correct any out-of-date or incorrect personal information that we hold about you, free of charge;
  • Where processing is based on your consent, the right to withdraw that consent at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal;
  • The right to erasure where the conditions of Article 17 GDPR are met;
  • The right to restriction of processing where the conditions of Article 18 GDPR are met;
  • The right to data portability insofar as the conditions of Article 20 GDPR apply to you;
  • The right to object to the processing of personal data concerning you, insofar as applicable under Article 21 GDPR;
  • The right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority.

If you wish to exercise any of the above rights, please write to us (by post or e-mail) at the address specified above. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Belgian Data Protection Authority (Gegevensbeschermingsautoriteit / Autorité de protection des données), Rue de la Presse 35, 1000 Brussels ([email protected]), or with the supervisory authority in your country of residence.

Third party sites

This Website contains links to other websites operated by third parties. This Privacy Notice applies only to the personal information that we collect through this Website; we cannot be responsible for personal information that third parties may collect, store and use through their websites. You should always carefully read the privacy notice of each website you visit.