Terms of service

Effective: 2026-04-26 · Last updated: 2026-04-26

Parties and definitions

These Terms of Service govern your use of Certbond, operated by Lagerbolag 1, a Swedish corporation with registered office in Stockholm. By creating an account or signing a retainer with Certbond, you agree to these Terms.

"Partner Company" means an IT services or consulting company using Certbond to maintain or grow its vendor partner-tier. "Consultant" means an individual professional holding vendor-issued certifications and contracting with partner companies through Certbond. "Retainer" means the membership-and-availability agreement between a partner and a consultant administered through Certbond.

Eligibility and application

You must be at least 18 years old and have legal capacity to enter binding agreements. Partner-company applicants must be a registered legal entity, currently in good standing with at least one IT-vendor partner program, and pass standard identity and business-legitimacy checks. Consultant applicants must hold at least one currently-valid, vendor-issued certification verifiable through the issuing vendor’s public mechanism, and must complete identity verification before first payout.

Membership on both sides is application-based, reviewed in cohorts, and capped. We may refuse, suspend or terminate membership without stating a reason, subject to applicable law.

The retainer

The retainer is the only commercial relationship Certbond mediates. Activation requires:

• Both parties have signed the retainer instrument, by electronic signature.
• Payment by the partner is confirmed.
• The consultant has been registered to the partner’s vendor partner-portal and that registration has been verified.

From activation onwards, the consultant’s certification contributes to the partner’s vendor-program tier eligibility for the term of the retainer. The consultant receives the agreed monthly compensation in arrears for the duration of the term. Specific term length, fees, and other commercial details are agreed at signature and visible in the partner’s and consultant’s authenticated dashboards.

Vendor partner-portal registration

The retainer is anchored to verifiable registration in the partner’s vendor partner-portal. Both parties agree: the consultant authorises the partner to register them at the consultant’s certification level for the duration of the retainer, and the partner agrees to remove that registration upon termination, subject to the vendor-portal’s own mechanics.

Contact details and direct engagement

Before retainer activation, all communication runs through Certbond’s in-platform messaging; we do not share contact details. After activation, full contact details unlock for both parties, and they engage directly. Project scope, hourly rate for any delivery work, deliverables and deadlines are negotiated bilaterally outside of Certbond. Certbond does not mediate, rate-set, or take a fee on direct hourly engagement.

Anti-circumvention. While the retainer is active, both parties agree not to take the consultant off Certbond’s books for the same partner during the term while continuing to engage them. After termination, both parties are free to continue engagement entirely outside Certbond if they wish.

Cert-validity guarantee

If, during the term, the consultant’s certification expires, is revoked, or is downgraded, or if the consultant exits Certbond, we will: notify the affected partner, issue a credit for the unused portion of the retainer, and offer to swap in another consultant holding an equivalent or higher credential. The partner may accept the swap or take the credit as a refund.

Payments

Retainer fees are paid by the partner upfront via a regulated payment processor in the EU. Consultant payouts are made in arrears via the same channel. Project-level hourly billing for direct delivery work is paid directly between partner and consultant; it does not flow through Certbond. Specific amounts, billing schedule and currency are confirmed at signature and shown in your authenticated dashboard.

Member conduct

Consultants commit to: hold and maintain the certifications they list; not list credentials they do not hold or use forged credentials; be reachable through the contact channel they provide once a retainer activates; honour the vendor-portal registration with the partner for the term; and treat profile and conversation data confidentially.

Partner companies commit to: register the consultant accurately in their vendor partner-portal at the matching level; not use Certbond’s consultant directory or messaging system for purposes other than evaluating retainer fit; treat consultant profile data confidentially; and pay invoices on the agreed terms.

Forged credentials, sanctions hits, payment default, fraud, abuse or anti-circumvention are grounds for immediate termination.

Termination and renewal

A retainer ends on its scheduled end-date unless renewed. Renewal requires both parties to actively confirm. Either party may terminate early on notice as agreed in the retainer instrument; the cert-validity guarantee applies to consultant-initiated exits. Either side may close their account at any time, subject to active obligations being resolved first; the privacy policy describes the 30-day grace period.

Disputes

For disputes about the retainer or platform conduct: email [email protected] with the case. We respond within a reasonable time with our review and proposed resolution. If unresolved, the matter goes to mediation in Stockholm, Sweden. If still unresolved, the parties accept the exclusive jurisdiction of Stockholm District Court (Stockholms tingsrätt). Disputes about the scope or quality of direct delivery work sit between partner and consultant and outside Certbond.

Liability

Certbond provides the platform and the cert-validity guarantee. We are not party to delivery work agreed directly between partner and consultant. To the maximum extent permitted by law, our aggregate liability under any retainer is limited to the retainer fees paid by the partner under that retainer in the preceding 12 months. We exclude liability for indirect or consequential losses. Nothing in these Terms limits liability for fraud, gross negligence, or matters which cannot be excluded under applicable law.

Changes to these terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. The version and effective date at the top change with every material update. For substantive changes affecting active retainers, we notify affected parties in advance and seek explicit acceptance.

Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of Sweden, excluding its conflict-of-laws rules. The parties accept the exclusive jurisdiction of Stockholm District Court for any dispute that cannot be resolved through mediation.

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