Terms + Conditions

Last Updated: June 1, 2026

These Terms and Conditions govern your use of the INBGC website and your participation in INBGC's certification and provider review services. By accessing the site or submitting an application, you agree to these terms. If you do not agree, do not use our services.

Questions? Contact us at [email protected].

1. About INBGC

The Independent National Board for Grief Coaching ("INBGC," "we," "us," or "our") is an independent credentialing body for grief coaches located at 670 Meridian Way, Suite 284, Westerville, OH 43082. INBGC publishes a professional standard for non-clinical grief coaching and issues the Board Certified Grief Coach (BCGC) designation to candidates who meet its published eligibility, examination, and ethics requirements. INBGC does not provide foundational grief coach training.

2. Acceptance of Terms

By visiting inbgc.org, creating an account, submitting an application, or purchasing any INBGC service, you agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions and our Privacy Policy. These terms apply to all visitors, applicants, certificants, training providers, and others who access or use our services.

3. Eligibility

INBGC services are intended for adults (18 years or older) pursuing professional certification in grief coaching. Eligibility requirements are published at inbgc.org/eligibility. You represent that the information you provide in your application and throughout the certification process is accurate, complete, and current.

4. Certification Services

4.1 Application and review

Program Administration reviews all applications to determine eligibility. Submission of an application and payment of the certification fee does not guarantee that certification will be awarded.

Where documentation does not meet the published eligibility requirements, Program Administration identifies what is outstanding. Candidacy remains open, and the candidate may complete the outstanding requirement through any qualified provider. Fees paid are retained and applied to the candidate's continuing candidacy.

INBGC reserves the right to decline or terminate an application where information provided is false, misleading, or incomplete, or where the applicant is otherwise ineligible under these terms. Fees are not refunded in such cases.

4.2 Examination

The Board Examination is administered remotely through a third-party proctoring platform. Candidates must comply with all examination rules and proctoring requirements, including identity verification and session monitoring. Any attempt to cheat, misrepresent identity, share examination content, or otherwise compromise examination integrity will result in disqualification and may result in a permanent bar from certification.

4.3 Examination attempts

Candidates who do not pass the Board Examination may retake it subject to the following rules: a minimum 30-day waiting period between attempts, a maximum of three attempts within any 12-month period, and payment of the retake fee for each additional attempt. Candidates who do not pass within three attempts must reapply.

4.4 Practice Exam

One Practice Exam attempt is included in the certification fee. The Practice Exam draws from a separate item bank than the Board Examination and is provided as a preparation tool only. It does not preview live examination content, and performance on it has no bearing on the Board Examination or on any certification decision. Additional attempts are available at the published fee.

4.5 Specialty education and the Specialty Path

INBGC does not provide foundational grief coach training on any path or at any price. Every candidate obtains that education from an outside provider, and Program Administration reviews it against the published topic areas.

The only education INBGC offers is specialty education within the Specialty Path, which prepares a candidate for the Endorsement Examination in a defined specialty area. It is optional, priced separately, and equivalent specialty education is accepted from any provider on the same terms. Specialty content does not appear on the Board Examination, and the Endorsement Examination draws from a separate item bank, so completing the Specialty Path confers no advantage on any examination INBGC administers and does not guarantee a passing score or the award of any designation.

4.6 Verified practice hours

Candidates are responsible for accurately documenting and submitting their verified practice hours. Submission of false or misleading practice hour records is grounds for application denial, certification revocation, and potential referral to applicable professional licensing authorities.

4.7 Accommodations

INBGC provides reasonable accommodations for candidates with documented disabilities. Requests must be submitted in writing to [email protected], with supporting documentation, and confirmed in advance of the examination being taken. INBGC will confirm approved accommodations with the candidate and with the proctoring platform before the examination. Accommodations cannot be applied to an examination that is already in progress or completed.

5. Fees and Payment

5.1 Fees

All applicable fees are published on the INBGC Fees and Policies page. Fees are subject to change with reasonable notice. The fees in effect at the time of your payment govern your candidacy.

5.2 Payment

Payments are processed by Stripe. By submitting payment, you authorize INBGC to charge the applicable fee to your payment method. INBGC does not store full payment card information.

5.3 All fees are non-refundable

All fees paid to INBGC are non-refundable. This includes the certification fee on both paths, the Specialty Path fee, the fee to add a specialty endorsement after certification, additional Practice Exam attempts, Board Examination retakes, annual renewal fees, and provider review and recognition renewal fees.

By submitting payment, you acknowledge and agree to this policy.

The certification fee pays for a process, not an outcome. Eligibility review, education review, examination administration, and credentialing are carried out when a candidate engages them, and that work is complete whether or not the credential is awarded.

An unsuccessful Board Examination attempt is a completed examination and is not a refund event. Retakes are available under the rules in Section 4.3.

Where documentation does not meet the published eligibility requirements, candidacy remains open under Section 4.1 and fees paid are retained and applied to that candidacy.

Every eligibility requirement and every fee is published in advance. Program Administration will answer any question regarding eligibility or fees at no cost before payment is submitted.

5.4 Payment plans

Candidates on an INBGC payment plan authorize INBGC to charge the scheduled payments to the payment method on file. The certification fee must be paid in full before the credential is awarded. A candidate may complete every step of the certification process, including the Board Examination, while a plan is running. If a scheduled payment is missed, candidacy is suspended until the balance is brought current. Suspension pauses progress through the certification steps and does not cancel the application. Amounts already paid are non-refundable.

5.5 Third-party and employer payment

Where an employer or other third party pays a fee on a candidate's behalf, the fee remains non-refundable and no refund is owed to the paying organization. Candidacy belongs to the individual candidate, and the credential, once awarded, belongs to the individual rather than to the paying organization. If a scheduled third-party payment is not completed, the candidate is responsible for the outstanding balance.

5.6 Renewal fees

Annual renewal fees are due by the renewal deadline. Failure to pay the renewal fee by the deadline results in inactive certification status, and the BCGC designation may not be used until the credential is reinstated.

6. The BCGC Credential: Use and Restrictions

6.1 Award of credential

The BCGC designation is awarded upon successful completion of all certification requirements. It is personal to the individual certified and is non-transferable.

6.2 Permitted use

A coach holding an active BCGC credential may use the designation "Board Certified Grief Coach" and the abbreviation "BCGC" after their name in professional communications, marketing materials, profiles, and correspondence, in keeping with the Code of Ethics on honest representation of credentials.

A specialty endorsement is written as a suffix on the base credential and may be used only while the base credential is active. A certificant holding more than one endorsement writes each in full.

6.3 Prohibited use

You may not:

  • Use the BCGC designation before it has been formally awarded by INBGC
  • Continue to use the BCGC designation after your certification has lapsed, been suspended, or been revoked
  • Use a specialty endorsement suffix without an active base credential
  • Use the BCGC designation in a way that suggests clinical, therapeutic, or medical services
  • Describe the BCGC credential as an accreditation, or describe INBGC as accredited
  • Misrepresent the scope, nature, or status of your BCGC credential to clients, referral partners, or the public
  • Authorize any other person to use your BCGC credential

Unauthorized use of the BCGC designation may result in certification revocation and legal action.

6.4 Credential verification

Verification of credential status is a condition of holding the credential. Anyone who presents your credential number can confirm the name on the credential and whether it is active, expired, or revoked, and institutions may request written verification of the same information. The verification tool is not searchable by name and does not display your address, contact details, or location. Verification is provided at no cost to the requesting party and does not require your participation.

7. Renewal and Continuing Education

Certificants must renew annually by paying the renewal fee and submitting the annual ethics attestation. Continuing education must be completed on the published three-year cycle and may be completed through any qualified provider. INBGC does not require continuing education to be purchased from INBGC. Failure to meet renewal requirements results in inactive certification status. INBGC reserves the right to audit continuing education records.

8. Code of Ethics

All BCGC candidates and certificants are bound by the INBGC Code of Ethics and Scope of Practice. Agreement to this code is a condition of certification and renewal. A copy of the Code of Ethics and Scope of Practice is available at inbgc.org/ethics.

9. Inactive Status, Suspension, and Revocation

Non-payment of the annual renewal fee, or failure to complete the annual ethics attestation, results in inactive certification status. The BCGC designation may not be used while a credential is inactive. Reinstatement requirements are available from Program Administration.

INBGC may suspend or revoke the BCGC designation for:

  • Violation of the INBGC Code of Ethics or Scope of Practice
  • Misrepresentation of credentials, education, or practice records
  • Conduct that harms clients or the public
  • Compromise of examination integrity
  • Any material breach of these Terms and Conditions

Suspension and revocation follow the process described in the Code of Ethics and Scope of Practice, and a certificant has a right of appeal under that process. A credential that is suspended or revoked is reflected as such in verification and may not be used. Fees paid are not refunded in the event of inactive status, suspension, or revocation.

10. Provider Review and Recognition

Training providers may submit a program for review against the published qualifying training criteria. The following apply.

  • The fee purchases the review work and not any particular outcome. Programs that do not meet the published criteria are not recognized, and the fee is not refunded.
  • Recognition applies to the specific program reviewed and may not be claimed for any other program.
  • Recognition is never a requirement for a graduate to pursue or obtain the BCGC credential, and a candidate whose education came from an unrecognized provider is reviewed on the merits on the same terms.
  • No fee varies with the number of graduates a provider directs toward certification, in either direction.
  • Recognition runs one year from the determination date and renews annually on payment of the renewal fee and attestation that the curriculum has not materially changed. A material change during the term triggers re-review at the review fee.
  • Recognition is revocable, including where a curriculum has materially changed without notice, where the permitted usage terms are breached, or where the training delivered does not match what was reviewed.
  • A recognized provider may state that the reviewed program has been reviewed and recognized by INBGC. A recognized provider may not state or imply that its graduates are certified or board certified on completion, that recognition is required to certify, or that recognition constitutes accreditation.
  • Material submitted for review is used for the review and is not published, shared, or used for any other purpose.

11. Intellectual Property

The INBGC name, logo, seal, certification marks, website content, examination content, and item banks are the intellectual property of the Independent National Board for Grief Coaching. You may not reproduce, distribute, modify, or use INBGC's intellectual property without written permission, except as permitted by these terms.

Certificants are permitted to use the BCGC designation as described in Section 6.2 while their certification is active. Where INBGC publishes credential mark usage guidelines, use of any INBGC mark is subject to those guidelines.

Examination content is confidential. Reproducing, distributing, or disclosing examination items, in whole or in part, is a breach of these terms and grounds for disqualification, revocation, and legal action.

12. Website Use

You agree not to:

  • Use the site for any unlawful purpose
  • Attempt to access systems, data, or accounts that are not yours
  • Scrape, copy, or reproduce site content without permission
  • Submit false, misleading, or fraudulent information
  • Interfere with the operation or security of the site
  • Use automated tools to access or interact with the site

13. Disclaimers

INBGC provides its services "as is." We make no warranties, express or implied, regarding:

  • Fitness of the services for any particular purpose
  • Career outcomes, income results, client volume, or referral opportunities resulting from certification
  • Third-party recognition of the BCGC credential by any employer, insurer, or institution
  • The uninterrupted availability of the website or services

INBGC is not accredited by any outside body and does not represent itself as accredited.

Certification confirms that a candidate met the published standard at the time of assessment. It is not a guarantee of competence, and INBGC is not liable for the professional conduct of individual certificants.

14. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, INBGC's total liability for any claim arising from these terms or your use of our services shall not exceed the amount you paid to INBGC in the twelve months preceding the claim.

INBGC is not liable for indirect, incidental, consequential, or punitive damages, including lost income or business opportunity, even if advised of the possibility of such damages.

15. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless INBGC, its officers, directors, Advisory Board members, Program Administration, employees, and contractors from any claims, damages, or expenses, including reasonable legal fees, arising from your use of our services, your breach of these terms, or your professional conduct as a grief coach.

16. Governing Law and Disputes

These Terms and Conditions are governed by the laws of the State of Ohio, without regard to conflict of law principles. Any dispute arising from these terms or your use of INBGC services shall be resolved in the state or federal courts located in Franklin County, Ohio, and you consent to the jurisdiction of those courts.

17. Changes to These Terms

INBGC may update these Terms and Conditions as our services, legal requirements, or policies change. We will post the updated version with a new "Last Updated" date. For material changes, we will notify active candidates, certificants, and recognized providers by email. Continued use of our services after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the revised terms.

18. Contact

Questions about these terms?

Independent National Board for Grief Coaching
670 Meridian Way, Suite 284
Westerville, OH 43082
[email protected]