GHCA-CERT-03
Suspension, Withdrawal and Cancellation of Certification Policy
A certification can stop being active in four different ways, and they mean very different things. This sets out each one, the process behind it, and exactly what someone checking the Registry will see.
Four different things, often confused
Suspension — a temporary pause of certification status and mark-usage rights, reversible once the underlying issue is resolved.
Withdrawal — a permanent, for-cause removal of certification, not reversible other than through a fresh application and assessment where the qualification's rules allow it.
Cancellation — a voluntary relinquishment by the certified individual, for their own reasons.
Expiry — the natural lapse of a certification at the end of its validity period without recertification. Expiry is not punitive and is distinct from all three of the above.
Grounds for suspension
An open malpractice or maladministration investigation concerning the individual's certification. Non-compliance with recertification requirements where a cure period is still available. Non-payment of a recertification or other fee properly due, pending resolution.
Grounds for withdrawal
A confirmed malpractice or maladministration finding where the sanction includes withdrawal. Material misrepresentation in the original application or in recertification evidence, discovered at any time — including years after the certification was awarded. A serious or repeated breach of the Certification Agreement or the mark usage rules. Failure to resolve the grounds for a suspension within the period specified at the time.
Voluntary cancellation
A certified individual may cancel their certification at any time by writing to the Registrar.
Cancellation is not a negative record. The historical fact of the prior certification stays on the Registry, marked as voluntarily cancelled — not as withdrawn for cause. The two are never conflated.
The process, and your right to respond
Other than an emergency suspension tied to an active malpractice investigation, you are given written notice of the proposed action and the grounds for it.
You have no fewer than 10 working days to respond before a final decision — except where the action follows directly from a malpractice finding already decided, in which case your right to respond was exercised in that process.
The Registrar, or the Certification Committee for malpractice-related withdrawals, issues a written decision with its effective date. The Registry is updated as soon as the decision takes effect.
What the Registry shows afterwards
The historical fact that a credential was awarded is never deleted from the Global Registry. What changes is the current status field — Suspended, Withdrawn, or Voluntarily Cancelled.
That is deliberate. Someone verifying a credential needs to see accurate current standing alongside the historical award record; deleting the entry would leave an unexplained gap, which serves nobody.
Use of the GHCA mark, reinstatement, and appeals
Suspension, withdrawal or cancellation immediately ends your right to use GHCA's marks and post-nominal letters. Continuing to use them after that point is itself a violation.
A suspended certification is reinstated automatically once the underlying ground is resolved — payment made, recertification met, or an investigation closed with no adverse finding — with no new application needed. A withdrawn certification is not reinstated.
You may appeal a suspension or a withdrawal under the Appeals Policy. A voluntary cancellation, having been your own request, is not appealable.