ADRASTIA^™Sign in

ACES Candidate Agreement

Effective November 1, 2026  ·  The Founding 30

This agreement is between you (the "Candidate") and Adrastia LLC, an Arizona limited liability company ("Adrastia," "we," "us"). It covers the Adrastia™ Certified Evidence Specialist (ACES) Founding 30 program: the study guide, exam, credential, credential card, and verify registry (together, the "Program"). By applying, ordering a credential card, or taking the exam, you agree to this agreement.

1. What the Credential Is, and Is Not

1. The ACES credential shows that you completed Adrastia™ evidence-handling training and passed the ACES exam.
2. It is not a state license. It does not authorize you to work as a private investigator, attorney, peace officer, or in any other licensed occupation.
3. It does not mean that Adrastia employs you, endorses your work, or vouches for any evidence, report, opinion, or testimony you provide.

2. Eligibility, Selection, and Identity

1. The Program is open to licensed private investigators only. You must hold a current private investigator license and keep it current while you hold the credential.
2. The Founding 30 has 30 founding spots. Adrastia screens applicants on merit: experience, tenure, and fit. Adrastia never screens applicants on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected status.
3. You must be at least 18 years old.
4. You must give your true legal name, your license number and issuing state, and, if you want it listed, your organization. Your credential is issued in that name.
5. To receive a credential card, you must provide a recent photo that clearly shows your face. Adrastia may ask for a government-issued photo ID to confirm your identity. We do not keep a copy of your ID after checking it.

3. The Exam

1. The exam has 40 multiple-choice questions. The passing score is 32 correct (80%).
2. You must take the exam yourself, without help from another person, and without sharing it.
3. You may not copy, photograph, record, post, sell, or share exam questions or answers, during or after the exam.
4. During the exam you may not use artificial intelligence tools, search engines, "brain dump" or leaked exam materials, another person's help, or another device. You must report it to Adrastia if you are offered or exposed to leaked exam content.
5. Adrastia may review exam results with statistical and data-forensic methods. If a result shows signs of cheating or other irregularity, Adrastia may cancel it and require a new exam at no cost, or treat it as a violation under Section 9.
6. Adrastia may cancel an exam result and deny or revoke a credential if it finds cheating, impersonation, or sharing of exam content.

4. Cost

1. Certification is free for the Founding 30.
2. The only cost is the $20 credential card.

5. Term and Renewal

1. Your credential is valid for 3 years from the issue date shown in the verify registry, unless it is revoked.
2. To renew, send Adrastia proof that you are still active as a licensed private investigator and that you have personally verified 5 or more reports. When Adrastia confirms both, your credential renews for another 3 years.
3. If you do not renew by the expiration date, the credential shows as Expired in the registry and on any report you certify after that date. You may renew later by sending the same proof. A renewed credential keeps your original credential ID.
4. Adrastia may change the course, exam, or requirements. Changes apply to your credential at your next renewal.
5. Renewal may require you to accept the current version of this agreement.

6. Not Employment; Paid Work

1. The Program is not employment. Adrastia does not hire you, pay you, or guarantee you any work. You are not Adrastia's employee, agent, or contractor because you hold the credential.
2. Whoever engages you pays you directly. Verification reviews are $125 per verification, paid directly to you by whoever engages you. Testimony is at your own rate.
3. An ongoing list of ACES-certified licensed investigators will be created and made available to Adrastia's attorney and law-enforcement customers. Being on the list does not promise any engagement.

7. Your Duty to Report

While your credential is active, you must tell Adrastia within 30 days if any of the following happens: your private investigator license lapses, or is suspended or revoked; a court finds that you fabricated, altered, or mishandled evidence; a licensing board disciplines you; or you are convicted of a crime involving dishonesty, evidence tampering, or false statements.

8. Using Your Credential

You may:

• state that you are an "Adrastia™ Certified Evidence Specialist" while your credential is Valid;
• list your credential ID on your résumé, business card, or website;
• show your credential card.

You may not:

• describe the credential as a license, a government certification, or an endorsement by Adrastia;
• state or suggest that Adrastia employs you or sends you work;
• use the credential while it is Expired or Revoked;
• alter, copy, or lend your credential card or credential ID, or let anyone else use it;
• use the Adrastia™ name or logo in any other way without our written permission.

9. Code of Conduct

As an Adrastia™ Certified Evidence Specialist, you agree to:

1. collect evidence only by lawful means;
2. use only your own Adrastia™ account;
3. seal evidence promptly and describe it factually;
4. confirm matches only when you can explain them;
5. review every report completely before you certify it;
6. state your credential accurately and never present it as a license;
7. testify truthfully about what Adrastia records and what it does not.

10. Revocation and Appeal

1. Adrastia may suspend or revoke a credential for: cheating or sharing exam content; false identity or information; losing your private investigator license; violating the Code of Conduct; misrepresenting the credential; failing to report under Section 7; or a final court finding that you fabricated, altered, or mishandled evidence.
2. Before revoking a credential for conduct, Adrastia will tell you the reason by email and give you 14 days to respond, unless immediate action is needed to protect a customer, a case, or the public.
3. You may appeal a revocation within 30 days by writing to us through the contact form at adrastiahq.com. Adrastia will review the appeal and send a written decision within 30 days of receiving it. That decision is final.
4. A revoked credential shows as Revoked in the registry and prints as "not verified" on any report certified after the revocation. The credential card fee is not refunded for a revoked credential.
5. A person whose credential is revoked for cheating or sharing exam content may not reapply for at least 12 months. A second revocation is permanent.
6. An appeal may not challenge a failing score on a properly given exam or the content of individual exam questions.

11. The Verify Registry

1. When you are certified, Adrastia lists the following in the public ACES verify registry at adrastiahq.com/verify: your name, your organization (if you provided one), your credential ID, the issue date, any expiration date, and the status (Valid, Expired, or Revoked).
2. Anyone with your credential ID can look up that one record. The registry does not publish a searchable list of all certified people.
3. You consent to this listing as a condition of the credential. Listing your status is how attorneys, courts, and the people who engage you confirm the credential. If you ask us to remove your listing, your credential will no longer verify.
4. Adrastia keeps exam results and credential records for at least 7 years after the credential expires or is revoked, so that past reports can still be checked.

12. Credential Card Refunds

1. The $20 credential card is not refunded once the card has been sent for printing. Before that, you get a full refund if you ask.
2. We will replace a card that arrives damaged or with an error we made, at no charge.
3. Refunds go back to the original payment method. To request one, use the contact form at adrastiahq.com.

13. Course Materials

1. Adrastia owns the course, study guide, exam, question bank, slides, and credential design. You receive a personal, non-transferable right to use the course materials for your own training.
2. You may not copy, resell, publish, or use the materials to train others without written permission.

14. Disclaimers and Limits of Liability

1. The Program teaches how Adrastia™ records evidence handling. It is not legal advice. Whether evidence is admissible, and whether your methods are lawful where you work, are your responsibility.
2. The Program is provided "as is." Adrastia does not promise that the credential will be accepted by any court, employer, insurer, or agency, or that it will lead to any work.
3. To the fullest extent the law allows, Adrastia is not liable for indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages, or for lost profits or lost work, arising from the Program. Adrastia's total liability for any claim related to the Program is limited to the fees you paid for the Program in the 12 months before the claim.
4. You will indemnify Adrastia against claims by third parties arising from your misuse of the credential, your violation of this agreement, or your unlawful collection of evidence.

15. General

1. Governing law. Arizona law governs this agreement. Any dispute will be decided in the state or federal courts located in Pima County, Arizona.
2. Changes. Adrastia may update this agreement. Changes apply to applications and renewals made after the update is posted. Your current credential continues under the version you accepted until you renew.
3. Entire agreement. This agreement, the Adrastia™ Terms of Service, and the Privacy Policy are the full agreement about the Program.
4. Not transferable. Your credential and your rights under this agreement are personal and cannot be transferred.
5. Exam content. Because sharing exam content causes harm that money cannot fully repair, Adrastia may ask a court to stop it, in addition to any other remedy.
6. Notices. Adrastia sends notices to the email address on your application. You are responsible for keeping it current.
7. Severability and waiver. If a court finds part of this agreement unenforceable, the rest stays in effect. Not enforcing a term once does not waive it.
8. Survival. Sections 3, 6, 11, 13, 14, and 15 continue after your credential expires or is revoked.
9. Contact. Adrastia LLC, 1846 E Innovation Park Dr, Oro Valley, AZ 85755. Use the contact form at adrastiahq.com.