OCSA Certification Badge Usage

The OCSA Certification Badge is a mark of trust. It signals that a competition operator has met the standards set by the Online Competition Standards Authority and is committed to fair, transparent, and responsible practice.

To protect consumers and certified operators, strict rules apply to the use of all OCSA badges, including:

• OCSA Certified

• OCSA Silver

• OCSA Gold

These rules ensure that the badge remains credible, consistent, and cannot be misused to mislead the public.

1. Who May Use the Badge

You may only use an OCSA badge if:

• you have been formally granted certification by OCSA

• your certification is active and your fees are up to date

• you use the badge solely in connection with your own competitions

You must not lend, sell, transfer or share the badge with any other business or individual.

2. Where the Badge May Be Displayed

Certified operators may display the badge:

• on their website and mobile site

• in email footers and newsletters

• in paid advertising (subject to advertising rules)

• on social media profiles and posts

• on printed materials relating to their competitions

• on live streams or draw videos

The badge must not be displayed on unrelated businesses, personal profiles, or materials for third parties.

3. How the Badge Must Appear

Operators must use only the official badge artwork supplied by OCSA.
This means:

✔ Do use:

• the correct badge for your certification level

• the unaltered PNG/SVG provided by OCSA

• the badge at a legible size with clear space around it

• the badge against backgrounds where it remains easily visible

❌ Do not:

• edit, recolour or adjust the badge

• change fonts, shapes or proportions

• crop or stretch the badge

• add effects (shadows, glows, filters)

• use screenshots of badges from the OCSA website

• redesign substitute versions

Only the original files provided by OCSA are permitted.

4. Linking the Badge

Where possible, operators must link the badge directly to their entry on the:

OCSA Register of Certified Operators

This allows consumers to verify the operator’s status instantly by clicking on the OCSA badge.

5. Badge Levels and Their Meaning

To avoid misleading the public, you must only display the badge corresponding to your current certification level:

• OCSA Certified — baseline compliance

• OCSA Silver — enhanced compliance and verified good practice

• OCSA Gold — highest level of compliance and excellence

Displaying a higher-level badge than the one granted is considered misuse.

6. Badge Security & Tracking

Each badge issued to an operator contains:

• a unique embedded identifier

• watermarking to detect unauthorised use

Do not attempt to remove, obscure or replace these embedded identifiers.
Tampering will result in immediate suspension and potential permanent exclusion from certification.

7. Misuse of the Badge

Misuse includes:

• displaying a badge when not certified at all

• displaying a badge after certification lapses or is suspended

• displaying the wrong level (e.g., Gold instead of Silver)

• altering the badge in any way

• using “sample” badges taken from the OCSA website

• sharing badge files with other operators

• failing to remove the badge when instructed by OCSA

OCSA takes badge misuse extremely seriously.

8. Enforcement Actions

If badge misuse is identified, OCSA may:

• issue a written warning

• require immediate correction

• suspend or withdraw certification

• permanently refuse future certification

• publicly list the operator for badge misuse

• notify Trading Standards or relevant authorities if misleading claims are made

Repeated or deliberate misuse may result in automatic and permanent exclusion from the OCSA scheme.

9. Removal of the Badge

If your certification ends (for any reason):

• you must remove all badge instances from your website immediately

• you must remove the OCSA badge from social media profiles, bios and banners

• you must stop using OCSA badges in all advertising materials

• you must stop using OCSA badges in new printed materials

• you must delete or archive all badge image files

OCSA may check to confirm these removals have been completed.

10. Questions or Permissions

If you are unsure whether a particular use of the badge is allowed, contact OCSA before publishing the material.