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Guidelines for Using College Board Trademarks

College Board trademarks are valuable assets. Therefore, we require that all third parties using and/or referring to our trademarks do so in a manner which will minimize consumer confusion and avoid implying a relationship with the College Board. Some of the most notable College Board trademarks include: AP®, Advanced Placement®, Pre-AP®, CLEP®, College Board®, PSAT/NMSQT® and SAT®.

Click here for the full College Board Trademark list.

Before using any College Board trademark, please review the following guidelines, fill out the online permission request form and submit a sample of your proposed use of the mark(s) as described below to [email protected]. Please allow ample time for the College Board to review and respond to your request, which generally can take 4 to 6 weeks.

These guidelines explain proper and improper uses of College Board trademarks and are applicable to the use of our marks in any medium, including, but not limited to: print, multimedia, and online materials.

The College Board reserves the right to deny any third party’s request if that party’s use of the College Board mark may lead consumers to believe that the College Board is the source of the product or service. Use of a College Board trademark without prior written consent may constitute trademark infringement and unfair competition in violation of federal and state laws.

PROPER Use of College Board Trademarks

Adjectives. You must use College Board trademarks as adjectives. The purpose of a trademark is to identify the owner of a product or service; therefore a trademark should be used as an adjective to modify a noun. The noun is the generic name of the product or service. As adjectives, trademarks may not be used in the plural or possessive form.

Correct Use: “SAT® exams” or “Advanced Placement® course”

Incorrect Use: “Improve Your SATs” or “Review AP’s Curriculum”
Titles. If using a College Board trademark in the title of your product, service, or publication, you must compose the title in such a way to avoid the appearance that it originates from the College Board.

Suggested Titles: “Doe’s Guide to AP® Biology” or “Jane’s Top 100 Tips for the SAT® Exam”
Trademark Symbol. You must properly identify College Board trademarks by using the appropriate trademark symbol (® or ™) next to the mark. Click here to see the full College Board Trademark List.
Attribution/Disclaimer. You must include the following disclaimer in a footnote to ensure proper attribution of College Board ownership:

[Trademark® or Trademark™] is a trademark [registered / owned] by the College Board, which is not affiliated with, and does not endorse, this [product/site].

EXCEPTION: The PSAT/NMSQT® registered trademark MUST always be used in its entirety and accompanied by the following footnote/disclaimer, without exception:

PSAT/NMSQT® is a registered trademark of the College Board and the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, which are not affiliated with, and do not endorse, this [product/site].

You Must make the footnote clearly visible (i.e., appropriate type size, color, and placement) on all covers, packaging, advertisements, websites, and in other media as follows:
1. For print publications: the footnote/disclaimer should appear on the front cover, the back cover, and on the copyright page.
2. On packaging, labels, advertisements, and promotional material: the footnote/disclaimer must appear on the same surface as the College Board mark.
3. For web sites: the footnote/disclaimer must appear on the web site home page and on all internal web pages that include College Board marks. The appropriate footnote/disclaimer must be placed at the bottom of each respective page. NOTE: Merely stating trademark ownership credit and/or including the endorsement disclaimer in the “Terms and Conditions” or “Legal Notice” sections of a web site does NOT satisfy these Guidelines.

IMPROPER Use of College Board Trademarks

Possessive or Plural Form. Do not use College Board trademarks in the possessive or plural form (See Adjectives under “Proper Use”).
Combined Marks. Do not combine College Board trademarks with any other trademark or design, (e.g., Google’s SAT Word of the Day) or use the marks in a manner which suggests ownership by a third party (e.g., ACME’s CLEP Study Guide).
Company, Product, Service and Domain Names. Do not use or register, in whole or in part, any College Board trademark, logo, or alteration thereof, as part of company names, company taglines or slogans, social media pages, Internet domain names, web site addresses, or meta tags.
Titles. Do not use College Board trademarks in the main title of your product, service, or publication, without identifying the source or owner.

Incorrect Use: “AP Calculus Guide” or “SAT Preparation and Practice App.”

Correct Use: “John Doe’s Guide to AP® Calculus” or “Smith’s App for the SAT® Exam”
Appearance. Do not over-emphasize the College Board mark or use it more prominently than your product/service name. The College Board mark must be smaller in font, size, and color compared to your product/service name, in order to maintain a visual distinction between the two.
Variations or Abbreviations. Do not remove, alter, or distort any element of a College Board trademark or brand feature, including abbreviation of College Board marks, in any way. For example, SAT Subject Tests™ should not be altered or displayed as “SAT II.”
Implied Affiliation. Do not use any College Board trademark, logo or symbol, or any potentially confusing variation thereof, in any manner that expresses or implies affiliation with, sponsorship, endorsement, or certification by, the College Board; nor may Third Parties use any College Board trademark in such a way that implies a legal association or partnership between the College Board and their company.
Slogans and Taglines. Do not use or imitate any College Board slogan or tagline.

Fair Use of College Board Trademarks

"Fair use" of a trademark is allowed without express permission when a third party simply refers to the College Board product or service associated with the trademark. In such references, you must be truthful, must not disparage the College Board and/or any of its products and services, and must not mislead the public as to any implied endorsement by the College Board. Note that reproduction of any College Board logo is not allowed under fair use.

Proper fair use should include the trademark registration (®) or ownership (™) symbol, and disclaimer:

Correct: “Students can view their AP® scores online.”

With: “AP® is a trademark registered by the College Board, which is not affiliated with, and does not endorse, this website.”

Using a College Board trademark in association with a consumer product or service without express permission is not considered fair use. For example, an advertisement for an SAT® tutoring company is not allowed under fair use.

Logos

The College Board strictly limits the use of its logos, but might make an exception under special circumstances, such as the AP® Honor Roll, or the AP® Summer Institutes.

Third Parties Must:

NOT use the College Board logo, acorn logo, or any other College Board logo or graphic in connection with products, services, publications, web sites, seminars or conferences, packaging, advertising or promotional materials without an express written logo license from the College Board.
NOT use College Board logos on their web site in association with a link to a College Board web page. Links to College Board web pages may be included on a third party web site, provided they are included as plain text links and are not used in any way that could confuse or mislead customers.

Google AdWords and Other Search Engine Marketing and Advertising

The College Board DOES NOT ALLOW third parties to leverage its brand, reputation and trademarks in search engine marketing and advertisements, such as Google AdWords, Facebook, etc. The College Board has decided not to create a list of authorized advertisers, nor make any exceptions at this time. It has been brought to our attention that some use of our trademarks may have been allowed in the past by certain parties without our permission. The College Board has filed complaints requesting that online ad hosts and search engine marketers prohibit infringement of our trademarks by advertisers. Although there may be certain parties who are still not in compliance with this policy, the College Board is making efforts to correct every instance when found.

Submission of Samples

Before using any College Board trademarks, third parties must submit samples of the proposed use to the College Board for review. Send samples to [email protected]. Please allow 4-6 weeks for processing.

For print materials: submit copies of the cover, spine, title page, and/or page of first prominent use.
For Internet uses: submit copies of the web site home page and web page where the College Board mark(s) is/are first prominently featured.
For CD, DVD, video, or other products: submit copies of labels, packaging, and advertisements.