Welcome to Counseling Accreditation. This Terms of Use agreement (“Agreement”) is between Pacific Shores Research Group, LLC, a California limited liability company (“Pacific Shores”), which publishes Counseling Accreditation (counselingaccreditation.org) (the “Website”), and you.
This Agreement applies to anyone (referred to as “users,” “user,” “you,” or “your”) who accesses or uses the Website or any of the services we offer through it (collectively, the “Services”).
By accessing or using the Services, you acknowledge that you have read this Agreement, including the Counseling Accreditation Privacy Policy, understand it, and agree to be bound by its terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the Services.
The Effective Date of this Agreement is April 29, 2026.
MODIFICATIONS
Pacific Shores reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to modify or add to this Agreement at any time, for any reason, with or without notice to you (“Updated Terms”). The Updated Terms will be included in a revised version of this Agreement accessible through the Website. We may provide notice of significant changes as required by law.
Your use of the Services following the posting of any Updated Terms constitutes your unconditional acceptance and agreement to be bound by those changes. You must cease using the Services if you do not agree to be bound by the Updated Terms.
The Updated Terms will be effective as of the time of posting, or such later date as may be specified in the Updated Terms.
OVERVIEW OF THE SERVICES
Counseling Accreditation publishes editorial content and tools to help students and working professionals understand counseling licensure, accreditation, and related educational and career considerations. The Services include, without limitation: (i) state-by-state licensure guides; (ii) information about accrediting bodies for counseling and related programs; (iii) interactive tools and quizzes that help users orient to their licensure path; and (iv) ways for users to contact us for general inquiries, corrections, or to support our editorial work through donations.
INFORMATIONAL CONTENT — IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER
THE CONTENT OF THE SERVICES IS PROVIDED SOLELY FOR GENERAL INFORMATION PURPOSES. COUNSELING ACCREDITATION DOES NOT PROVIDE LEGAL, FINANCIAL, MEDICAL, EDUCATIONAL, OR OTHER PROFESSIONAL ADVICE.
Information published on Counseling Accreditation includes topics related to counselor licensure, accrediting body status, education and credential requirements, supervised experience hours, exam requirements, and related career pathways. State licensure rules and accreditation status change over time, and individual circumstances vary widely.
You are encouraged to seek professional guidance from appropriately licensed or credentialed providers for any decisions affecting your education, career, or professional licensure. Requirements related to degrees, licensure, credentialing, and accreditation vary by jurisdiction and change over time. Users should verify all such requirements with the official state licensing board, accrediting body, or governing institution before relying on them.
Our editorial process and verification cadence are described in our Editorial Standards.
WE HAVE NO CONTROL OVER WEBSITES THAT WE LINK TO, INCLUDING STATE LICENSING BOARDS AND ACCREDITING BODIES, AND THEIR INFORMATION MAY CHANGE WITHOUT OUR KNOWLEDGE.
USE OF THE SERVICES
You agree to the following conditions for your use of the Services:
- The Services are for personal, non-commercial use only;
- You agree not to provide false or misleading information through any contact forms, correction reports, donation forms, or other communications; and
- Pacific Shores reserves the right to refuse Services to anyone, for any reason, at any time.
PROHIBITED USES
You shall not:
- Access or try to access non-public areas of the Services or our computer systems;
- Use any robot, spider, scraper, or other automated means to access the Services or any content from us, except for legitimate search engine indexing;
- Reverse engineer any aspect of the Services or attempt to bypass measures employed to prevent or limit access;
- Transmit any worms, viruses, or any code of a destructive nature;
- Develop any third-party applications that interact with the Services without our prior written consent;
- Remove, obscure, or modify any copyright, trademark, or other proprietary rights notices;
- Use the Services for any illegal or unauthorized purpose, or engage in, encourage, or promote any illegal activity or any other activity that violates this Agreement.
LICENSE
Your License to Use the Website
Subject to your compliance with this Agreement, Pacific Shores grants you a nonexclusive, non-assignable, non-transferable, revocable, limited license to access and use the Services for the limited purpose of viewing informational content, using interactive tools, contacting us, and (optionally) supporting our editorial work through donations.
Your License to the Content
Unless otherwise noted on the Website, all content, data, or other information provided through the Website (collectively, “Content”) is owned by Pacific Shores or its content providers. You may not, in whole or in part, copy, modify, delete, add to, remove, publish, transmit, augment, transfer, create derivative works, sell, or participate in the sale or transfer of the Website or Content without prior written consent from Pacific Shores.
DATA COLLECTION AND USE
You expressly consent to the use and disclosure of personal information and other data as described in the Privacy Policy.
Notwithstanding anything in the Privacy Policy, Pacific Shores has the right to collect, extract, compile, synthesize, and analyze non-personally identifiable data or information resulting from your access to and use of the Services. To the extent that such data or information is collected or generated by us, the data and information are owned by Pacific Shores and may be used by us for any lawful business purpose without a duty of accounting to you.
DONATIONS AND FUNDING
Counseling Accreditation is funded primarily by reader donations. We do not accept affiliate compensation, lead-generation referral fees, sponsored content, or paid placements. Editorial decisions about which programs and accrediting bodies we cover, and how we describe them, are independent of any commercial relationship.
Donations are processed through our third-party payment provider. By submitting a donation, you authorize the charge described at the time of submission. Donations are non-refundable except where required by law or where the donation was processed in error.
INTEGRATION WITH THIRD-PARTY SERVICES
We may link to or reference third-party websites, including state licensing boards, accrediting bodies, official government databases, professional associations, and other educational resources.
Before using any third-party website or service, you are encouraged to review the relevant third party’s terms and policies. Pacific Shores is not liable for and does not accept any liability for any loss or damage in connection with third-party websites or services.
Pacific Shores provides links to third-party websites only for your convenience. This does not imply any endorsement of or association with such third parties.
CORRECTIONS AND ERROR REPORTING
We welcome reader-reported errors. To report an error, contact us through our About Us page or email info@counselingaccreditation.org with the page URL, the specific claim you believe is wrong, and the source you’d suggest we check. Our corrections process is described in our Editorial Standards.
TERMINATION
Pacific Shores reserves the right to investigate, terminate, change, suspend, or discontinue the Services at its sole discretion, including, without limitation, the availability of any feature, database, or Content, or your access to all or any part of the Services at any time, with or without cause, with or without notice, effective immediately.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS, TRADE NAMES, AND TRADEMARKS
All rights, title, and interest, and all intellectual property rights in and to the Services and the materials developed by Pacific Shores, vest in and are the sole and exclusive property of Pacific Shores or its licensors. Counseling Accreditation, the Counseling Accreditation logo, and Pacific Shores Research Group are trademarks or service marks of Pacific Shores Research Group, LLC.
You shall not, at any time, do, permit, or cause to be done any act or thing that would tend to impair or dilute Pacific Shores’ rights in the Services, the Content, or any of our trademarks, service marks, or trade names.
WARRANTIES AND DISCLAIMERS
You represent and warrant that:
- you have the legal right and authority to enter into this Agreement;
- you have the legal right and authority to perform your obligations under this Agreement;
- you are older than 13 years of age;
- if you are older than 13 years but under 18 years of age, a parent or guardian has reviewed this Agreement and consented to its terms on your behalf.
THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE.” PACIFIC SHORES EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS, AND YOU DISCLAIM ANY RELIANCE ON, ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES AND REPRESENTATIONS OF ANY KIND WITH REGARD TO THE SUBJECT MATTER OF THIS AGREEMENT, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, MERCHANTABILITY, TITLE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT.
NO ORAL OR WRITTEN INFORMATION OR ADVICE GIVEN BY PACIFIC SHORES WILL CREATE ANY NEW WARRANTIES IN ADDITION TO THOSE EXPRESSLY SET FORTH IN THIS SECTION.
WE MAKE NO WARRANTY THAT THE OPERATION AND AVAILABILITY OF THE SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, OR THAT THE INFORMATION ON THE WEBSITE IS COMPLETE, CURRENT, OR ACCURATE FOR YOUR PARTICULAR SITUATION. STATE LICENSING RULES AND ACCREDITATION STATUS CHANGE OVER TIME, AND USERS MUST VERIFY CURRENT REQUIREMENTS WITH OFFICIAL SOURCES BEFORE RELYING ON THEM.
LIMITATION ON LIABILITY
PACIFIC SHORES SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, HOWEVER CAUSED, UNDER ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), ARISING IN CONNECTION WITH OR OUT OF THE USE OF THE WEBSITE, CONTENT, OR SERVICES, EVEN IF PACIFIC SHORES HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
PACIFIC SHORES’ TOTAL CUMULATIVE LIABILITY IN CONNECTION WITH THIS AGREEMENT AND ALL SERVICES PROVIDED UNDER THIS AGREEMENT, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT, OR OTHERWISE, WILL NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNT YOU PAID FOR THE SERVICES (IF ANY). BECAUSE COUNSELING ACCREDITATION IS A FREE INFORMATIONAL RESOURCE, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT, EXCEPT FOR ANY LIABILITY WE CANNOT EXCLUDE AT LAW, YOUR SOLE REMEDY IS TO DISCONTINUE USE OF THE SERVICES.
YOU AGREE THAT PACIFIC SHORES WOULD NOT ENTER INTO THIS AGREEMENT WITHOUT THESE LIMITATIONS ON ITS LIABILITY.
IN JURISDICTIONS WHERE LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES IS NOT PERMITTED, PACIFIC SHORES’ LIABILITY IS LIMITED TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.
INDEMNIFICATION
You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Pacific Shores, its officers, directors, agents, and employees from and against any actions, claims, lawsuits, and causes of action, whether or not involving a third party (collectively, “Claims”), and all damages, awards, penalties, liabilities, costs, and expenses, including reasonable attorney’s fees, arising out of this Agreement or your use of the Services.
DISPUTE RESOLUTION
For any disputes you may have with Pacific Shores, you agree to first contact us and attempt to resolve the dispute informally. If we have not been able to resolve a dispute within 30 days, you and Pacific Shores each agree to resolve any Claim (excluding claims for injunctive or other equitable relief) in connection with the Services, including breach or alleged breach of this Agreement, by binding arbitration.
Unless you and Pacific Shores decide otherwise, arbitration will be conducted in San Diego, California.
TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, ALL CLAIMS MUST BE BROUGHT IN THE PARTIES’ INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING.
YOU AGREE THAT, BY ENTERING INTO THESE TERMS, YOU AND PACIFIC SHORES ARE EACH WAIVING THE RIGHT TO A TRIAL BY JURY OR TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION.
FORCE MAJEURE
Pacific Shores shall be excused from performance under this Agreement, to the extent it is prevented or delayed from performing, in whole or in part, as a result of an event or series of events caused by or resulting from: (a) weather conditions or other elements of nature or acts of God; (b) acts of war, acts of terrorism, insurrection, riots, civil disorders, or rebellion; (c) quarantines or embargoes; (d) labor strikes; (e) error or disruption to major computer hardware or networks or software failures; or (f) other causes beyond the reasonable control of Pacific Shores.
SEVERABILITY
If any portion of this Agreement is held invalid or unenforceable, it will be so held to the minimum extent required by law, and all other terms will remain valid and enforceable.
GOVERNING LAW
This Agreement is governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to any conflict of laws rules or principles.
QUESTIONS AND CONTACT INFORMATION
Please contact us if you have any questions about this Agreement at:
Counseling Accreditation Email: info@counselingaccreditation.org
Operated by Pacific Shores Research Group, LLC
ENTIRE AGREEMENT
This Agreement is the complete and exclusive agreement between you and Pacific Shores regarding your access to and use of the Services. This Agreement supersedes any prior agreement or proposal, oral or written, and any other communications between you and Pacific Shores relating to your use of the Services.