Terms of Use

Effective: 1 September 2026 · Last updated: 1 September 2026

These Terms of Use (the “Terms”) govern the use of PCAT (Practical English Test), an online English proficiency assessment service provided by ELT Education Inc. (“ELT,” “we,” “us,” or “our”).

Article 1 (Scope)

  1. These Terms apply to all individuals, companies and other organizations using the Service and govern all matters relating to their use of the Service.
  2. Each User must review and agree to these Terms before using the Service.
  3. Testing instructions, notices, pricing information, operating instructions and other rules displayed within the Service or on our websites form part of these Terms.
  4. If ELT and a User enter into a separate application form, order form, service agreement or other individual agreement relating to the Service (an “Individual Agreement”), the Individual Agreement will prevail to the extent of any inconsistency with these Terms.

Article 2 (Definitions)

For purposes of these Terms, the following terms have the meanings set out below.

1. Service

“Service” means PCAT (Practical English Test), the AI-assisted online assessment of English Speaking, Listening, Reading and Writing skills made available through https://app.eltpcat.com/ or any other website designated by ELT.

2. User

“User” means any individual, company or other organization that agrees to these Terms and uses the Service.

3. Account Holder

“Account Holder” means a person or entity that maintains an account, purchases Credits, or enters into an agreement to use the Service for itself or another person.

4. Corporate Customer

“Corporate Customer” means a company or other organization that arranges for employees, officers, job candidates, learners or other individuals to take the Test.

5. Test Taker

“Test Taker” means the individual who actually takes the Test. The Account Holder and Test Taker may be the same person.

6. Credit

“Credit” means a prepaid right to take the Test. As a general rule, one Credit is used for one Test attempt.

7. Score Report

“Score Report” means a report containing assessment results, CEFR-based level information, skill-specific results, test-session activity records and any other information specified by ELT.

8. Misconduct

“Misconduct” means any conduct described in Article 8 or other conduct that compromises the fairness, authenticity or reliability of the assessment.

Article 3 (Account Registration and Security)

  1. Where account registration is required, Users must provide true, accurate and current information in the manner specified by ELT.
  2. The Service supports sign-in using a Google account. A User signing in through Google is also subject to Google's applicable terms and policies.
  3. Users are responsible for maintaining the security of their accounts and authentication credentials and must not lend, transfer, share or permit unauthorized use of them.
  4. Users must promptly update their registration information if it changes.
  5. A minor may use the Service only with the consent of a legal representative. Where a Corporate Customer or another third party arranges the Test, that party is responsible for taking any steps required by applicable law and ELT's instructions in relation to such consent.
  6. To request deletion of an account, contact ELT through the contact point in Article 24. ELT will delete the account once it has confirmed that the request comes from the account holder. On deletion, any unused Credits expire and are not refunded. Personal information is handled after deletion in accordance with ELT's Privacy Policy.

Article 4 (Corporate Customers and Test Takers)

  1. Where a Corporate Customer arranges for an employee, officer, job candidate, learner or other individual to take the Test, both the Corporate Customer and the Test Taker must comply with the provisions of these Terms applicable to them.
  2. The Corporate Customer must appropriately inform the Test Taker about these Terms, testing rules, camera and microphone use, information recorded during testing, AI-based scoring, and the handling of Score Reports.
  3. A Corporate Customer using Score Reports for recruitment, placement, personnel evaluation, training or similar purposes is responsible for complying with applicable laws, internal policies and other requirements relevant to its use of the results.
  4. ELT measures English proficiency and provides Score Reports. ELT does not make recruitment, placement, promotion, termination or other employment decisions on behalf of Corporate Customers.
  5. The information ELT provides to a Corporate Customer consists of the Test Taker's name and other identifiers, the date and time of the Test, the Score Report (including skill-specific results and the CEFR-based level), the session records (whether a camera was used, the number and duration of focus-loss events, and the number of restricted-action attempts), and information relating to score validity or integrity review. Test audio and video themselves are not provided to Corporate Customers. Further detail is set out in Article 10 of ELT's Privacy Policy.
  6. If a Corporate Customer requires Test Takers to enable their cameras as a condition of testing, the Corporate Customer is responsible for appropriately explaining the purpose and necessity of that requirement and for completing any consent or other procedure required by applicable law.

Article 5 (Purchase of Credits and Payment)

  1. The Service is not a subscription service. It is offered on a usage-based basis through prepaid Credits.
  2. Credit prices, available purchase quantities, applicable taxes and other purchase conditions will be displayed at the time of purchase.
  3. Payments for Credits are processed through Stripe. Users must provide accurate payment information and comply with the applicable Stripe terms and conditions.
  4. Credits are added to the relevant account once ELT receives confirmation of payment from Stripe, and are normally available for use immediately.
  5. A Credit is consumed when the Test Taker takes the action to begin the Test.
  6. If the same interrupted Test is resumed within 24 hours after interruption, no additional Credit will be consumed.
  7. A Test interrupted for more than 24 hours expires and cannot be resumed. Taking the Test again consumes one additional Credit.
  8. Credits remain valid for one year from the date of purchase. Unused Credits expire at the end of that period and are not refunded.
  9. Credits may not be transferred to a third party, exchanged for cash, or moved between accounts.
  10. ELT will handle Credit validity periods and related matters in accordance with applicable law.

Article 6 (Cancellation and Refunds)

  1. Cancellations and refunds after the purchase of Credits, including unused Credits, are as a rule not available.
  2. Nothing in these Terms limits any cancellation, termination, refund or other right granted to a User under mandatory applicable law.
  3. If ELT does not receive payment because of a payment reversal, chargeback or similar event, ELT may revoke the corresponding Credits.
  4. If the Service is discontinued, ELT will make unused Credits usable during the notice period described in Article 15.4. Credits not used within that period are not refunded.

Article 7 (Testing Environment and Test Administration)

  1. Test Takers are responsible, at their own cost, for providing a suitable device, supported browser, stable internet connection, microphone and other equipment and environment required to use the Service.
  2. A microphone is required for the Speaking portion. If a microphone is unavailable or fails to record properly, the Test Taker may be unable to complete the Service properly.
  3. During a Test, the Test Taker may choose to enable the browser camera. The Service may be taken with the camera disabled.
  4. If the camera is enabled, video of the Test session will be recorded. Audio is recorded for the Speaking portion for scoring and related purposes.
  5. Test Takers must take the Test in a reasonably quiet and stable environment and must not receive assistance from another person unless expressly permitted by these Terms or ELT's testing instructions.
  6. An interrupted Test may be resumed through the functionality provided by ELT within 24 hours after the interruption.
  7. After the 24-hour period, the interrupted Test may no longer be resumable.

Article 8 (Test-Session Restrictions, Activity Records and Misconduct)

  1. For purposes of maintaining test integrity and assessing the reliability of Score Reports, the Service detects and records the number and other details of certain activities during the Test, including:
    • attempts to copy or paste;
    • attempts to print;
    • attempts to use the right-click function;
    • attempts to use in-page search; and
    • the number and duration of instances in which focus leaves the screen, tab or window in which the Service is displayed.
  2. These activity records are displayed in the Score Report.
  3. Activity records are indicators that may be considered when reviewing possible Misconduct. The occurrence of a recorded activity alone does not automatically establish Misconduct.
  4. Unless expressly permitted on the Test screen or in ELT's testing instructions, Test Takers must not:
    1. impersonate another person or have another person take the Test on their behalf;
    2. receive answers, advice or other assistance from another person;
    3. use external generative AI, translation tools, answer-generation services or similar services to prepare answers;
    4. consult dictionaries, translation tools, search engines, books or other external materials, or notes prepared in advance;
    5. photograph, record, copy, transcribe or otherwise save questions, test audio, images or other test content;
    6. transmit, publish, sell, distribute or otherwise provide test content to a third party;
    7. circumvent, interfere with, modify or disable any testing restriction, integrity-detection mechanism or technical protection measure;
    8. collaborate with another person in preparing answers; or
    9. otherwise improperly compromise the fairness, authenticity or reliability of the assessment.
  5. ELT may review activity records, responses, audio, video where the camera was enabled, and other reasonably available information when assessing whether Misconduct has occurred.

Article 9 (Measures Relating to Misconduct)

  1. If ELT identifies Misconduct, a breach of these Terms, or reasonable grounds to suspect either, ELT may take one or more of the following measures as reasonably appropriate:
    1. temporarily suspend the Test or issuance of a Score Report;
    2. conduct additional verification or investigation;
    3. mark a Score Report as under review, invalid or with another appropriate status;
    4. invalidate the score or Test result;
    5. temporarily suspend or restrict the relevant account; or
    6. terminate access in cases of serious or repeated violations.
  2. If the Test was arranged by a Corporate Customer, ELT may provide the Corporate Customer with information reasonably necessary to explain the validity status of the score, subject to applicable law and ELT's Privacy Policy.
  3. If a score or Test result is invalidated because of Misconduct, the Credit consumed for that attempt is not returned or reissued.
  4. A Test Taker who disagrees with a measure taken under the preceding Article may, within 14 days of being notified of it, ask ELT to review the measure by contacting the contact point in Article 24 and stating the grounds. ELT will consider the request together with the records it holds and respond within a reasonable period. The final determination on the review and on whether a measure is warranted rests with ELT, and ELT is under no obligation to disclose the specific detections or other details on which its determination was based. Disclosing how integrity detection works would make it easier to circumvent and would undermine the fairness of the assessment for other Test Takers.

Article 10 (AI Scoring and Nature of Score Reports)

  1. The Service uses large language models, speech recognition and other AI technologies to score Test Taker responses.
  2. Certain scoring results may be reviewed by a human for quality assurance or other purposes reasonably necessary for the proper operation of the Service.
  3. A Score Report is an estimate of the Test Taker's English proficiency based on the responses given during a single Test session. It does not guarantee the Test Taker's permanent, absolute or future level of English proficiency.
  4. CEFR levels and other scales used in the Service are based on assessment methods designed for PCAT. ELT does not represent or warrant that PCAT scores are identical to, interchangeable with, convertible to, or equivalent to scores from any other English-language examination.
  5. The Service does not represent that an equating study with another English-language examination has been completed.
  6. AI scoring may involve probabilistic or otherwise non-deterministic processes. Accordingly, if the same or substantially identical response is rescored, ELT does not guarantee that the resulting score will be exactly identical.
  7. Where speech recognition is used, microphone quality, background noise, recording conditions, connectivity and other input conditions may affect processing.
  8. A Test Taker may request rescoring within 14 days of the date a Score Report is issued, by contacting the contact point in Article 24. Rescoring is carried out only where ELT accepts that there was a clear malfunction in the scoring process, in which case no fee applies. ELT is under no obligation to rescore a request that does not meet that condition. Where rescoring is carried out, the resulting score may be lower than the original, and in every case the rescored result is treated as final. ELT will not accept a rescoring request based on the characteristics of the Service described in paragraphs 3 to 7 (that a Score Report is an estimate from a single sitting, that scoring involves non-deterministic processing, and that input conditions may affect the result).
  9. ELT may prospectively update scoring models, scoring criteria, test composition or other assessment methods in order to maintain or improve the Service. Scores generated at different times are therefore not guaranteed to have been calculated under completely identical technical conditions.

Article 11 (Use for Recruitment, Placement and Other Decisions)

  1. A Corporate Customer or other User that uses a Score Report for recruitment, placement, training, promotion or another decision must take into account the characteristics of the assessment described in Article 10.
  2. Score Reports are intended to serve as one source of information relevant to such decisions. ELT does not recommend relying on a PCAT score as the sole basis for a significant decision that may adversely affect an individual.
  3. The User or Corporate Customer making the relevant recruitment, placement or other decision is responsible for the final decision.
  4. Except to the extent ELT is liable under applicable law, ELT is not responsible for the substance of recruitment, placement or other decisions made by a User or third party based on a Score Report.

Article 12 (Audio, Video, Responses and Other Data)

  1. To the extent necessary to provide the Service, ELT collects and processes Test Taker audio, video where the camera has been enabled, written responses, test-session activity records, scores and related data.
  2. Audio, video and written response data are stored in Microsoft Azure's Japan region.
  3. Large language models, speech recognition and other AI technologies are used in the scoring process.
  4. Details regarding AI service providers and other processors, any transfer of data outside Japan, retention periods, deletion practices and other processing of personal information will be governed by ELT's Privacy Policy.
  5. Retention periods for audio, video, written responses, activity records and scores are governed by Article 7 of the Privacy Policy.
  6. ELT does not provide Test audio or video itself to Corporate Customers, nor make it accessible to them. The information provided to Corporate Customers is limited to the scope set out in Article 4.5.
  7. ELT may process the foregoing data to the extent necessary to provide and score the Service, conduct quality assurance, investigate Misconduct, respond to inquiries, and carry out other purposes specified in these Terms and the Privacy Policy.
  8. ELT does not use Test Taker responses, audio, video or other data to train or retrain ELT's or an AI service provider's general-purpose or foundation AI models, and does not supply such data to any third party for the training of its AI models. ELT may, however, use Test Taker responses, audio and scoring results (excluding video) internally within ELT to validate and improve the scoring accuracy of the Service and the quality of its test items, including by developing, tuning and evaluating scoring models, scoring criteria and other assessment methods dedicated to the Service. Where identification of an individual is not necessary for that purpose, ELT applies anonymization, pseudonymization or other techniques that reduce direct identifiability as far as practicable. Further detail is set out in Article 5 of ELT's Privacy Policy.

Article 13 (Intellectual Property)

  1. All copyrights and other intellectual property rights in software, screens, designs, text, questions, test audio, images, scoring logic, Score Report formats, trademarks, logos and other content created or provided by ELT in connection with the Service belong to ELT or the relevant lawful rights holder.
  2. Without ELT's prior written permission, Users and Test Takers must not reproduce, photograph, record, copy, republish, publicly transmit, disclose, distribute, sell, lend, adapt, provide to a third party or otherwise use any test question, test audio or other test content beyond what is necessary to take the Test.
  3. Users may use Score Reports for their own records and for legitimate purposes such as recruitment, placement and training, but must not alter a Score Report or use it in a manner that misrepresents its source or content.
  4. To the extent a Test Taker owns rights in responses or other data submitted by the Test Taker, the Test Taker grants ELT the rights necessary to reproduce, analyze and otherwise process such data for the provision and scoring of the Service, quality assurance, integrity investigations, inquiry handling and other purposes specified in these Terms and the Privacy Policy.
  5. The preceding paragraph does not, by itself, authorize ELT or any third party to use Test Taker responses to train AI models.

Article 14 (Prohibited Conduct)

Users and Test Takers must not:

  1. violate applicable law, public policy or these Terms;
  2. provide materially false information;
  3. use another person's account or authentication credentials without authorization;
  4. gain or attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Service;
  5. impose an excessive load on the servers, networks, software or other systems supporting the Service;
  6. reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble or otherwise analyze the Service, except to the extent expressly permitted by applicable law;
  7. exploit vulnerabilities, errors, integrity-detection mechanisms or other features of the Service;
  8. reproduce, republish, sell, redistribute or provide the Service or test content to a third party without authorization;
  9. infringe the rights or legitimate interests of ELT or any third party;
  10. engage in Misconduct described in Article 8;
  11. deceive, threaten or unlawfully damage the reputation of ELT or any third party; or
  12. otherwise materially interfere with the proper operation of the Service.

Article 15 (Modification, Suspension and Discontinuation of the Service)

  1. ELT may modify features, specifications, test composition, scoring methods or other aspects of the Service for reasonable purposes such as maintaining or improving service quality, protecting security, complying with law or responding to changes in third-party services.
  2. ELT may temporarily suspend all or part of the Service if:
    1. maintenance, inspection, updates or incident response are required;
    2. a telecommunications provider, cloud provider, payment provider, AI provider or other third-party service experiences an outage or failure;
    3. an earthquake, fire, power outage, epidemic, cyberattack, war, governmental action or other event beyond ELT's reasonable control occurs; or
    4. suspension is otherwise reasonably necessary for the safe or stable operation of the Service.
  3. Except in emergencies, ELT will use reasonable efforts to provide advance notice of material changes or planned interruptions that are likely to significantly affect Users.
  4. ELT may discontinue all or part of the Service after providing a reasonable period of prior notice, except where urgent or unavoidable circumstances make such notice impracticable.
  5. Unused Credits upon discontinuation of the Service will be handled in accordance with Article 6.4.

Article 16 (Connectivity, Equipment and Service Incidents)

  1. Before beginning a Test, the Test Taker is responsible for confirming that the device, supported browser, internet connection, microphone and other required equipment are operating properly.
  2. If the Test Taker cannot access, begin or complete a Test because of the Test Taker's internet connection, device, browser, microphone, camera, operating system, security software, corporate network or other environment under the Test Taker's control, a consumed Credit is as a rule not returned or reissued. However, where the Test could not be started because the pre-test environment check did not pass, the Credit is returned to the account.
  3. If a Test cannot be properly started or completed because of an incident attributable to ELT's systems, ELT will investigate and return the Credit consumed for that attempt to the account. This is handled by reissuing the Credit rather than by a refund.
  4. If a Test cannot be completed because of an outage involving telecommunications services, Microsoft Azure, Stripe, Google, an AI provider or another service not directly controlled by ELT, the Credit is treated in the same way as under the preceding paragraph: ELT will investigate and return it to the account, because the cause is not attributable to the Test Taker.
  5. If it is unclear whether an incident originated on the Test Taker's side or ELT's side, ELT may review connection records, system logs and other reasonably available information when determining how to respond.
  6. The preceding paragraph does not give ELT unilateral authority to determine whether ELT has legal liability or the extent of any such liability.

Article 17 (Disclaimers)

  1. ELT will use reasonable efforts to provide a stable Service but does not warrant that the Service will always be uninterrupted, completely error-free, or compatible with every device, browser or network environment.
  2. ELT does not warrant that a Score Report perfectly or absolutely reflects a Test Taker's proficiency, is suitable for every recruitment, placement, educational or other purpose, or is equivalent to the result of any third-party examination.
  3. Except to the extent ELT is liable under applicable law, ELT will not be responsible for unavailability or other issues caused by failures, suspensions, specification changes or other circumstances involving Google, Stripe, Microsoft Azure, AI service providers or other third-party services outside ELT's reasonable control.
  4. Any exclusion or limitation of liability in these Terms applies only to the extent permitted by applicable law, including applicable consumer protection law.

Article 18 (Liability and Damages)

  1. If a User or Test Taker breaches these Terms and causes loss to ELT, that User or Test Taker is responsible for losses attributable to that person's breach to the extent legally responsible.
  2. Where ELT is liable to a User in connection with the Service, ELT's liability will, except in cases of intentional misconduct, gross negligence or where otherwise required by applicable law, be limited to direct and ordinary loss actually suffered by the User.
  3. ELT's total liability under the preceding paragraph is capped at the amount the relevant User actually paid to ELT for the Service during the twelve months preceding the event giving rise to the claim.
  4. The limitations in the preceding paragraphs do not apply to loss caused by ELT's intentional misconduct or gross negligence or where liability may not be limited under applicable law.
  5. Nothing in this Article limits rights granted to Users under mandatory consumer protection or other applicable law.

Article 19 (Suspension and Termination)

  1. ELT may suspend access, suspend an account, withhold a score or take other reasonably necessary measures, with or without prior notice depending on the circumstances, if a User or Test Taker:
    1. materially breaches these Terms;
    2. engages in Misconduct;
    3. is found to have provided materially false registration information;
    4. fails to satisfy payment obligations;
    5. materially interferes with the Service or ELT's operations; or
    6. is otherwise subject to a material circumstance making continuation of the contractual relationship impracticable.
  2. Where the nature of the breach permits cure and there is no urgent need for immediate action, ELT will, where reasonably practicable, provide an opportunity to cure.
  3. Where ELT suspends access or terminates the agreement because of a User's breach of these Terms, unused Credits expire and are not refunded.

Article 20 (Exclusion of Anti-Social Forces)

  1. Each User and ELT represents and undertakes that neither it nor its officers or equivalent persons is, or will become, a member of an organized crime group, a person who ceased to be such a member less than five years ago, an associate member of an organized crime group, an entity affiliated with an organized crime group, a corporate racketeer, a person purporting to advocate a social movement for improper gain, a special intelligence violence group, or any similar anti-social force (“Anti-Social Forces”).
  2. Neither party will use Anti-Social Forces, provide funds or benefits to Anti-Social Forces, or maintain a socially reprehensible relationship with Anti-Social Forces.
  3. If a party is found to have breached either of the preceding paragraphs, the other party may terminate the applicable agreement without prior demand.
  4. The party exercising termination under the preceding paragraph will not be liable for loss suffered by the terminated party as a result of such termination, except to the extent liability is imposed by applicable law.

Article 21 (Amendments to These Terms)

  1. ELT may amend these Terms in accordance with the Civil Code of Japan and other applicable law where:
    1. the amendment is in the general interest of Users; or
    2. the amendment is not contrary to the purpose of the contractual relationship and is reasonable in light of the necessity of the amendment, the appropriateness of the amended terms and other relevant circumstances.
  2. Where ELT amends these Terms under the preceding paragraph, ELT will announce the amended Terms and their effective date before the effective date by posting them within the Service, on an ELT website, by email or by another appropriate method.
  3. If applicable law requires a User's individual consent to a particular amendment, ELT will obtain that consent in accordance with applicable law.

Article 22 (Governing Law and Jurisdiction)

  1. These Terms and all agreements relating to the Service are governed by the laws of Japan.
  2. Any dispute between ELT and a User arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Tokyo District Court as the court of first instance.
  3. The preceding paragraph does not restrict any right that a User may have under mandatory applicable law to bring proceedings in another court.

Article 23 (Language)

  1. These Terms are made available in Japanese and English.
  2. If there is any discrepancy between the Japanese and English versions, the Japanese version prevails.

Article 24 (Provider and Contact Information)

  1. The provider information for the Service is as follows.
  2. Inquiries regarding the Service or these Terms may be submitted through the contact page below.

Provider Information