# How long can I keep my account and certificates?

You can **keep your account** for as long as you have an **active subscription plan**. You can view our subscription plans here:

{% embed url="<https://www.scoredetect.com/pricing>" %}
View our subscription plans here.
{% endembed %}

If you no longer have an active subscription with us, then we will provide you *with one of the most generous grace periods in the industry* that we know of — **12 months grace period**.

During the 12 months grace period, [your account is classed as a "**Dormant Account**"](#my-account-is-dormant-.-what-happens-next).

{% hint style="info" %}
We recommend you to download / export all of your certificates before your account is deleted.
{% endhint %}

This will give you enough time to [download / export your certificates](https://docs.scoredetect.com/certificates/how-can-i-download-export-my-certificates) should you wish to no longer use our services.

#### What happens to my certificates?

By [exporting your certificates](https://docs.scoredetect.com/how-can-i-download-export-my-certificates#how-to-download-export-a-single-certificate), you will keep all of your certificate information. As long as you have the **blockchain URLs** and the accompanying files / text, it can be usable including for your legal purposes. Remember, we use **SHA-256** to generate a fingerprint of your files / text. This means that you can independently use any trusted SHA-256 tool to obtain the fingerprint yourself. We recommend an open-source SHA-256 tool or OS-specific command line.

Because all the pertinent information can be visited in the blockchain, this means that as long as you can match it up with your uploaded files / text, you can still be safe to know that it is usable including for your legal purposes. Note that if your files / text have been tampered with, then the SHA-256 fingerprint will not be the same as what is on the certificate.

Nothing will change in the blockchain, since we cannot modify it (or delete it).

#### My account is "Dormant". What happens next?

**After the grace period has ended** and your "Dormant Account" still does not have an active subscription plan, [we will **delete your account**](#what-happens-when-my-account-is-deleted).

We will notify you via email around 2 months before your grace period is planned to end.

### What happens when my account is deleted?

As part of our procedure, we will delete all your information from our database:

* Your ScoreDetect account information
* Delete all of your certificates
* Unsubscribe you from all ScoreDetect email and notifications

Afterwards, you are always welcome [to create a new ScoreDetect account](https://www.scoredetect.com/).