The commission rate, the payout schedule, and the rules that govern the Certain Step affiliate program. Version 1.0.
Effective August 13, 2026 · Last updated August 13, 2026
These terms govern your participation in the Certain Step affiliate program. Applying, and later accepting an assigned code, means you agree to them. They work alongside our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, but they're written separately because they cover a different relationship: you as a partner, not you as a buyer or a learner.
You promote a course. Someone buys with your code and gets $5 off. You earn 40% of what they actually paid. We hold that commission for 35 days, then pay it out monthly once it clears $25, by hand, once you've signed a W-9.
You must be eighteen or older and a US taxpayer to apply. We can't pay a commission to anyone we can't issue tax paperwork to, so both are required, not optional.
We review every application by hand. Applying doesn't guarantee approval, and we don't give a reason for every decision unless we decline you, in which case we always tell you why so you can fix it and reapply.
Commission is a flat 40% of the price the buyer actually paid, after the $5 discount your code applies. On a $29 course, that's 40% of $24.
Commission accrues on any purchase made with your code, across every Certain Step course and line, not only the course you were recruited to promote.
A purchase where the buyer's email matches your own doesn't earn a commission. It's held automatically for our review rather than paid out or auto-declined.
We assign your code at approval. It's yours, not requested or chosen by you in advance, and it's entered by the buyer on the Stripe checkout page, not on our sales page.
Share your code however you'd like on the platforms you told us about in your application. Coupon-listing sites and mass code distribution that isn't genuine promotion isn't allowed.
Commission is held for 35 days after the sale, so our refund window has closed before anything is paid out.
Once a month, we review and approve a payout batch covering everything that's cleared the hold. The $25 minimum applies, and anything under it rolls over to the next month automatically, except in December, when the minimum is waived for whatever batch we approve that month.
Approved payouts are sent by hand, by PayPal, Venmo, or Zelle, to the handle on your application. We mark a payout as sent once the money is actually on its way.
We use a third-party service, Track1099 or Tax1099, to collect your W-9 and issue a 1099-NEC if your paid commission crosses $600 in a calendar year. Our own systems store only whether a W-9 is on file, nothing else about it.
You're responsible for reporting affiliate income correctly on your own taxes, the same as any independent contractor would be.
You can stop promoting at any time. Email hello@certain-step.com and we'll deactivate your code.
We can deactivate a code or decline future payouts for fraud, abuse, or a violation of these terms. Commission already earned and cleared the hold gets paid regardless.
We may update these terms. The version and date at the top identify which version you agreed to. A material change gets emailed to active affiliates before it takes effect.
Certain Step
Joshua Alexander Motes, sole proprietor
923 Cassia Dr, Davenport, FL 33897
hello@certain-step.com