1. Scope and Acceptance

These Terms & Conditions (“Terms”) apply to the FRA Awards website, the FRA Awards 2026 entry cycle, related communications and any optional winner services or products. “FRA Awards”, “we”, “us” and “our” refer to the operator of the FRA Awards programme. “Entrant”, “you” and “your” refer to the person or organisation using the website or submitting an entry.

By accessing the website, submitting an entry, making a payment or confirming the submission consent, you agree to these Terms, the Entry Guidelines and the Privacy Policy. If you submit on behalf of an organisation or team, you confirm that you have authority to bind that organisation or team.

If a mandatory law gives you rights that cannot be excluded or limited, those rights take priority over any conflicting provision in these Terms.

2. Eligibility and Authority

• Entries are accepted from eligible independent practitioners, studios, firms, brands, manufacturers and multidisciplinary teams worldwide.
• You must be at least 18 years old or have the authority of a legally responsible organisation to enter and make payment.
• You must be the creator, rights holder or authorised representative of the submitted work.
• You are responsible for securing permission from clients, employers, collaborators, photographers and other rights holders.
• Completed, in-progress, conceptual and prototype work may be submitted when its status is represented accurately. No completion year is required for the 2026 entry cycle.

3. Entries and Submission Requirements

Entries must be submitted through the official online form, in English, and must comply with the current Entry Guidelines. Each submission must include accurate applicant details, a project title, one primary category, a design concept, one cover image, 8–12 gallery images and the required consent.

• One fee covers one project in one category.
• A project entered in additional categories requires a separate submission and fee for each category.
• You are responsible for reviewing information and files before final submission.
• Receipt of an automated message or payment confirmation does not waive eligibility or compliance requirements.
• We may request clarification, corrected credits or additional material where reasonably necessary.

FRA Awards is not responsible for failed, incomplete, corrupted, late or misdirected uploads caused by an entrant’s device, connection, file or third-party service. If you encounter a technical problem, contact us promptly through the official award communication channel.

4. Entry Fees, Payment and Taxes

• The applicable entry fee is determined by the date the complete submission and payment are received.
• Fees are stated in euros. Your bank or payment provider may apply conversion or transaction charges.
• Payments may be processed by PayPal or another identified payment provider under that provider’s own terms and privacy notice.
• Any VAT, duties, taxes or delivery charges stated as additional are the entrant’s or purchaser’s responsibility unless mandatory law provides otherwise.
• Payment confirms processing of an entry; it does not guarantee selection, recognition or an award.

5. Withdrawal, Cancellation and Refunds

Because entry administration begins after submission and payment, entry fees are generally non-refundable once an entry has been processed. We may provide a refund for a verified duplicate payment, a confirmed technical charging error, cancellation of the relevant entry cycle by FRA Awards, or where required by applicable law.

Mandatory consumer rights are not excluded. If applicable law gives you a cancellation or withdrawal right, contact FRA Awards promptly. Where you specifically request or permit services to begin during a statutory withdrawal period, you may be responsible for the reasonable value of services already provided, to the extent permitted by law.

You may request withdrawal of an entry through the official award communication channel. Withdrawal does not automatically create a right to a refund. If an optional trophy order is accepted, cancellation, delivery and statutory rights will be handled in accordance with the information supplied at the time of order and applicable law.

6. Evaluation and Results

Entries are evaluated on the quality of the submitted work, including: originality; function and experience; response to context and responsibility; and execution and communication. Evaluation is comparative and involves professional judgement.

• FRA Awards may move or recommend moving an entry to a more appropriate category after reasonable review.
• We may decide not to grant every level of recognition in every category.
• Results and announcement timing will be communicated through official FRA Awards channels after the final entry deadline.
• Award decisions are final, subject only to correction of an administrative error or confirmed breach of these Terms.
• Individual scores, rankings, deliberations or reviewer comments are not guaranteed and may remain confidential.

7. Awards, Recognition and Optional Trophy

Eligible entries may receive one of three levels of recognition: Design of the Year, FRA Winner or Honourable Mention. FRA Awards may publish digital award materials and include awarded projects in its official winner archive and communications.

The physical winner’s trophy is optional and may be purchased only by an awarded entrant for €350. VAT and shipping are additional where applicable. Purchasing or declining a trophy has no effect on results, award status or digital recognition.

Entrants must review names, project credits and delivery details promptly when requested. FRA Awards is not responsible for errors or delivery problems caused by inaccurate information supplied by the entrant. The trophy’s appearance, packaging or minor production details may change where reasonably necessary, without reducing its essential character.

8. Intellectual Property, Credits and Publicity

Copyright and ownership of submitted work remain with the entrant and relevant rights holders. By submitting an entry, you grant FRA Awards a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to store, reproduce and display the submitted materials internally for administration, verification and evaluation.

If a project is awarded, you grant FRA Awards a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to reproduce, crop, resize, format, translate and display the submitted project title, statement, credits and images for award announcements, websites, social media, press material, exhibitions, publications, promotional activity and the permanent winner archive. We will make reasonable efforts to preserve accurate creator and image credits.

You confirm that the submission and permitted uses do not infringe copyright, trademark, privacy, confidentiality, moral rights or other third-party rights. If you become aware of a rights or credit issue, notify FRA Awards promptly so that it can be reviewed.

Do not submit confidential, restricted or commercially sensitive information that cannot be reviewed or, if awarded, published. FRA Awards does not accept a duty of confidentiality unless separately agreed in writing.

9. Acceptable Conduct and Disqualification

You must not:

• misuse the website;
• interfere with its operation;
• attempt unauthorised access;
• upload malicious material;
• impersonate another person or organisation;
• manipulate the entry process; or
• submit unlawful, discriminatory, deceptive or infringing content.

FRA Awards may reject, suspend or disqualify an entry where it is incomplete, unpaid, misleading, copied, submitted without authority, technically unsafe, inconsistent with the selected category, harmful to the integrity of the awards, or otherwise in breach of these Terms. Where practical, we will ask for clarification first, but we may act immediately where necessary.

If a serious breach is discovered after an award, FRA Awards may withdraw the recognition, remove public listings and cancel related benefits. These actions do not limit any rights or remedies available under applicable law.

10. Website Content and Availability

FRA Awards owns or is authorised to use the website’s branding, layout, text and administrative materials. You may access the website for lawful personal or professional use related to the awards. You may not copy, resell, scrape, republish or exploit website content except with permission or where allowed by law.

We aim to keep the website and submission process available and accurate, but uninterrupted access is not guaranteed. Maintenance, security incidents, third-party outages or events outside reasonable control may affect availability. We may make reasonable changes to improve security, performance or functionality.

11. Disclaimers and Limitation of Liability

The website and award services are provided with reasonable care, but outcomes depend on professional evaluation and the materials submitted. FRA Awards does not promise that an entry will be selected, that publicity will produce commercial results, or that the website will always be error-free.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, FRA Awards will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special or consequential loss, loss of profit, loss of opportunity, loss of goodwill, or loss caused by circumstances outside its reasonable control. Where liability cannot be excluded, FRA Awards’ aggregate liability arising from an entry will not exceed the entry fees actually paid for that entry, except where a higher amount is required by mandatory law.

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability for fraud, wilful misconduct, death or personal injury caused by negligence, or any consumer or statutory right that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited.

12. Privacy and Third-Party Services

Personal information is handled in accordance with the FRA Awards Privacy Policy. The website may use third-party hosting, forms, email, security, storage and payment services. Those providers may process information under their own terms and privacy notices.

Links to third-party websites are provided for convenience. FRA Awards does not control and is not responsible for third-party content, availability, security or privacy practices.

13. Changes to Dates, Services or the Award Cycle

FRA Awards may make reasonable changes to categories, dates, procedures, communications or services where necessary for administration, security, legal compliance or circumstances outside reasonable control. Material changes will be communicated through appropriate official channels.

If FRA Awards cancels an entry cycle without providing the relevant entry service, affected entrants will be offered an appropriate remedy, which may include a refund or transfer, subject to mandatory law. FRA Awards is not responsible for delay or non-performance caused by events beyond reasonable control, including major technical failures, natural events, public emergencies, industrial action or government measures.

14. General Terms

Governing Rules and Disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws applicable to the operator and transaction, without removing any mandatory protection available to you. Before beginning formal proceedings, the parties should attempt to resolve a dispute in good faith through the official FRA Awards communication channel. The competent court or authority will be determined under applicable law. Consumers retain any mandatory right to bring proceedings in their place of residence.

Severability and Waiver

If a provision is held invalid or unenforceable, it will be interpreted or limited to the minimum extent necessary, and the remaining provisions will continue to apply. A failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver of the right to enforce it later.

Entire Agreement and Priority

These Terms, the Entry Guidelines, Privacy Policy and specific information shown during submission or trophy ordering form the agreement relating to the service. If there is a conflict, mandatory law takes priority, followed by specific written information presented at the point of purchase, then these Terms and the Entry Guidelines.

Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms prospectively to reflect changes in the award programme, technology or law. The current version will be published on this page with its revision date. Unless required by law, a material change will not retroactively reduce rights relating to an entry already paid for.

Contact

For questions about these Terms, an entry, payment or a withdrawal request, contact FRA Awards through the contact details included in your award correspondence or the official communication channel by which you contacted us. Include sufficient information to identify the relevant entry or transaction.