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Becoming a Member
Per IRS regulations, there are several types of Health Care merchants that are NOT required to have an IIAS system or 90% rule exemption. This includes doctor’s offices, chiropractors, dentists, medical labs, vision centers and others because the services they offer are strictly health care related. SIGIS services do not support dependent care FSA accounts, if you are a daycare provider, do NOT join SIGIS. These businesses only need to ensure they have the proper Merchant Category Code (MCC) assigned to their business and transmitted in the card authorization request. SIGIS membership will not assist these merchants. If one of these merchants is experiencing card declines on FSA/HRA cards, they should work with their acquirer to resolve. For more information on who should be a SIGIS member, please follow this link
Special Notes:
State Agencies that have specific contractual requirements may be eligible for our "Licensing Agreement". If after reviewing our membership agreement, you have contractual issues, please contact the SIGIS Help Desk to request information about our Licensing
Agreement. This option is only available for State Agencies.
It is easy to join SIGIS. There is an online Membership Application available. Review the information in the Online Instructions section to get the information that you’ll need when completing the online application. For information about the different types of Membership options, including the rights, responsibilities and fees, visit the Membership Tiers & Fees page. POS Vendors, Integrated Payment Providers, Gateways, Acquirers/Processors, Networks, Plan Administrators and Issuer Processors must at minimum join as a Tier 3 member, but have the option to choose Tiers 1-3.
IMPORTANT: IF YOU ARE A DOCTOR’S OFFICE, CHIROPRACTOR, DENTIST, VISION CENTER OR DAY CARE FACILITY, DO NOT JOIN SIGIS.
Companies interested in becoming a SIGIS Member are encouraged to review the SIGIS governance documents listed below. A brief description of each document is provided, as well as a link to download the document. Prospective members are strongly encouraged to have the legal counsel for your company/organization review these documents. In submitting a membership application using the automated process, your company/organization agrees to be bound by the terms in these documents.
Membership Documents
There are a number of important SIGIS governance documents for prospective SIGIS Members to review. These documents are highlighted below.
| Governance Document | Description of Document |
|---|---|
| Membership Agreement | The agreement that governs a Member’s participation in SIGIS, including rights and responsibilities of Members. During completion of the online Membership Application, the Member is asked to indicate their agreement with the terms of the SIGIS Membership Agreement. |
| Bylaws | The Bylaws of the Special Interest Group for IIAS Standards, Inc. |
| IPR Policy | This document that defines the intellectual property rights (IPR) policies of SIGIS that apply to all SIGIS services, programs and Members’ use of such services and programs. |
| License Exception Procedures | This document describes the procedures to be taken by the SIGIS Board when a Necessary Claims Notification has been submitted, as provided for in the SIGIS IPR Policy. |
| SIGIS Articles of Incorporation | The articles of incorporation filed when SIGIS was formed. |
| SIGIS Service Mark Usage Guidelines | The guidelines for use of the SIGIS service mark. |
| Certification Procedures | This document outlines the procedures for IIAS certification. |
| Certification Compliance Enforcement | This document described the procedures used by SIGIS when a potential compliance issue is reported. |
Related FAQs
SIGIS will notify Members when an amendment has been made to the Membership Agreement. Upon notification of an amendment, the notified Member has the following options.
- If the Member agrees with the amendment, no action is required. The Member does not need to send in a new signed copy of the Membership agreement.
- If the Member does not agree with the amendment, the Member must withdraw their Membership in SIGIS by the date specified in the amendment notice or be subject to the amendment.
To become a Member, please visit the SIGIS website:
- Click Join located on the SIGIS home page.
- Click "Online Membership Application"
Listed below are key sections to focus on when filling out the Online Membership Application:
Section 1
The Organization's legal Name must be entered as the Membership name. Please verify that the Organization's legal name is the Legal name that is on the company’s Federal Tax Identification documents.
Please note the Organization's legal name will NOT be displayed to the public as an IIAS certified or 90% Rule registered merchant, unless the merchant does business under the name of the Primary Organization name.
Example:
The legal name of a company is "John Doe, Inc". John Doe, Inc. does business as (DBAs):
- John's Pharmacy
- Doe's Drugs
The Organization's legal name in this example is John Doe, Inc. Upon IIAS Certification or 90% Rule Registration, the DBAs can be provided for listing on the SIGIS public website. For each Member contact that is entered on the form, it is important to note that a unique email address must be entered for each contact. The email address provided will serve as the Member's username for access to the SIGIS Member Area of the SIGIS public website, www.sig-is.org.
Section 6
In this section, select the option that best describes your type of business. Please note the descriptions to the left of the selection box. For example, if you own a Pharmacy, your type of business would be considered a "Merchant/Retailer". IMPORTANT: Do not apply if you are the following: Doctor’s offices, hospitals, dentists, medical labs, vision centers and others because the services they offer are strictly health care related.
Section 7
Here is a link further describing the benefits of each Membership Tier.
Membership Tier OverviewAll Tier Memberships are eligible for completion of SIGIS IIAS Certification or 90% Rule Registration.
A $25 Non-Sufficient Funds (NSF) fee will be charged for returned checks.
A $25 Payment Reprocessing fee will be charged for the reprocessing of payments.
When completing the SIGIS online Membership application, Tier IV Members must pay by credit card. Tier I to III Members can elect to pay the SIGIS Membership fee by credit card or check.
SIGIS accepts Visa, Master Card, American Express and Discover. There is currently no option to take credit card information over the phone. This information must be entered online when filling out the Membership Application. For dues renewal, please follow the instructions on the invoice for completing renewal.
When submitting payment by check, please follow the instructions on the invoice emailed to the new Member's primary contact. It is important that the invoice number be included on the check as well as a copy of the invoice with remittance. The check and copy of the invoice should be sent to:
SIGIS - Special Interest Group for IIAS Standards
111 Deerwood Rd. Ste. 200
San Ramon, CA 94583
A Legal entity may or may not do business under the name of its Primary Organization / Legal name. For purpose of SIGIS Certification and 90% Registration, a Legal Organization must provide its "doing business as" names of the stores to be certified or registered.
For example:
Morgan Pharmacy, Inc is the Legal Organization, and it does business under the following DBA(s):
- Mountain Pharmacy
- Ocean Pharmacy
- Tom's Drugs
- Mary's Pharmacy
Upon completion of SIGIS Certification or 90% Registration, the DBAs will be posted on the SIGIS public website.
When completing the SIGIS Membership Application, the Organization's legal name must be entered as the Membership name. Please verify that the Organization's legal name matches the legal name on Federal Tax Identification documents for your Corporation, LLC, Sub-Chapter S or Sole Proprietorship.
Please note the Organization's legal name will NOT be displayed to the public either as a 90% Rule merchant or SIGIS IIAS Certified merchant, unless the merchant does business under the Organization's legal name. Only the Legal Organization's “Doing Business As” (DBA) name(s) will be displayed on the IIAS Merchants List or 90% Rule Merchant List.
Example:
The Organization's legal name of a company is "John Doe, Inc.". The company John Doe, Inc. uses two trade names or “doing business as (DBA)” name:
- DBA - John's Pharmacy
- DBA - Doe's Drugs
DO NOT enter "John Doe, Inc., DBA John's Pharmacy" as your Organization's legal name.
The Organization's legal name in this example is John Doe, Inc. This company would list John's Pharmacy and Doe's Drugs as DBA(s) within the member’s portal once the initial online application is complete. Upon completion of Registration or Certification, the DBA(s) will be listed on the SIGIS public website.
If John Doe, Inc. also operates stores under John Doe, Inc., it would need to include John Doe, Inc. as a DBA. If a company has no DBA(s), then the Organization's legal name will be listed on the SIGIS public website, once SIGIS certified or 90% registered.
A Primary Organization may have majority ownership in an Affiliate company and may do business under one or more store trade names (DBAs) that differ from that of the Organization's legal name. A Primary Organization only requires one SIGIS Membership.
In the example below, only one SIGIS Membership is required for Morgan Pharmacy, Inc. which is the Primary Organization.
The Primary Organization is made up of two business entities Morgan Pharmacy, Inc. and an Affiliate company, John Doe, Inc. Each have their own Tax ID Number, however, since Medical Pharmacy, Inc. has more than a 50% ownership stake in John Doe, Inc., it is known as an Affiliate to Morgan Pharmacy, Inc. and is eligible to be a component of the Primary Organization Membership. Each of these business entities have two DBAs.
Merchants and Manufacturers that want basic membership access to add products to the Eligible Product List and/or to register under one of our programs as a 90% or IIAS certified merchant should join as a Tier IV member.
Due to the additional level of servicing required by certain industry categories: Third Party Processor-TPS (POS Vendor), Integrated Payment Provider, Payment Gateway, Acquirer/Processor, Network, Issuer/Processor and Plan Administrator are required to join as a Tier III member but may also choose Tier I to III.