You cannot apply for the Podiatrist Tested seal, and you cannot pay for a test. You can send us a shoe. If we test it, the result is published whether it scores 9 or 4, the review says at the top that the pair came from you, and nothing you do after that changes the number. If those terms work for you, this page tells you what to send and what happens next.
What we will and will not do
- Test a shoe you send exactly as we test one we bought: calipers, scale, three stability checks, logged miles on real surfaces, nine scores.
- Publish the result, including the scorecard and the two or more kinds of feet the shoe is wrong for.
- State at the top of the review that the pair was provided by the brand.
- List the shoe in the public registry if it earns the seal, and in the “tested — did not earn” list if it does not.
- Correct any factual error you point out, on the page, with a dated note.
- Accept payment for a test, a score, a ranking, a placement or the seal. Not in any form, not at any price.
- Show you the review before it publishes, or let you edit it.
- Guarantee that a shoe you send will be tested, or when.
- Remove or soften a published score at a brand’s request.
- Treat a sent pair as anything other than a test pair. It is worn for at least 50 miles or 14 days, kept for any re-test, and then donated — or returned worn, if you ask for that when you send it.
What to send
One pair in a men’s US 10, standard width, which is the size every measurement on this site is taken at, so that your shoe’s numbers are comparable with every other shoe in the dataset. If the model is sold in widths, say which width you sent; if you can, send the width you expect most buyers to choose. Include the exact model name and the model year or version, because the seal, if earned, is awarded to that version only. A spec sheet with the manufacturer’s own stack, drop and weight figures is welcome; we publish manufacturer figures labelled as the manufacturer’s, next to ours.
Do not send: samples that differ from the retail product, pre-production units, shoes outside the size above, or anything with a request attached to it. A pair with conditions is returned unopened.
What happens next
Testing capacity is limited because one surgeon does all of it, so pairs go into a queue and we do not promise a date. Shoes that answer a question our readers are already asking — a widely searched model, a category where nothing tested well, a shoe that claims something specific about the foot — go first. When the review publishes you will find out the same way everyone else does. If the shoe earns the seal, you receive the badge kit and the usage terms, which let you display it free of charge as long as it links to the verification page.
Why the terms are this strict
Because the only thing that makes the seal worth putting on a box is that it cannot be arranged. The Independence page makes a permanent commitment that no money will ever pass from a footwear brand to this publication, and invites readers to check it. A brand that wants the seal to mean something when it earns it should want the terms on this page to be exactly this unfriendly.
Tell us what you are sending
Use the form below with the model, version or model year, the width, and where the shoe is sold. We reply with a shipping address. Please do not send product before you hear back.
Podiatrist Tested is an independent publication of Foot & Ankle Web Services LLC. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or accredited by the American Podiatric Medical Association or any other professional body. Product received for testing is disclosed on every review where it applies, in line with the FTC’s endorsement guides.