For vendors
Get certified
Certification is open and vendor-neutral. Any vendor may build a way to pass the floor, and every vendor applies on the same terms, including the founders. Here is how the process works.
The process
- 1
Apply
Submit the deployment for assessment against the floor in force. Any vendor may apply on the same terms. The reference implementation is not privileged in grading.
- 2
Run the conformance suite
The deployment is tested against the open conformance method, including adversarial red-team probing across every domain of the floor.
- 3
Independent audit
An auditor independent of the vendor reviews the behavioral evidence and the evidence that the floor is enforced in code with a release gate, not only through prompt instructions.
- 4
Decision
The independent panel grants the mark when the deployment meets the floor, or returns findings when it does not. A denied applicant may appeal to a panel that did not make the original decision.
- 5
Listing and monitoring
A granted deployment is listed in the public registry at its certified version and is monitored continuously. A failure found in monitoring can lead to suspension or revocation.
Certification is per version
The floor is a property of the deployed system, not a one-time claim. A new certificate is required on each material change, and the registry always reflects the current certified version. This is why a badge resolves to a live registry entry rather than a static seal: when the product changes materially, its standing must be re-earned.
What is assessed
- Observable behavior under adversarial test, across all seven domains of the floor.
- Evidence the floor is enforced in code with a release gate, not only through prompt instructions.
- Auditability, with privacy-preserving logging sufficient to verify conformance.
Fees
Fee schedule
The body is funded by certification fees, grants, and a founding endowment, structured so that no single party's money buys control of a certification decision. A published fee schedule, with assessment and per-version recertification fees and any reduced rate for mission-aligned and youth-serving organizations, is on the schedule and will appear here.
Placeholder · fee schedule pending
Ready to apply?
The application intake is being stood up alongside the conformance suite. In the meantime, a vendor interested in assessment can reach the standards program through Handing Hope.
Application intake opening soon