Company Charter

1. Purpose

1Cert.org operates the global trust registry and provides know-your-customer (KYC) and due diligence services. The registry publishes and verifies credentials across industries and jurisdictions. The KYC and due diligence service verifies and assesses the entities that organisations need to check before they do business. Both are governed by this charter and one institutional standard.

2. Mission and Vision

Vision. To be the global standard for verification.

Mission. To empower global trust and transparency through verified credentials and reliable due diligence.

1Cert.org pursues this mission through two functions operating under one institutional framework: a global trust registry, and a KYC and due diligence service.

3. Positioning and Standing

1Cert.org is a neutral, single point of reference for verification and due diligence. Its standing rests on published governance, a traceable chain of accreditation and recognition, a direct reference role for relying parties, and neutrality in every outcome it verifies or assesses.

1Cert.org is not a government agency, a regulator, a statutory body, a court, or a law-enforcement authority. It is not the issuer of every credential that appears in the registry, and it does not issue the underlying professional, legal or regulatory credentials granted by other authorities. No external endorsement, accreditation or statutory standing is implied unless the applicable relationship is expressly identified and supported by a recorded instrument.

4. Scope of Activities

1Cert.org provides two distinct services:

• Trust Registry. The permanent record of entities and the credentials they hold, including 1Cert Identifiers, entity records, credential records, status confirmation and recorded recognition chains.
• KYC and Due Diligence. Independent identity verification, screening, ownership analysis, enhanced due diligence, relationship mapping and ongoing monitoring, commissioned separately or combined and scaled to assessed risk.

5. Data and Methodology Standards

Registry publication and due diligence work are conducted in accordance with the standards published in the standards catalogue, including the Standard for Registry Record Publication, the Standard for Credential Status Definitions, and the Standard for Recognition Chain Disclosure. Standards are developed and reviewed through the process described on the standards development process page.

6. Boundaries

A verification result confirms status against a recorded source. It does not guarantee the future conduct of the entity. A due diligence result reports assessed risk, not guilt. In both cases, the relying party remains responsible for its own compliance and acceptance decision.

1Cert.org does not represent itself as accredited, certified or approved by any external standards body unless documentary evidence of that relationship is published alongside the claim.

7. Operating Principles

1Cert.org's work is governed by six operating principles, set out in full on the operating principles page:

• Neutrality. 1Cert.org serves all parties without favour.
• Accuracy. Accuracy is not subordinated to speed or reach.
• Corroboration. Conclusions rest on corroborated evidence.
• Defensibility. Outputs are prepared for reliance by compliance, audit and legal functions.
• Proportionality. The depth of due diligence is matched to assessed risk.
• Fair processing. Personal data is processed lawfully, minimised, secured and subject to correction.

8. Governance

The Board of Directors is accountable for registry integrity, methodology, recognition decisions and adherence to this charter. Standards and Integrity maintains recognition criteria, due diligence standards and data-source governance independently of commercial functions. The Recognition Committee assesses and records recognised bodies and issuers. Operating Leadership is responsible for delivery, coverage, data quality, security and operations. See governance.

9. Data, Security and Compliance

Information handled in the course of registry and due diligence work is subject to the practices set out on the data and security page and the privacy notice. Sensitive case material is not accepted through unsecured public channels.

10. Amendment

This charter may be amended by the Board. No amendment may diminish the principles of neutrality, accuracy, corroboration and defensibility. The charter takes effect on adoption by the Board.