Standard for Credential Status Definitions

Scope

Applies to every credential, licence and accreditation record in the registry.

Requirements

A record’s status must be one of: valid, expired, suspended, revoked, or unrecognised, as defined on the status definitions page. A status change requires a dated source that supports the new status; the record’s last-verified date is updated whenever its status is reassessed, whether or not the status itself changes.

Status is never inferred from the passage of time alone where an explicit source exists — for example, a licence with a stated expiry date is marked expired only once that date has passed and no renewal record has been received, not before.

Methodology

Status assessments draw on the source references cited on the record itself. Where a source conflicts with a previously recorded status, the more recent, better-corroborated source takes precedence and both are retained in the record’s source references for transparency.

Governance

The definitions in this standard may not be altered without a consultation period, given their direct effect on how relying parties interpret every record in the registry.