Trust marks the public can verify.
The Trustworthy AI Initiative™ issues six public trust marks — for systems, organizations, leaders, and partners — against the Ethos Trust Standard. Every mark is earned, publicly listed, and independently verifiable. Every mark can be suspended if standing lapses.
How our marks work
- Every mark is earned against a public, versioned standard.
- Every issuance is publicly listed and independently verifiable.
- Every renewal requires fresh evidence, not a signature.
- Every mark can be suspended or revoked in public if standing lapses.
The six trust marks
Ordered from baseline verification to exemplar recognition. Each mark has published criteria, an assessment process, and a renewal cycle.
Trustworthy AI Certified™
The flagship system-level trust mark.
The Initiative's flagship certification for individual AI systems that demonstrate full conformance with the Ethos Trust Standard — across transparency, accountability, human oversight, and evidence of intended use.
View criteria & process →
Verified AI System™
Baseline verification for disclosed systems.
A baseline verification confirming that a system has been publicly registered, self-attested against the Ethos Trust Standard, and reviewed for disclosure completeness. The entry point to the certification ladder.
View criteria & process →
Certified Responsible AI Organization™
Enterprise-wide governance certification.
An organization-level certification demonstrating that responsible-AI governance is embedded across policy, people, and process — not just a single product.
View criteria & process →
AI Governance Excellence™
Recognition for mature, exemplar programs.
A recognition tier reserved for organizations whose AI governance programs demonstrably exceed the Standard and set a public benchmark others can learn from.
View criteria & process →
Public Trust Leader™
Individual recognition for accountable leadership.
An individual designation for executives, agency heads, and directors who personally champion trustworthy-AI practice inside their institutions and in the public arena.
View criteria & process →
Certified Transparency Partner™
For platforms, auditors, and tooling that advance transparency.
A designation for consultancies, audit firms, tooling vendors, journalists, and researchers whose work materially advances public transparency in AI — verified against the Initiative's Partner Code of Practice.
View criteria & process →
Verification workflow
A single, transparent path applies to every mark, scaled to the depth of the review.
- Step 1Apply
Select a mark, complete the intake, and submit initial evidence.
- Step 2Review
Initiative reviewers evaluate evidence against the published criteria.
- Step 3Panel
Independent panel confirms findings; remediation window if needed.
- Step 4Issue
Digital seal, certificate ID, and public registry listing published.
- Step 5Renew
Scheduled re-review keeps the mark current. Lapsed marks are removed publicly.
Display your trust mark publicly
Every certified entity receives a digital seal, a unique certificate ID, and a permanent public listing at /certification/verified. Seals link back to the live registry entry — so anyone can confirm the mark is current in a single click.
- Web badge (SVG + HTML embed)
- Print-ready certificate (PDF)
- Verifiable certificate ID and public registry link
- Usage guidelines and mark-protection policy
Ready to earn a public trust mark?
Certification inquiries route to the Initiative's certification team.