Credential and Mark Use Terms

These terms apply to every firm and adviser that holds, displays or refers to a Trusted Firms credential, mark, score or review (“Holder”). They form part of the Certification Services Terms and of any Client Culture engagement under which a credential is issued, and they replace the Badge Usage Guidelines.

1. What a credential is

1.1 A credential is a time-limited certification that measured client feedback for the Holder met the published Trusted Firms standard for its tier on the date of issue. It records a verified result; it does not endorse the Holder or guarantee any outcome.

1.2 Each credential has a unique identifier, an issue date, an expiry date and a public verification page on trustedfirms.global. The verification page is the authoritative statement of the credential’s status at any time.

1.3 A credential belongs to the Holder named on it – the firm, or the individual adviser – and may not be transferred, shared with a related entity, or displayed by a successor firm without re-issue.

2. Displaying a mark

2.1 A mark may be displayed only while the credential is current. It must link to its verification page. Marks served by Trusted Firms – the badge image service and the Client Culture widgets – do this automatically and update or disappear as the credential’s status changes; they are the preferred method.

2.2 A static copy of a mark (an image file) may be used only where a served mark cannot be placed – print, email signatures, presentations, third-party directories – and must be reproduced as issued, unaltered, uncropped and in the issued colours, with the year visible, and accompanied by the verification page address or a link to it.

2.3 On expiry, withdrawal or lapse, the Holder removes every static copy from websites, email signatures, documents and materials within 14 days. Served marks are removed automatically.

2.4 A prior-year credential may be referred to only as history, clearly dated (for example “Trusted Firms certified 2025”), never in a way that suggests it is current. It must not be displayed as a current mark.

2.5 The Trusted Firms name and marks must not be combined with the Holder’s own logo or another organisation’s mark, used as part of a product or service name, or used to imply that Trusted Firms endorses, recommends or is affiliated with the Holder beyond the credential.

3. Quoting scores, counts and reviews

3.1 A score or response count quoted publicly must carry its date and its basis as shown on the verification page (for example “9.1 / 10, 5,128 verified client responses, as at September 2026”) and must refer to the verification page. Scores must not be rounded up, re-scaled or described using words the verification page does not use.

3.2 A client review may be published by the Holder only with the consent of the person who wrote it, given through the Client Culture consent workflow, in the form and with the attribution consented to, and exactly as written. A consent may be withdrawn at any time; on withdrawal the review is removed from served surfaces automatically and the Holder removes static copies within 14 days.

3.3 Reviews must not be edited, excerpted in a way that changes their meaning, or attributed to anyone other than their author. A factual correction (such as the spelling of a name) is made only with the author’s agreement and is recorded on the verification page.

3.4 The Holder must not select, solicit or present reviews in a way that misrepresents the balance of client feedback. Which consented reviews appear on the Holder’s own pages is curated through the platform; the complete verified record remains on trustedfirms.global.

4. Widgets and served marks

4.1 Widgets and badge images render only on domains the Holder has licensed. The Holder must not copy, modify, self-host, proxy or wrap the widget script or badge images, and must not cache them beyond the periods they declare.

4.2 The Holder must not alter what a widget displays through its own code, overlay or styling, or place a widget where its content would be misleading (for example beside claims it does not support).

5. Integrity

5.1 Certification outcomes are determined solely by the measured results and the published process standards. Fees have no bearing on them.

5.2 The Holder must not select or exclude respondents to influence a result, coach, pressure or incentivise responses, submit responses on a client’s behalf, or misrepresent its client population. The survey basis for a credential is the Holder’s complete invoiced client population for the period, as defined in the Certification Services Terms.

5.3 Trusted Firms may suspend or withdraw a credential, and require removal of marks, where it finds results have been manipulated or misrepresented, where a mark or review is used in breach of these terms, or where the Holder’s conduct would bring the certification into disrepute. The Holder may respond before withdrawal except where immediate action is needed to prevent public misrepresentation. Withdrawal is recorded on the verification page.

6. Consequences of misuse

6.1 Where a mark, score or review is used in breach of these terms, Trusted Firms may require correction or removal within 7 days, may publish a correction, may suspend the credential until corrected, and may decline renewal. Misleading use of a certification mark may also contravene consumer law, for which the Holder is responsible.

7. General

7.1 We may update these terms with 30 days’ notice to Holders by email and publication at trustedfirms.global/terms. A change does not shorten a current credential.

7.2 These terms are governed by the law of Victoria, Australia, unless the Certification Services Terms or an engagement letter specifies otherwise. Questions: contact@trustedfirms.global.