“Was a human member of the team able to personally review the specific facts of my specific situation?”
Certification is for organisations and practitioners who can evidence that named humans personally reviewed the specific facts before decisions affected identified people. The ledger records certified adoption; it is not a substitute for actually doing the review.
Certification is granted based on evidence, not payment. Assessment, renewal, training, and support services may be fee-based, but payment does not confer certification and cannot convert a NULL or AMBIGUOUS finding into a SOVEREIGN finding.
The repository materials remain open under MIT terms so adoption, contribution, and innovation stay broad. Certification, training, and organisational support fund maintenance, enforcement, and standards integrity without closing the core.
If a decision has already affected you, you do not need certification. Start with the free Start Here guide or copy a template letter.
Ask the binary question, gather the name and facts, and classify the reply.
Open the Start Here guide →Integrate the Burgess check before any workflow acts on an identified person.
Read the integration contract →Use the tiers below only if your practice can evidence named individual review.
View certification tiers →Sole traders, advisers & community practitioners
AI platforms, law firms & claims groups
Companies, public bodies & platforms
Founding rate available until 31 July 2026.
Full institutional pricing from £25,000/year thereafter.
The Burgess Principle Limited administers certification separately from ordinary MIT reuse. Certification is granted, renewed, refused, suspended, or withdrawn against the published evidence standard, not the applicant's commercial value.
Any material commercial, personal, or partnership interest should be recorded before the certification decision. Where that interest could reasonably affect perceived neutrality, any tier must use an external verifier or defined advisory reviewer before the mark is granted or renewed. Tier 01 (institutional) certification must use external verification unless documented exceptional circumstances explain why a defined advisory reviewer is the only proportionate route. Exceptional circumstances should be limited to a narrow or time-limited scope, documented contact with at least two plausible external verifiers or a record of why fewer exist, and an advisory reviewer with relevant expertise and no material conflict.
2 August 2026. The Burgess Principle operationalises Articles 14 (human oversight), 26 (deployer obligations), and 86 (right to explanation). Certification before the deadline constitutes documented compliance evidence. Enterprise pricing available for organisations seeking pre-deadline institutional certification.