Conformance is earned, not issued.
How an implementation earns OCSS Certified. The mark comes from the standard and its conformance suite — never issued by any one vendor, and never self-stamped.
Four tiers, one mark.
Canonical tier definitions live on /partner-tiers. Below is the conformance view on the same ladder.
Tier 0 — Implementer
Public registry listing. Self-attested conformance. Mark reads “Implementer”.
Must demonstrate
Submit a self-attestation form mapping each shipped capability to your implementation.
Tier 1 — Certified
Independently audited. Mark reads “Certified”. Listed in the public certified registry.
Must demonstrate
Pass the OCSS conformance suite under audit by an approved third-party assessor.
Tier 2 — Working Group Member
Everything in Tier 1, plus seat in the working group of your choice and RFC sponsorship rights.
Must demonstrate
Tier 1 conformance plus active participation in quarterly working-group reviews.
Tier 3 — Steering Committee
Everything in Tier 2, plus eligibility for the Adopter Council and co-stewardship of major version planning.
Must demonstrate
Tier 1 conformance plus Adopter Council eligibility once seats open.
In active drafting.
The OCSS conformance suite (Draft 4 · pre-release) is in active drafting. Test count and download link landing Q3 2026. Want early access? [email protected].
Nine capability areas.
Every implementation is tested against the rule list of each capability it claims to ship.
Charter
Cross-cutting
The open child-safety specification (OCSS v1.0).
Age
10 rules
Reads age signals across OS, app, and household.
Tier
22 rules
Tier gating across content, AI, and privacy.
Consent
14 rules
Verifiable parental consent and access boundaries.
Block
24 rules
Hard blocks for prohibited content and apps.
Alert
14 rules
Parent-facing notifications, reports, and alerts.
Privacy
13 rules
Data minimization, retention, and deletion rights.
Audit
12 rules
Algorithmic transparency, audit, and dark-pattern interventions.
Receipt
8 rules
Cryptographically signed events and regulatory reporting.
Two paths. Same spec. Different mark.
Self-attestation
- Free.
- Listed in the public registry.
- No third-party verification.
- Mark reads “Implementer”.
Verified
- Audited by an independent assessor.
- Listed in the verified registry.
- Approved auditor list TBD before ratification.
- Mark reads “Certified”.
Conformance is earned, not issued.
The mark comes from the standard and its conformance suite. Implement the layers you ship, self-attest, and upgrade to audited Certified when you're ready.