Verification policy

Every decision is made against the four principles in our verification standard, which also lists what verification does not claim and the material reasons we would withhold it. This policy covers the process around that decision, not the criteria themselves.

A reviewer examines the available evidence — either through direct access to the course or through evidence from people who bought it — and records the outcome of each published check. The decision is made by a person. There is no score, no threshold and no algorithm that grants verification.

Where we cannot gather enough evidence to decide, the outcome is recorded as Unable to verify. That is a statement about our evidence, not a finding against the course, and we keep it separate from a withdrawal.

Every verification carries a date and a scheduled re-check. If the re-check date passes without a re-check, the status lapses and the course is removed from directory listings. A lapsed course can be re-checked and renewed.

We may re-check earlier than scheduled if a course or its public offer changes materially, or if we receive a substantiated report.

We withdraw verification when a re-check identifies a material issue — for example, advertised content that is no longer delivered, or marketing that starts claiming outcomes the course cannot support. The provider is told the reason.

A withdrawn record stays publicly available with the date and reason. We do not quietly delete verifications we have reversed: the public history is part of what makes the rest of the directory worth believing.

If you believe a verified course no longer meets the standard, or you are a provider who disagrees with a decision, email hello@trustmycourse.com with the course and what you have observed. We will look at the evidence and re-check where it is warranted. We do not act on unevidenced complaints, and we do not remove a verification because a competitor asked us to.

A provider may pay a fee for a review to be carried out. That fee buys the work, never the outcome — a course that does not meet the standard is not verified at any price. Courses selected during the founding period are not charged at all.

Featured placement is advertising. It can move a course into a clearly labelled section on a category page and does nothing else: it cannot change a verification decision, and a course cannot hold a featured placement unless it already holds current Verified status.

Approved courses receive the TrustMyCourse Verified mark under the usage rules. The mark must link to the course’s public profile, which always shows the current status — so the profile, not the image, is the source of truth.