A mark you can't just buy.
Certification tells a dealer which vendors actually conform, and at what level. It is a test result anyone can reproduce, not a logo that comes with a membership.
The mark is granted per conformance level and pinned to a spec version, so “Certified against v0.1” means something exact. It is backed by a signed report showing which tools were probed, what passed, and what failed.
Running the suite is free and always will be. Certification is a result, and results are not for sale.
Measured, not asserted.
A conformance run connects to your live server exactly as an agent would. It reads the profile you advertise, calls the tools you expose, and validates every response against the same published JSON schemas everyone else is tested against.
The output is a signed report: what was probed, what passed, what failed and why, the spec version tested against, and a timestamp. Publish it and anyone can run the same tool against the same server and get the same answer.
That is how “do you support MCP?” gets a credible answer instead of a marketing claim.
DMS providers
Prove your agent-facing surface conforms across the domains you expose.
CRM platforms
Show dealers your lead and customer tools are interchangeable and safe.
Website platforms
Certify inventory and lead capture against the standard.
AI-agent vendors
Signal that your agent targets the spec, and which version.
Two levels of assurance.
Self-attested
You run the suite against your own server and publish the signed report. Fast, and anyone can re-run the same tool against the same server to check you.
Independently tested
The council or an approved assessor runs the identical suite against your server directly. Same tests, same schemas. The only difference is who ran it.
What the mark actually claims.
That as of a given date, a named product was tested against a named spec version, for the domains it lists, at a declared conformance level, and the result is recorded publicly in the Directory.
It does not claim the product complies with any law. It says the named tool and resource surface matches the published schemas and naming rules. Given that F&I and consent data carry real regulatory weight, that limit is deliberate and worth stating plainly.
A listing must also prove it controls its own domain before the mark appears, so nobody can certify a product they do not own.
Where the program stands.
- Built
The conformance suite runs
A test suite and a reference server exist and work today. Conformance is measured, not asserted.
- Now
Founding cohort certifies first
Founding vendors run the suite against their servers and get the first marks, with the tooling published alongside.
- Next
Independent testing opens
The council and approved assessors run the identical suite for vendors who want the higher tier.
Founding vendors certify first and help set the criteria and the assessor model.
Certify first.
Founding vendors run the suite before anyone else, get the first marks against v1, and help decide what the criteria are. Dealers join free and get a directory that finally means something.