What our verification levels actually mean

Every directory has badges. Most of them mean nothing in particular, which is why people have stopped reading them. This post is about what ours mean, including the parts that are not flattering.

The definitive list is on how verification works, and it is generated from the same records the badges use, so it cannot drift. What follows is how to read it.

A badge describes one day

Our representative visited. On that day they confirmed something specific — that the number rings and a real business answered it, that there is signage at the address they gave, that a registration certificate exists and was in date.

That is the whole claim. It is not monitoring. Nobody is watching the business between visits. A place that was spotless in March can be careless in September, and the badge will not know until someone goes back.

Some checks carry an expiry. Where a document has a validity period, the listing drops a level on its own when the date passes — no human has to notice. That is deliberate: a badge that quietly goes stale is worse than no badge.

The levels are cumulative, and most listings sit low

Each level includes the ones below it. A listing at the second level has passed the first as well.

Most listings on this site carry no badge at all, and that is the honest state of things. A listing with no badge has still been entered by a representative who stood in the doorway, recorded the details from the person and took the photographs you see. It has not had a further check. We would rather show you that than invent a tier so that everything looks verified.

This also means you should not read an unbadged listing as suspect. It usually means nobody has been back yet.

What the checks are made of

Every check is evidenced in one of three ways, and the page says which for each one.

A note is the representative writing down what they confirmed — that they rang the number and spoke to the owner, say.

A photograph is taken at the address on the day. Premises, signage, a reception, treatment rooms. Photographs on this site are taken by our people, not supplied by the business, and every image is re-encoded on upload so that all metadata — including the GPS coordinates a phone writes into a photo — is stripped out. These pictures are taken in people's homes and workplaces; a location tag left in the file would say where someone lives.

Seen in person is the one people misread. It means the representative looked at a document, checked the name and the date, and handed it back. We do not collect it, photograph it, scan it or store it. There is no folder of Aadhaar cards anywhere in this company, and there never will be. We record that a document of a particular type was seen, and when it was issued. Anyone claiming to be us and asking you to send a copy of a document is not us.

What a badge does not tell you

It does not tell you the work will be good. It does not tell you the price you are quoted is the price on the listing. It does not tell you the person who arrives is the person who was checked, which is why we suggest asking to see identification at your door — see what to check before you hire.

It also says nothing about anyone's character. A registration certificate is a fact about paperwork.

Why we bother

Because the alternative is a directory where every listing claims everything and none of it is checkable. A badge that means one narrow, boring, verifiable thing is more use than a gold star.

If you think a badge on this site is wrong — the business has moved, the signage is gone, the number is dead — report the listing. That report reaches a person, and the level comes down while we look.