The CogNovaMX Accreditation Programme accredits practitioners to issue MX Compliance Claims and award the MX Compatible badge to deliverables. Three tiers; admission is by application and audit; the indicative pricing below anchors the conversation. The programme runs the open MX standard governed by The Gathering and is the only accrediting body operated by CogNovaMX. Other accrediting bodies may exist for the same standard; this is by design.
This page is the public face of the programme as it moves through Stage 0 (standard ratification and internal training) into Stage 1 (Tier 1 admissions). If you want to be in the first cohort, join the waitlist below; we will contact you when applications open for your tier and predicate vocabulary.
What an accreditation buys you
A current accreditation gives you four things that a non-accredited practitioner does not have. First, the right to issue third-party MX Compliance Claims about external clients' artefacts within the predicate vocabularies you are accredited for. Second, the right to award and display the MX Compatible badge on those deliverables. Third, an accreditation reference URL hosted on REGINALD, signed by CogNovaMX, that consumers and regulators can resolve to verify your current status (active, suspended, revoked). Fourth, the listing in the public Certified Operator directory, which clients and procurement teams use to find a credible practitioner in their domain.
An accreditation is scoped to one or more named predicate vocabularies. Accreditation for WCAG 2.2 does not extend to EU AI Act Article 13 transparency obligations; each vocabulary is a separate extension applied for through the same process. The seed-phase vocabularies are WCAG 2.2 (now) and EU AI Act Article 13 (target Stage 3).
The three tiers
Each tier is a competence statement about you, not a property of any individual claim. Renewal is annual subject to the audit obligations.
Tier 1: Approved Operator
For in-house compliance teams who want a verifiable identity recognised by the programme without taking on third-party scope. Issues self claims about your organisation's own published artefacts at any conformance level the standard allows. Admission requires documented controls, methodology evidence, and a worked example claim against your own work.
Tier 2: Certified Operator
For consultancies and agencies that issue claims on behalf of external clients. Issues third-party claims within named predicate vocabularies. Admission requires demonstrated operational independence from each subject's publisher, a methodology aligned with the relevant external standard, signing-key custody discipline, and three real sample claims reviewed by the CogNovaMX audit team.
Tier 3: Audit-Grade Operator
For audit firms and compliance practices whose claims are read by regulators, judges, or oversight committees. Adds rigorous methodology audit, independent peer review of issued claims, professional indemnity insurance (minimum £2M), named-individual signing authorities, and an annual five-percent sample audit of claims issued. Suitable for regulated-sector compliance work.
Indicative pricing for the seed phase
Fees fund the audit programme, the registry infrastructure, and programme governance. The schedule below is indicative for the seed phase; the published commercial schedule is the authoritative document and supersedes this table at admission time. Agency partners operating Tier 2 with multiple vocabularies negotiate volume discount structures.
| Element | Tier 1 Approved | Tier 2 Certified | Tier 3 Audit-Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| Application fee (per vocabulary) | £750 | £3,500 | £12,000 |
| Annual maintenance (per vocabulary) | £500 | £2,500 | £8,500 |
| Per-claim issuance fee | £0.50 | £2.50 | £8.00 |
| Triggered audit (cost recovery) | At cost | At cost | At cost |
How admission works
Admission is by application followed by audit, not by course or exam. We do not run training and we do not certify on the basis of a written test. You arrive with a methodology already in working order; we audit it. The route is the same at every tier; the bar moves with the tier.
- Application. You submit a methodology document, signing-key custody arrangements, evidence of operational independence (Tier 2 and above), and three sample claims. Application fee payable on submission.
- Audit. The CogNovaMX audit team reviews the methodology against the predicate vocabulary's requirements, checks the sample claims against the standard's lookup surfaces, and verifies the responsible-person identifier chain end-to-end.
- Determination. Accreditation granted, granted with conditions, or refused with reasons. If granted, your accreditation reference URL is published on REGINALD and your entry appears in the public Certified Operator directory.
- Maintenance. Annual fee, annual sample audit (five percent at Tier 3, lower percentages at Tiers 1-2), and surveillance of issued claims. Suspension or revocation procedures apply if the audit programme identifies material non-conformance.
Join the waitlist
Stage 1 admissions open shortly. If you want to be considered in the first cohort, leave your details below and tell us which tier and which predicate vocabulary you are aiming at. We will contact you when applications open for your scope.
How this relates to The Gathering
The Gathering is the standards body that governs the open MX standard the programme runs on. The Gathering has no products, no commercial interests, and no role in admitting or revoking accreditations. This programme is a CogNovaMX product, not a Gathering product. Where the standard changes through Gathering ratification, the programme updates to match, never the other way around.
If you want to commission machine-readable PDFs, websites, or print materials rather than accredit yourself to produce them, the route is MX for PDFs and the MX PrintWorks contact channel.