BuildBLK — Verification Policy

Effective Date: [DATE]

Public page. Written to be read by business owners and by the public.

What "BuildBLK Verified" means

When you see the BuildBLK Verified badge on a listing, it means:

✅ A real person connected to that business claimed the listing and confirmed their identity and their control of the business's email or phone.

✅ That person formally represented to us, in a binding agreement, that the business is at least 51% owned, operated, and controlled by one or more individuals who identify as Black or African American.

✅ We checked that the business appears to be actively operating — a working phone or website, a valid address, or a confirmed operating presence.

✅ We recorded that representation, with a date and an accountable person behind it.

✅ The designation has been renewed within the last twelve months.

What it does not mean

We want to be equally clear about this, because overstating a badge is how directories lose the community's trust.

❌ It is not a certification. BuildBLK is not a certifying body. This is not an MBE certification, not an NMSDC or USBC certification, not a state or federal supplier-diversity certification, and it may not be presented as one or substituted for one.

❌ It is not an audit. We do not examine corporate books, cap tables, tax returns, or operating agreements as a matter of course.

❌ It is not an endorsement. We do not vouch for the quality, safety, pricing, legality, or reliability of any business, its goods, or its services.

❌ It is not a guarantee of accuracy. Hours change, businesses move, and phones get disconnected. Confirm details directly with the business.

❌ It does not survive a change in ownership. If a business is sold, the designation ends.

In one sentence: the badge means a business told us who owns it, we checked they are who they say they are and that they are really operating, and we wrote it down. Nothing more.

Verification tiers

We use three tiers. The badge displayed on the listing states which tier applies, so nobody has to guess.

Tier 1 — Self-Attested

The business claimed its listing, confirmed control of the business email or phone, and signed the ownership representation.

Checked: claimant identity, control of business contact channel, signed representation, business appears operating.

Not checked: ownership documents.

Badge: BuildBLK Verified

Tier 2 — Document-Reviewed

Everything in Tier 1, plus a staff member reviewed at least one supporting document.

Documents we accept (any one):

Business license or fictitious business name filing showing the owner's name
Articles of incorporation, operating agreement, or partnership agreement showing ownership percentages
A current MBE/DBE/SB certificate from a recognized certifying body
Chamber of commerce membership records identifying ownership
Business tax return first page showing ownership (financial figures may be redacted)

What we do with the document: a trained reviewer confirms the name on the document matches the claimant and the ownership share meets the 51% threshold. We record the document type, the reviewer, the date, and the outcome. We do not retain the document itself unless the business asks us to keep it on file to simplify renewal.

Badge: BuildBLK Verified — Documented

Tier 3 — Partner-Confirmed

The business's ownership status was confirmed by a partner organization we have a written agreement with — a chamber of commerce, a certifying body, or a municipal program.

Badge: BuildBLK Verified — [Partner Name]

What we never ask for

To protect both you and us, we will never ask for:

A photograph of any person for the purpose of assessing race or appearance
Genetic, ancestry, or biometric information
A Social Security number
Bank account or financial account credentials
Financial figures from a tax return (redact them)

Racial identity is self-identified. We record what the business owner tells us about how they identify. We do not, cannot, and will not attempt to adjudicate anyone's racial identity, and we do not ask anyone to prove it. Where a document is reviewed, it is reviewed to confirm ownership share and identity, never to assess race.

Renewal

Designations expire twelve (12) months after they are granted.

Sixty, thirty, and seven days before expiration, we email the business. Renewal takes a few minutes: confirm the listing details are still accurate, and re-affirm the ownership representation.

If a designation lapses, the badge is removed from the listing and the listing stays up as unclaimed-but-listed. The business can renew at any time and the badge returns.

Physical badge materials — window decals and signage — carry the year of issue. When a designation lapses or is revoked, the business must remove them from public display within thirty (30) days.

Freshness checks between renewals

Renewal alone is not enough to keep a directory accurate, so between renewals we also:

Automatically check that listed websites and phone numbers still resolve
Flag listings with no owner activity in 6 months for a check-in
Let anyone report a listing as closed, moved, or inaccurate via the Report control
Cross-check hours and status against public sources where permitted by those sources' terms
Show a visible "Information last confirmed [date]" stamp on every listing, so users can judge for themselves

Challenging a designation

Anyone may challenge a business's Verified designation. You do not need to be a customer or a competitor.

Email [VERIFICATION EMAIL] with the subject "Verification Challenge," and include the listing URL and the basis for your challenge. Challenges must be made in good faith; we do not act on challenges that are themselves harassment, and repeat bad-faith challengers may lose account access.

What happens next:

Within 3 business days we acknowledge the challenge.
We notify the business, describe the substance of the challenge, and give them 10 business days to respond. We do not disclose the challenger's identity to the business.
If the challenge raises a credible question, we may request Tier 2 documentation.
Within 30 days of the challenge, we reach a determination: designation maintained, upgraded to Tier 2, suspended pending information, or revoked.
Both parties are notified of the outcome.

Interim measures. If a challenge is credible and the potential harm is significant, we may suspend the designation while we investigate. Suspension is not a finding against the business, and the listing itself remains up.

Appeal. A business may appeal a revocation once, within 30 days, to a reviewer not involved in the original decision. Appeal decisions are final.

When we revoke

We revoke a designation when:

The ownership representation is shown to be false
A business refuses to respond to a credible, substantiated challenge
The business is sold or ownership drops below 51%
The business misuses the badge after being asked to correct it
The business has permanently closed

We do not publicly announce individual revocations, and we do not publish accusations against a business. The badge simply comes off the listing. We publish aggregate numbers only.

If we get it wrong

If we revoke a designation in error, we will restore it promptly, notify the business in writing that the revocation was in error, and — at the business's request — issue a written statement confirming the designation was and remains in good standing. Replacement physical badge materials are provided at no charge.

We would rather correct a mistake quickly than defend one.

Our commitments

We do not sell verification. The Verified designation cannot be purchased, and paying us for anything else will never affect eligibility, tier, or search ranking.

We apply the same standard to everyone, including businesses connected to our own board or staff. Board-connected businesses are verified by a staff member with no relationship to that director, and the connection is disclosed on the listing.

We will state our numbers honestly. We publish, at least annually: the number of listings, the number verified at each tier, the number of challenges received, and the number of designations revoked.

Questions

[VERIFICATION EMAIL] · [LEGAL ENTITY NAME], [ADDRESS]