Official guidelines for displaying and referencing ARDS certification marks. These rules apply to all holders of valid ARDS Certification Tokens.
Six marks correspond to the six ARDS conformance levels. Only the mark for your certified level — and any levels below it — may be displayed.
| Mark | Level | Name | Who May Display |
|---|---|---|---|
| ARDS L1 | L1 | ARDS Schema-Valid | Any implementor — self-declared, no token required |
| ARDS L2 | L2 | ARDS Core Conformant | Any implementor — self-declared, no token required |
| ARDS L3 | L3 | ARDS Extended Conformant | Holders of a valid L3 Certification Token |
| ARDS Certified Generator | L4 | ARDS Certified Generator | Holders of a valid L4 Certification Token |
| ARDS Certified Consumer | L5 | ARDS Certified Consumer | Holders of a valid L5 Certification Token |
| ARDS Certified Platform | L6 | ARDS Certified Platform | Holders of a valid L6 Certification Token |
The following uses are explicitly permitted for holders of a valid Certification Token at the relevant level.
The following uses are not permitted under any circumstances.
Marks may not be displayed after the expiry date on your Certification Token. You must remove all marks within 30 days of expiry if renewal is not completed.
You may not claim a certification level higher than your current Certification Token. Displaying an L4 mark when certified at L3 is a breach of these guidelines.
Marks apply only to the specific product version named in your Certification Token. They may not be applied to other products, modules, or versions not covered by the assessment.
Do not alter the mark artwork in any way — no colour changes, distortion, additional effects, shadows, or overlays. Use only the official assets from this page.
Certification marks attest to technical conformance only. They may not be used in a way that implies AxiomOrdo endorses, recommends, or is affiliated with your commercial offerings.
The marks may not be sub-licensed or transferred to any third party. Each certified entity must hold its own Certification Token.
Use marks on white or light backgrounds in the primary navy/teal palette. On dark backgrounds use the white reversed version. Do not place marks on patterned or photographic backgrounds without sufficient contrast.
Maintain clear space around the mark equal to the height of the "ARDS" wordmark on all four sides. No other graphic elements, text, or borders should appear within this exclusion zone.
Digital: minimum 80px wide. Print: minimum 20mm wide. Below these sizes the mark is not legible and must not be used.
When referencing certification in running text, use the full level name on first occurrence: "[Product] is ARDS Certified Generator (L4) certified by AxiomOrdo." Subsequent references may use the short form: "ARDS L4 certified."
Every Certification Token is publicly verifiable. Link to your verification record wherever you display a mark.
Each certification has a permanent public verification page. Link to it from your product page alongside the mark:
https://registry.axiomordo.com/verify/{certificateId}Anyone — regulators, customers, auditors — can verify your certification status in real time.
Certified producers should embed their certificateId in the ards:meta envelope of every ARDS artefact they produce:
"ards:meta": {
...
"certificationId": "ards-cert-2026-000001"
}This allows downstream consumers to automatically verify the producing tool's certification status.
AxiomOrdo actively monitors use of the ARDS certification marks. Violations of these guidelines may result in:
To report suspected misuse of ARDS marks, contact standards@axiomordo.com. Reports are investigated within 10 business days.
For questions about permitted use or to request approval for a use case not covered here, contact standards@axiomordo.com.