The normative reference for the AxiomOrdo Regulatory Data Standard. This document defines all artefact types, required metadata, conformance levels, and extension rules.
This document constitutes the normative specification of the AxiomOrdo Regulatory Data Standard (ARDS), Version 1.0.0. It is identified by the document reference ARDS-SPEC-001.
ARDS defines the schema language, metadata model, artefact taxonomy, conformance framework, and extension rules for machine-readable regulatory compliance artefacts. It is designed to enable interoperability between compliance software systems, regulatory authorities, auditors, and data intermediaries operating across multiple regulatory regimes.
| Reference | Title | Relevance |
|---|---|---|
| RFC 4122 | A Universally Unique IDentifier (UUID) URN Namespace | artefactId format |
| ISO 8601 | Date and time format | All date/datetime fields |
| RFC 2119 | Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement Levels | Normative language |
| JSON Schema Draft-07 | JSON Schema: A Media Type for Describing JSON Documents | All ARDS schemas |
| SemVer 2.0.0 | Semantic Versioning Specification | ardsVersion, schemaVersion |
| AOSL-1.0 | AxiomOrdo Open Standard Licence | Licence for this specification |
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Artefact | A discrete, structured data object conforming to an ARDS schema, representing a defined unit of compliance information. |
| Artefact Type | One of the six normative categories: ROR, EA, CV, TB, UCA, AP (see §4). |
| ards:meta | The required top-level metadata envelope present in every ARDS artefact. |
| Conformance Level | One of six progressive tiers defining the depth of ARDS compliance for an artefact or tool (see §7). |
| Domain Pack | A published set of ARDS extension schemas for a specific regulatory domain (e.g., FuelEU, CBAM). |
| Producer | A system or organisation that creates ARDS artefacts. |
| Consumer | A system or organisation that ingests and processes ARDS artefacts. |
| Schema URI | The canonical identifier for an ARDS schema, following the pattern https://schema.axiomordo.com/ards/{version}/{family}/{name}.schema.json. |
| Certification Token | A machine-readable, cryptographically signed JSON document issued by AxiomOrdo attesting conformance at a specific level. |
| Regulatory Context | The metadata block identifying the regulation, regulatory body, jurisdiction, and applicable period for an artefact. |
| Provenance Chain | The linked sequence of artefacts from obligation through evidence to verdict, maintained in a Trace Bundle. |
ARDS defines six normative artefact types. Each type has a canonical schema, a defined role in the compliance lifecycle, and specific field requirements beyond the common ards:meta envelope.
| Code | Full Name | Primary Role | Key Relationships |
|---|---|---|---|
ROR | Regulatory Obligation Record | Defines a specific regulatory obligation for an entity/period | Referenced by EA, CV |
EA | Evidence Artefact | Carries structured evidence supporting a compliance claim | References ROR; referenced by TB, CV |
CV | Compliance Verdict | Records the compliance outcome for an obligation | References ROR, EA; referenced by UCA, AP |
TB | Trace Bundle | Machine-readable provenance graph | References ROR, EA, CV; referenced by AP |
UCA | Unified Compliance Artefact | Portable submission-ready composite | Embeds ROR, EA, CV |
AP | Audit Package | Sealed, signed archive for regulators | Embeds all types; carries digital signature |
ards:meta EnvelopeEvery ARDS artefact SHALL contain a top-level key "ards:meta" whose value is an object containing the fields defined in this section. The presence of this envelope is mandatory for L2 Core Conformance and above.
| Field | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
ardsVersion | string (SemVer) | SHALL | ARDS version this artefact conforms to, e.g., "1.0.0" |
schemaId | URI string | SHALL | Canonical URI of the ARDS schema for this artefact |
schemaVersion | string (SemVer) | SHALL | Version of the declared schema |
artefactType | string (enum) | SHALL | One of: RegulatoryObligationRecord, EvidenceArtefact, ComplianceVerdict, TraceBundle, UnifiedComplianceArtefact, AuditPackage |
artefactId | URN (UUID v4) | SHALL | Globally unique artefact identifier. Format: urn:uuid:{uuid-v4} |
producedAt | string (ISO 8601) | SHALL | Timestamp of artefact creation |
producerIdentity | object | SHALL | Identifies the producing system and organisation |
regulatoryContext | object | SHALL | Identifies the regulation, regulatory body, jurisdiction, and period |
certificationId | string | SHOULD | AxiomOrdo certification token ID if the producer is certified |
previousVersion | URN | MAY | artefactId of the artefact this supersedes |
All canonical ARDS schemas are published at https://schema.axiomordo.com/ards/. The URI pattern is:
https://schema.axiomordo.com/ards/{ardsVersion}/{family}/{schema-name}.schema.jsonThe following schema families are defined in ARDS v1.0:
| Family | Artefact Type | Domain | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| obligation-record | ROR | Core | GA |
| evidence-artefact | EA | Core | GA |
| compliance-verdict | CV | Core | GA |
| trace-bundle | TB | Core | GA |
| unified-compliance-artefact | UCA | Core | GA |
| audit-package | AP | Core | GA |
| fueleu/* | ROR, EA, CV, AP | FuelEU Maritime | GA |
| cbam/* | ROR, EA, CV, AP | EU CBAM | GA |
| meta | All | Core | GA |
ARDS defines six conformance levels. Each level subsumes all levels below it. Self-declaration is sufficient for L1–L2; AxiomOrdo certification is required for L3–L6.
| Level | Code | Name | Key Normative Requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| L1 | ARDS-SV | Schema-Valid | The artefact SHALL validate against the JSON Schema identified by ards:meta.schemaId without errors. |
| L2 | ARDS-CC | Core Conformant | The artefact SHALL include all required ards:meta fields. All field values SHALL meet the format and enumeration requirements of this specification. |
| L3 | ARDS-EC | Extended Conformant | The artefact SHALL implement provenance links (Trace Bundle), domain-specific extensions, and all SHOULD requirements of this specification. |
| L4 | ARDS-CG | Certified Generator | A tool that produces ARDS artefacts at L3, passes the AxiomOrdo conformance test suite, and holds a valid Certification Token. |
| L5 | ARDS-CS | Certified Consumer | A tool that ingests ARDS artefacts from any certified generator, validates provenance, and correctly processes all normative artefact types. |
| L6 | ARDS-CP | Certified Platform | An end-to-end platform that both generates and consumes ARDS artefacts, maintains a live registry, and satisfies all L4 and L5 requirements. |
ARDS provides a structured extension mechanism. Extensions SHALL follow these rules:
fueleu:vesselIMO, cbam:installationId.registry.axiomordo.com.x- convention, e.g., x-vendor:customField.ards:meta.domainPacks.ARDS follows Semantic Versioning (SemVer 2.0.0):
All published versions of the specification and schemas are permanently archived at schema.axiomordo.com/ards/{version}/.
ARDS is maintained by the AxiomOrdo Standards Board, supported by:
Changes to this specification require an accepted RFC. See the RFC Process for details.
Complete list of all canonical schema URIs defined in ARDS v1.0, including core and domain-pack schemas.
Detailed field-level requirements, cardinalities, and allowed values for each of the six artefact types.
The normative test cases used in AxiomOrdo certification assessments, mapped to specification requirements.
Full text of the AxiomOrdo Open Standard Licence under which this specification is published.
| Version | Date | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0.0 | May 2026 | First published edition. Defines six artefact types, six conformance levels, FuelEU and CBAM domain packs, and ards-validate CLI reference implementation. |