Certification
Only certified organisations may be listed on the register. Certification confirms that an organisation meets the interoperability standards of the Velocity Interoperability Network and may exchange with other members under its own key. It is granted by the Registry on application, after assessment, and is recorded by a certificate of interoperability and an entry on the register.
Any organisation constituted under law that intends to exchange with members of the Network may apply, including the institutions of the Network themselves, which are certified in the same way as any other organisation. The application is made in writing by email to the Registry. No fee is payable for an application made before 1 January 2027; the fees that apply from that date are set out on the Fees page.
The procedure has four steps. It ends with a listing that takes effect on the day it is made, and with a notice recording the decision.
Step 1: Application
The organisation applies in writing to the Registry, stating its name, the key it proposes to use, the systems that will exchange under that key and the services it intends to offer on the Network. The Registry acknowledges the application and asks for anything that is missing.
Step 2: Assessment
The Registry tests each of the organisation's systems against the interoperability standards of the Network and reviews its governance and security arrangements. It may ask for further evidence or for access to a system. An unsatisfactory assessment may be followed by one re-assessment on request.
Step 3: Certification
If the assessment is satisfactory, the Registry issues a certificate of interoperability bearing a number in the series C-2026-001 onwards, and reserves the organisation's key. The certificate names the organisation, the key and the systems assessed.
Step 4: Listing
The organisation is entered on the register with the status Active, the number of its certificate and the date of certification, and a notice is published. The listing takes effect on the day it is made, and systems on the Network accept the key from that day.
The second of those steps is the longest and the one an applicant should prepare for most carefully. The eight criteria against which every system is tested, the forty-one tests of the conformance suite, the five-day exchange trial and the four classes of finding are set out on the Assessment page, together with the framework published by notice RN 2026/011.
What an application must contain
- Name and constitution
- The organisation's full legal name, the instrument under which it is constituted, and the name and position of the person authorised to make the application on its behalf.
- Proposed key
- The key under which the organisation proposes to exchange, which must comply with the rules on Keys. A second choice may be given in case the first is refused.
- Services and counterparts
- The services the organisation intends to offer on the Network and the members with which it expects to exchange.
- Systems to be assessed
- Each system that will exchange under the key, with a technical description sufficient for the Registry to plan its testing. Every such system is assessed; a system that has not been assessed may not exchange.
- Governance and security arrangements
- Who within the organisation is responsible for the use of the key, how access to the systems is controlled, and how incidents are handled and reported.
- Point of contact
- A single email address to which the Registry sends its correspondence, invoices and notices. The organisation must keep it current; a notice sent to the recorded address is taken to have been received.
Timescales
| Stage | Period |
|---|---|
| Acknowledgement of an application | Within 5 working days of receipt |
| Request for anything missing from an application | Within 10 working days of receipt |
| Assessment completed | Within 40 working days of the application being complete and, from 1 January 2027, the fee being received |
| Decision notified to the organisation | Within 10 working days of the assessment being completed |
| Listing and publication of the notice | On the day of certification |
| Objection to a decision | Within 28 days of the date of the decision |
| Outcome of an objection | Within 20 working days of the objection being received |
| Referral to the Ministry | Within 28 days of the outcome of the objection |
Removal from the register
- Failure to meet the standards
- The organisation ceases to meet the interoperability standards, whether found at a periodic review or otherwise, and does not remedy the failure within the period allowed.
- Misuse of the key
- The organisation uses its key, or permits it to be used, other than in accordance with its certificate, including use by a system that has not been assessed.
- Dissolution or request
- The organisation is dissolved, or asks in writing to be removed.
- Withdrawal of the certificate
- The organisation's certificate is withdrawn by the Ministry of the Velocity Interoperability Network.
Objecting to a decision
Step 1: Write to the Registry
An organisation affected by a decision of the Registry, whether a refusal to certify, a refusal of a key, a suspension, a removal, the outcome of a review or the charging of a fee, may object in writing within 28 days of the date of the decision, stating the decision objected to and the grounds. There is no fee.
Step 2: Acknowledgement
The Registry acknowledges the objection within 5 working days and states who will consider it. A suspension or removal remains in effect while the objection is considered.
Step 3: Reconsideration
The objection is considered by an officer of the Registry who took no part in the original decision. The officer may ask the organisation for further information and may examine its systems again.
Step 4: Decision on the objection
The Registry confirms, varies or reverses the original decision within 20 working days of receiving the objection and sends the outcome to the organisation with reasons. Where a decision is reversed, the register is corrected by notice on the same day and any fee charged in error is refunded.
Step 5: Referral to the Ministry
An organisation dissatisfied with the outcome may ask, within 28 days, for the matter to be referred to the Ministry of the Velocity Interoperability Network, whose decision is final. The Registry makes the referral and supplies the papers.
After suspension or removal
A suspended organisation remains on the register with the status Suspended and may not exchange on the Network until the suspension is lifted. A removed organisation is struck from the register, its key is retired and its certificate ceases to have effect. Removal does not prevent a fresh application, which is treated as a new application in every respect.
Every listing is reviewed within twelve months of being made and every twenty-four months thereafter; see Periodic review. Enquiries about certification may be sent to contact@registry.gov.vin.
Related guidance
- Assessment
The eight criteria, the conformance suite, the exchange trial and how findings are classified.
- Periodic review
How a listing is reviewed against the standards in force, and the programme of first reviews in 2027.
- Fees
The schedule taking effect on 1 January 2027, the services provided without charge and how a fee is paid.
