Stewardship, publication authority, and version discipline of the Trust-State Standard.
The Trust-State Standard is stewarded and published by VTI Foundation, Inc.
The Foundation maintains publication authority over:
Only releases published under the authority of VTI Foundation, Inc. constitute official versions of the Trust-State Standard.
Each official Trust-State Standard release is version-identifiable and independently preserved.
An official release includes:
Published releases are not retroactively rewritten.
Corrections, clarifications, amendments, or material changes are issued through a new versioned release.
Prior releases remain available for historical verification, conformance claims, assessment records, recomputation, and replay where applicable.
The authoritative normative form of a published Trust-State Standard release is the canonical PDF identified in the Releases archive.
Each current release record identifies the publication artifact and associated integrity record used to verify that artifact.
The public website may summarize, explain, or provide orientation to the Standard, but such web content does not replace the canonical normative publication artifact.
Where a conflict exists between explanatory website content and the applicable canonical published release, the canonical release controls.
The Trust-State Standard distinguishes normative requirements from informative explanatory material.
Normative sections and annexes establish requirements applicable to implementations, conformance, or certification where expressly stated.
Informative material provides explanation, context, mapping, or conceptual support and does not independently create implementation requirements.
The normative status of annexes and other incorporated materials is defined by the applicable published release.
Conformance is version-specific, profile-specific, and boundary-specific.
A conformance claim identifies:
Publication of a later Standard release does not automatically alter or invalidate a conformance determination made against an earlier release.
Conformance and certification are distinct governance functions.
Conformance is demonstrated satisfaction of the normative requirements applicable to a declared Standard version, Conformance Profile, and boundary.
Certification is a formal third-party determination regarding that conformity.
Certification does not create conformity where conformity has not been demonstrated.
Certification program requirements, assessment procedures, certification status, mark use, suspension, renewal, and revocation are governed separately from the normative implementation requirements of the Standard.
Material changes to the Standard are governed through version control.
Change governance preserves:
A later release does not silently replace the normative requirements applicable to a prior release.
The Trust-State Standard may coexist with companion frameworks, applied specifications, implementation guidance, or external governance models.
Such material does not modify the normative requirements of the Standard unless it is expressly incorporated by an applicable published release.
Informative concepts, including Consequence Science and external framework mappings, do not independently create conformance requirements unless incorporated into normative text.
Trust-State Standard™ v2.5.1