Tier Differentiation Axiom (TDA)
Version v1.0 — Effective 2026‑01‑16
A.1 — Definitions
A client submission consists of a set of formal claims, supporting documentation, a scope category (such as AI, medical, defense, or general), and a jurisdiction flag. For Tier C evaluations, additional comparison inputs and deployment context descriptions may be included.
A.2 — Tier Assignment
Certification tiers are assigned based on the structure and complexity of the submission:
• Tier A — A single claim with no comparison inputs or deployment context.
• Tier B — One or more claims without comparison inputs.
• Tier C — Submissions that include comparison sets and deployment context.
A.3 — Output Format
Each certification results in a sealed PDF:
• Tier A — Certificate only.
• Tier B — Certificate plus a review‑blocking annex.
• Tier C — Certificate, review‑blocking annex, and any declared benchmark or deployment annexes.
A.4 — Hashing and Ledger Publication
Each sealed PDF is hashed using SHA‑256. Only the certificate ID and resulting hash are published to the public ledger. The sealed PDF remains private unless the issuer or client authorizes disclosure.
A.5 — Finality
Tier assignment is determined solely by the original submission inputs and cannot be changed after issuance. Any modification to certificate content requires a new certificate ID and a new hash. Retroactive reclassification or downgrades are not permitted under schema v1.0.