Open standards and evidence for trustworthy intelligent agents.
Three published standards. One expanding evidence-based framework. The Open Conformance Coalition (OCC) stewards F-ACT, T-RUE and R-EAL — royalty-free and published at v1.0 — and is drafting AIH-12 and PACTE in the open, for critical review.
Eight arms. Three standards. One mission: hold agent governance open.
Three standards, one family
Each standard asks a different question. Together they cover the full lifecycle — from governing a single agent, to revoking trust across chains, to helping people evaluate what is real.
One expanding framework, honestly labelled
AIH-12 classifies the horizon. AIT-12 defines the threshold. AIE-12 evaluates. PACTE tests integrity. F-ACT verifies conformance. T-RUE supports revocation. R-EAL supports credibility.
| Instrument | What it does | Status |
|---|---|---|
| F-ACT Framework for Agent Conformance & Trust | Verifies whether an agent conforms to the GUARD controls before it acts. | Published · v1.0 19 Aug 2026 |
| T-RUE Transitive Revocation of Upstream Endorsements | Supports withdrawal of trust that propagates along chains of agents. | Published · v1.0 5 Sep 2026 |
| R-EAL Reader Evaluation of Authenticity & Legitimacy | Supports tiered, revisable credibility judgements about content. | Published · v1.0 5 Sep 2026 |
| OCC-ASF OCC Agent Standards Framework | The umbrella that sets out how the standards and profiles fit together. | Draft v0.1 · public comment |
| AIH-12 Autonomy & Impact Horizons | Classifies the horizon a system operates at, H1–H12. | Draft v0.1 · public comment |
| PACTE Purpose · Authority · Capability · Tactics · Evidence | Tests the integrity of how an agent pursued its objective. | Draft v0.1 · public comment |
| AIT-12 Autonomy & Impact Thresholds | Defines the minimum controls (T1–T12) a deployment must meet at each horizon. | Draft v0.1 · public comment |
| AIE-12 Autonomy & Impact Evidence | Defines the evidence (E1–E12) needed to support a threshold claim. | Draft v0.1 · public comment |
| 5 As Authority · Access · Activity · Action · Accountability | Five plain-language accountability questions for any agent. | Draft v0.1 · public comment |
| OCC Agent Record Agent Identity & Authority record | One machine-readable record per agent: who it is, who it acts for, and what it can really do. | Draft v0.1 · public comment |
| Agent Assurance Package Ten-document assurance case | Brings the family together for one deployed agent, with a bounded pilot. | Draft v0.1 · public comment |
| Evidence & Attestation profile Evidence classes and attestation format | How evidence is recorded, weighed and attested (A1–A3, SHA-256 digests). Register signing of public records is live. | Draft v0.1 · public comment |
| Agent Lifecycle profile From registration to withdrawal | Change, reassessment, suspension and retirement over time. | Draft v0.1 · public comment |
| Incident & Disclosure protocol Reporting agent failures | How incidents are recorded, disclosed and learned from (S1–S4). | Draft v0.1 · public comment |
| Embodied & physical agents profile Robots, humanoids and other agents that act in the physical world | Applies the family to agents with bodies. Complements functional-safety standards; does not replace them. | Planned |
We are seeking critical review and possible bounded pilot participation — not endorsement or premature adoption. You do not need to join OCC to read, challenge or review the standards.
Start with your role
The standards are open to everyone — but where you begin depends on why you are here. Find your path in a single step.
Implementer & developer
You build agents, tools or platforms.
Read the specification, then use the reference kit — an in-browser checker, canonical test vectors and a machine-readable schema — to make your implementation conform.
Auditor & assessor
You verify other people’s claims.
Check any conformance declaration or seal against the standard, and browse the public registry of everything that has been declared — no login, no gatekeeper.
Policymaker & procurement
You require conformance from others.
Cite the published standard and the conformance level you need in policy or contracts. The text is public and free to reference — no permission or licence required.
Contributor & researcher
You want to shape what comes next.
Join the open working groups, raise issues and help refine the next version of each standard by rough consensus. Anyone can take part, regardless of size.
Adopt in three steps
From reading the spec to a declaration anyone can verify — the whole path is public, free and needs no permission.
Read the standard
Start with F-ACT v1.0 — the published, royalty-free specification. Free to read, cite and require, with T-RUE and R-EAL published alongside it as open standards.
Read the specImplement & test
Use the reference kit to prove conformance: an in-browser checker, canonical test vectors and a machine-readable schema you can wire straight into your tooling.
Open the reference kitDeclare & verify
Publish a conformance declaration, then let anyone verify it independently against the standard. The proof is public and portable — it does not depend on us.
Declare conformanceThe ecosystem at a glance
Every standard is royalty-free, versioned and published at its own home. No paywalls, no member-only text.
Why a coalition?
Open standards need a steward that cannot be captured, acquired or redirected. OCC exists to hold the line.
Vendor-neutral stewardship
No single company controls the standards. OCC holds the core claims under royalty-free terms so anyone can implement, cite and require conformance — free of charge, forever.
Irrevocable royalty-free pledge
Core patent claims that read on the standards are pledged royalty-free. The pledge is irrevocable: once made, it cannot be withdrawn even if the pledging entity changes hands.
Swiss foundation model
OCC is being established as a Swiss Stiftung — a purpose-bound foundation with no owners and no shareholders. Its charter locks the mission: hold these standards open.
Open participation
Anyone can read, implement, extend and propose changes to the standards. Working groups are open to individuals and organisations regardless of size or geography.
How the standards are made
Open standards earn trust by how they are written, not just what they say. OCC follows an open, consensus-driven process — the same shape used by the bodies behind the web itself.
Drafted in the open
Every standard begins as a public working draft. Anyone can read it, raise issues and propose changes — no membership or fee required to take part.
Refined by rough consensus
Changes are debated in the open and settled by rough consensus. No single member — however large — can force a change through or veto one alone.
Published with a version
Each release ships with a version number and a public record of what changed, so implementers always know exactly which text they are conforming to.
Free to implement, forever
Published standards are royalty-free to cite, implement and require. The pledge behind them is irrevocable, so what is open today stays open.
The conformance marks
OCC administers five marks. Each is earned through conformance — never bought, never given as a favour.
F-ACT Verified
Agent meets F-ACT v1.0
GUARD™
Five-axis governance framework
T-RUE Compliant
Trust revocation propagated
R-EAL Scored
Reader-evaluated credibility
OCC Registry
Public conformance record
Build on the standards
Everything you need to implement, verify and require conformance — published, machine-readable and free.
Meet OCCY
Eight arms, each cradling a node of governance. OCCY is the visual identity of the Open Conformance Coalition — a reminder that conformance is not a monolith but a web, and that holding it together takes reach, not force.
Questions, answered
The honest version. No fine print.
Is it really free to use?
Yes. The core patent claims that read on the standards are pledged royalty-free, and that pledge is irrevocable. You can read, implement, cite and require conformance at no charge.
Who controls the Open Conformance Coalition?
No single company. OCC is being established as a Swiss Stiftung — a purpose-bound foundation with no owners and no shareholders — whose charter is written to keep the standards open and neutral.
Can the royalty-free pledge be withdrawn later?
No. The pledge is irrevocable. Once made it cannot be taken back, even if the pledging entity is acquired or changes hands. What is open today stays open.
Are T-RUE and R-EAL ready to use?
All three standards are now published, royalty-free open standards you can read, cite and implement today. F-ACT was published at v1.0 on 19 August 2026; T-RUE and R-EAL at v1.0 on 5 September 2026. They remain open to contribution through the coalition’s change process.
How do I require conformance in my own products or contracts?
Cite the published standard and the conformance level you require — for example, GUARD 2. The specification is public and free to reference; no permission or licence is needed.
Do I have to join to participate?
No. Reading and implementing the standards is completely open. Joining the working groups simply lets you help shape future versions.
Understand the coalition
How the three standards relate to what exists, how they are governed, where they are heading, and why they stay free.
Get involved
The standards are open. The working groups are open. The mission is fixed.