Vraimony
ERF Foundation — open protocol governance

The Evidence Receipt Format
is an open standard, not a product.

ERF (Evidence Receipt Format) is the open record model for evidence exchange between external parties. The ERF Foundation was established to govern the protocol's development independently of any single vendor — ensuring no single party can break compatibility, overclaim the protocol's guarantees, or lock implementers into a proprietary dependency.

ERF Specification on GitHub → Protocol documentation Conformance hub
Open standard Additive-only No vendor lock-in W3C VC compatible export
What the ERF Foundation does

Protocol governance without platform capture.

Protocol stewardship

The Foundation maintains the ERF specification, test vectors, and conformance rules. Changes are additive-only — no breaking changes without explicit versioning. Existing records remain valid indefinitely under the backward-compat contract.

Conformance programme

Implementers can verify their ERF records against the public test vector suite. Conformant implementations earn the ERF Certified badge — a signal to receivers that the record follows the standard structure.

Neutral arbitration principle

ERF does not take sides in a dispute. It packages facts for review. The Foundation enforces this through Quality Stops — rules that prevent overclaiming, self-certification as verified, or outcome guarantees within a record.

Interoperability layer

ERF is designed to export as W3C Verifiable Credentials for specific sub-claims (seal receipt, acknowledgment, attestation). This makes ERF records readable by any eIDAS 2.0 or W3C VC compatible system from 2027.

Five founding principles — locked

These principles cannot be overridden by any member, including the founding member.

Review-first
Every record is built for the receiver, not just the sender. The reviewer's path is always present.
Packaging-first
ERF solves the external review layer — not storage, not signing, not workflow management.
Receiver-included
The receiver side of every protocol interaction is specified. No record is complete without a receiver path.
Declared vs PASS — no fake certainty
PASS requires independently verifiable evidence (degree ≥6). Self-declared facts are Declared, not PASS. Evidence Degree (1–10) makes the distinction visible.
Export-first + privacy-first
PDF + PNG + JSON exports are always available. No tracking. No receiver accounts. Records are self-contained.
Vraimony as reference implementation

The protocol and the product are separate.

Vraimony is the founding member of the ERF Foundation and the reference implementation of the protocol. This means Vraimony's sealed records are the canonical example of ERF-compliant records — but the protocol itself is not owned by Vraimony.

What Vraimony provides

  • The reference server that seals ERF records (ed25519, SHA-256, timestamp_anchor)
  • The reference UI for building and reviewing records
  • The canonical test vector suite (9 scenarios)
  • The conformance hub at vraimony.com/conformance.html
  • The GitHub repository for the ERF specification

What any implementer can build

  • An ERF-compliant sealing server (using the open spec + test vectors)
  • An ERF record viewer / reviewer page
  • ERF exports integrated into existing platforms
  • ERF-compatible plugins for WooCommerce, DocuSign, or other platforms
  • ERF as the evidence layer in insurance, maritime, or legal workflows
Acquisitions note: Because ERF is an open, governed protocol — any party that acquires Vraimony acquires the reference implementation and the founding role in the Foundation. The protocol itself remains open. This structure is intentional: it makes the protocol more durable and the acquisition more valuable.
Membership and conformance

Join the ERF conformance programme.

Implementer

ERF Conformant

Free
Open source implementations, individual developers
  • Access to ERF test vector suite
  • Public conformance validator
  • ERF Conformant badge (self-certified)
  • GitHub issue participation
Start on GitHub →
Certified Member

ERF Certified

$2,000/yr
Commercial implementations, platforms, integrators
  • Everything in Implementer tier
  • Verified ERF Certified badge (Foundation-reviewed)
  • Listed in ERF Certified Implementations registry
  • Priority issue handling
  • Early access to ERF 2.0 draft specifications
Apply for certification →
Founding Partner

ERF Foundation Partner

Contact
Platforms embedding ERF at scale — insurance, maritime, legal, procurement
  • Everything in Certified tier
  • Named partner in Foundation governance
  • Co-authorship of profile extensions
  • White-label ERF records under your brand
  • Custom API tier + SLA
Partnership enquiry →
Protocol resources

Everything needed to build on ERF.

ERF Specification

Full protocol documentation — schema, profiles, status taxonomy, evidence_degree, timestamp_anchor, backward-compat contract.

Protocol docs →

GitHub Repository

Open source specification, test vectors (9 scenarios), SDK, CLI, and conformance tools. Issues and PRs welcome.

GitHub →

Conformance Hub

Validate your ERF records against the canonical test vector suite. RunID + vector_set + summary_hash required for Checked status.

Conformance hub →