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Certification standards

Responsible Review Standards

Every Transparency Certified business commits to these five standards from the day it certifies. They govern how a business collects, requests, displays, and discloses reviews going forward — not how its review record looked in the past.

Standard 1 of 5

Make sure the reviews you use reflect real experiences

Reviews and reputation signals you're responsible for must come from authentic experiences, not manufactured ones.

What meets it

  • Someone who directly experienced your product, service, or business shares an honest review in their own words

What violates it

  • You write a review under a fake name, or use AI to invent reviews and present them as real customer experiences
  • You buy reviews from a broker, or reuse a review on an unrelated product or location
  • You buy or sell fake followers, views, or likes

  • You don't need to verify every review or social signal posted about you elsewhere. This standard applies to content your business creates, buys, arranges, or knowingly uses.

Legal references:

Standard 2 of 5

Ask for reviews fairly

Review requests must not steer people toward a particular rating or opinion.

What meets it

  • You ask for an honest review without suggesting the rating you want
  • You do not decide who receives a review request by screening for likely positive feedback

What violates it

  • You offer a reward for a five-star review, or say something like, 'Tell us how much you loved your visit and get $5 off'

  • About incentives— FTC rules allow neutral, disclosed incentives, but individual platforms may prohibit them. Google Business Profile prohibits all review incentives, so don’t offer an incentive when requesting reviews on Google.

Legal references:

Standard 3 of 5

Don't hide, threaten, or restrict honest reviews

If your business collects or displays reviews, you must treat positive and negative feedback the same way.

What meets it

  • You apply the same publication and removal rules regardless of sentiment
  • You may sort by neutral criteria such as 'most recent' or 'most helpful'
  • You respond to criticism publicly and factually rather than pressuring the reviewer

What violates it

  • Gating: routing unhappy customers to a private form while sending happy customers to the public review page
  • Intimidation: using groundless legal threats or false accusations to pressure someone into removing or changing an honest review
  • Restrictive contracts: contract terms that fine customers, withhold a deposit or other payment, or claim ownership of their reviews

  • This does not prevent you from responding factually or pursuing a legitimate claim when there is a valid legal basis.

Legal references:

Standard 4 of 5

Disclose insider and paid relationships

If someone promoting your business has a personal, employment, or paid relationship to it, that relationship must be disclosed clearly.

What meets it

  • A testimonial from an employee, influencer, or paid endorser clearly discloses the relationship
  • The person's claims reflect a real experience

What violates it

  • Someone connected to or paid by your business promotes it without clearly disclosing the relationship

  • Insider reviews— don't ask owners, employees, or family members to review the business on platforms that prohibit insider reviews, even with disclosure. Where insider reviews are permitted, the relationship must be stated clearly in the review itself.

  • Paid endorsers— address clear warning signs that an endorser's claims are false or not based on real use. For example, someone who asks for the product only after posting favorably about it may not have a valid basis for the endorsement.

Legal references:

Standard 5 of 5

Stay responsible for vendors and partners

Hiring outside help doesn't transfer responsibility for how reviews are gathered or managed.

What meets it

  • You choose reputable partners
  • You direct them to follow these standards
  • You act when you discover or reasonably suspect improper practices

What violates it

  • You hire or continue working with a vendor that creates fake reviews, buys reviews, or manipulates ratings on your behalf

  • Also prohibited— presenting a review, ranking, or certification site as independent when your business owns or controls it without clear disclosure.

  • Outsourcing does not excuse conduct your business directs, approves, knows about, or reasonably should recognize as improper.

Legal references:

Citations

Referenced FTC standards

Every legal reference tag on this page links to an entry below, and each entry links out to the official source text.

  1. 1

    16 CFR § 465.2

    Fake or false consumer reviews, consumer testimonials, or celebrity testimonials — Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials

    law.cornell.edu
  2. 2

    16 CFR § 465.3

    Reserved section — Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials

    law.cornell.edu
  3. 3

    16 CFR § 465.8

    Misuse of fake indicators of social media influence — Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials

    law.cornell.edu
  4. 4

    16 CFR § 465.4

    Buying positive or negative consumer reviews — Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials

    law.cornell.edu
  5. 5

    16 CFR § 255.5

    Disclosure of material connections — Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising

    law.cornell.edu
  6. 6

    16 CFR § 465.7

    Review suppression — Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials

    law.cornell.edu
  7. 7

    15 U.S.C. § 45b

    Consumer review protection — Consumer Review Fairness Act of 2016

    ftc.gov
  8. 8

    16 CFR § 255.1

    General considerations — Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising

    law.cornell.edu
  9. 9

    16 CFR § 465.5

    Insider consumer reviews and consumer testimonials — Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials

    law.cornell.edu
  10. 10

    16 CFR § 465.6

    Company-controlled review websites or entities — Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials

    law.cornell.edu

These standards and practices are designed to meet or exceed current FTC requirements. This commitment is provided for compliance guidance purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Consult qualified legal counsel regarding your obligations.