Overview
The registry is where PCI records who holds a PCI credential and their current status. It is the backbone of trust: every digital badge and verification check resolves against it, so a credential can always be confirmed at source.
At a glance
What the registry underpins
- Issuance of verifiable digital credentials
- Public credential verification
- Accurate current-status reporting (current, lapsed, withdrawn)
- Protection against forged credentials
Honest status note
PCI applies this consistently and documents what it does, so the approach can be checked and improved. Final detail is published as the institute matures, and is governed by the related policies below.
How digital credentials work
- Verifiable. A digital credential can be checked against the issuing body, so anyone can confirm it is genuine.
- Shareable. It can be added to a profile, CV or email signature and shared with employers and clients.
- Tamper-evident. Its authenticity does not depend on a paper certificate that can be copied or altered.
- Owned by the holder. The professional controls where and how their verified credential is displayed.
What verification confirms
- Validity. That the credential was genuinely issued by PCI and remains in good standing.
- Scope. What the credential certifies — the integrated controls discipline, including AI governance.
- Currency. Whether the credential is current, reflecting ongoing recertification.
- Honest status. Verification is live — every record described here can be checked at source, and PCI claims nothing beyond what the register shows.
Common questions
Can I search the registry now?
Yes — the register is live now, and any credential ID can be checked against it on the verify page.
What does it record?
Credential holders and their current status, under data-protection requirements.
How does it relate to badges?
Every digital badge and verification check resolves against it.
Why this matters
This matters because a credential earns its value from substance, not marketing — clear standards, fair process, transparent governance and honesty about status. Everything here is written to that test: useful to professionals and employers, and never claiming more than is true today.
PCI builds in the open. That means being candid about what is in place and what is still developing, designing around the ISO/IEC 17024 personnel-certification principles, and never implying recognition it does not yet hold. That honesty is part of how trust is earned.
- Substance over marketing
- Fair, transparent process
- Honesty about our status
- Responsible, governed use of AI
Founding-stage document · Version 1.0 — effective date to be confirmed · Reviewed under PCI governance. PCI makes no claims of accreditation or recognition beyond what is true today.
The badge points; the registry answers
A digital badge is not the credential — it is a pointer to it. The credential itself is the entry in the registry, which records who holds a PCI credential and what their status is right now. This design has a practical consequence: a badge, certificate or PDF can be copied, but a registry entry cannot. However a claim reaches you — an email signature, a CV, a shared badge — the check always resolves to the same place, and the registry's answer is authoritative. That is also why status matters as much as award: a credential that has lapsed or been withdrawn shows as such at source, no matter what a saved certificate says.
For credential holders, the same mechanism works in your favour: you never need to chase paperwork or prove a negative, because your current status is always answerable from one authoritative place — and renewing on time is all it takes to keep that answer clean.
Checking a credential properly
If you are an employer or recruiter, never accept a certificate image as proof on its own. Verify at source through the verification page, and treat the registry response — not the document — as the answer. A proper verification confirms three things:
- The named person holds the credential claimed.
- The credential's current status — not just that it was once awarded.
- That the claim resolves against PCI's own records rather than a third-party copy.
Verification confirms credential status only; it does not share a holder's personal details beyond what is needed to confirm the claim. How badges are issued and displayed is covered under digital credentials.
A registry built first
PCI describes its status honestly at every stage, and that applies here: the credential registry is live from the programme's founding cohort onwards. It was built registry-first deliberately — verification infrastructure in place from the earliest awards, rather than retrofitted once numbers grow. Every PCL-AI credential, and every honorary award, can be checked on the verification page, answered from the same underlying records. For context on where the programme stands as a whole, see founding status.