What it is
A court asks the party that brings a collective action who supports it, and later who gets paid. VCRS sets how a register answers: every record graded by fixed rules, every sign-up flow and document traceable, coverage measured against a stated class size at a stated date, and an independent auditor who checks the count without trusting the operator. A jurisdiction-neutral core, and one annex per jurisdiction with what its law and courts require and what the standard asks beyond them, each item cited.
What it asks
Every record gets a grade, set by fixed rules from the facts on it:
| Grade | A record is this grade when |
|---|---|
| D, not counted | Withdrawn, a duplicate, outside the class, anonymous, not told apart from a namesake, unconfirmed contact, joined through a flow that didn't say what the claim is, or without an opt-in made in time where the annex requires one |
| C, identified | A distinct, named person who confirmed a contact channel and joined through an informing flow |
| B, evidenced | C, and a document or an outside source places them in the class |
| A, corroborated | B, checked against an outside source, with identity verified through eIDAS or a scheme the annex names |
The register as a whole claims one level, which sets what it keeps and how the auditor checks it: Registered (grade C or better counted, sample tracing by the auditor), Identified (grade C or better counted and grade B reported, full recomputation, regenerated before each hearing) or Verified (grade B or better counted and grade A reported, the reproduction test on the live system). The core holds the rules.
Where to start
- Keeping a register. Apply it takes a board from choosing a level to publishing the statement, with the spreadsheet template and the self-assessment. The annexes hold what each jurisdiction requires.
- Funding an action. The conformance statement is what a representative publishes when it claims a level, and core 8 the check an auditor runs behind it.
- Checking a register, as its auditor, for a defendant or for a court. Core 8 sets the check per level, 5.4 the snapshot root and a record's inclusion proof, and 11.2 what a statement holds.
- Building a system. Format holds the schemas, the test vectors and the order an implementation builds in.
Citing
'VCRS 0.1.0-beta.4, core and Annex NL, https://vcrs.org/v/0.1.0-beta.4'. A released version stays unchanged at its own address, as core section 13 sets out. The governance says how versions are released and how to comment.