Authority Network America: Cross-Network Referral Protocol

The cross-network referral protocol governs how service seekers, professionals, and researchers are directed between the 8 member properties within the Authority Network America ecosystem. When a query, service need, or research topic falls outside the scope of one member site, this protocol determines the appropriate destination — preserving accuracy, avoiding scope drift, and maintaining the structural integrity of the network. Understanding how the protocol operates clarifies why each member site covers a discrete vertical and how the network functions as a unified reference infrastructure rather than a collection of overlapping resources.

Definition and scope

The cross-network referral protocol is the structured mechanism by which Authority Network America routes users, content signals, and professional inquiries across its member properties based on vertical alignment, licensing jurisdiction, and service category. The protocol operates at the network hub level — this site, Authority Network America — and is enforced through the Authority Network America Provider Framework and the Authority Network America Standards Reference.

The protocol applies to 8 member sites spanning residential, commercial, and specialty trade verticals. Each member site holds a defined scope boundary. A referral is triggered when an inbound inquiry, service category, or professional classification falls outside the defined scope of the receiving property and matches the documented coverage of a different member. The protocol does not apply to general informational overlap — it applies at the point of actionable mismatch, where routing to the correct vertical resource produces a materially better outcome for the service seeker or professional.

Scope is determined by 3 primary classifiers: trade category (e.g., plumbing, HVAC, electrical), licensing tier (state-issued contractor license, journeyman certification, specialty endorsement), and project type (residential retrofit, new commercial construction, exterior specialty, recreational infrastructure). These classifiers map directly to the member site taxonomy documented in the Member Site Scope Comparison.

How it works

The protocol operates in 4 stages:

Intake classification — The originating site or hub identifies the service category, trade type, and geographic scope of the inquiry. If the topic involves a licensed trade covered by a specific member vertical, classification is straightforward. Mixed-trade projects (e.g., a renovation requiring plumbing and electrical work) trigger a split referral.
Scope boundary check — The classified inquiry is checked against the documented coverage map for each member site. This boundary data is maintained in the Vertical Coverage Map and updated through the Network Update Log.
Member site routing — Once a match is confirmed, the inquiry is routed to the appropriate member site. Routing does not duplicate content — it directs the user to the site where the relevant licensing standards, contractor verification criteria, or trade-specific regulatory context is maintained authoritatively.
Cross-referral confirmation — For multi-trade or ambiguous inquiries, the Member Directory provides the reference index. Professionals and researchers can identify the correct vertical authority without navigating each member site independently.

The protocol distinguishes between hard referrals (a topic is entirely outside the originating site's scope and must be redirected) and soft referrals (a topic has partial overlap, and supplementary context exists at another member site). Hard referrals apply, for example, when a plumbing inquiry lands on an electrical-focused property. Soft referrals apply when a roofing project also involves structural contractor licensing — where both National Roof Authority and National Contractor Authority hold relevant but non-redundant coverage.

Common scenarios

Scenario 1 — Trade boundary mismatch: A service seeker researching water heater installation regulations lands on an HVAC-focused property. Because water heater installation licensing falls under plumbing jurisdiction in 38 states (National Conference of State Legislatures, Plumbing Licensing Overview), the protocol routes the inquiry to National Plumbing Authority, which covers state-by-state plumbing license requirements, code adoption status, and contractor qualification standards.

Scenario 2 — Specialty exterior project: A researcher investigating pool-adjacent electrical safety codes initiates research on a general contractor property. The protocol identifies 2 relevant member verticals: National Pool Authority, which covers pool construction standards, bonding and grounding requirements, and specialty contractor licensing; and National Electrical Authority, which covers NEC (National Electrical Code) compliance, electrician licensing tiers, and inspection requirements. Both sites receive a soft referral; the Plumbing, HVAC, and Electrical Overview provides the bridging context.

Scenario 3 — HVAC licensing jurisdiction: A contractor seeking information on refrigerant handling certification encounters scope ambiguity. EPA Section 608 certification is federally administered (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Section 608 Technician Certification), while state-level HVAC contractor licensing varies by jurisdiction. The protocol routes this inquiry to National HVAC Authority, which documents the intersection of federal certification requirements and state licensing overlays.

Scenario 4 — Network-wide research inquiry: An industry researcher assessing contractor qualification standards across all trades is routed to authoritynetwork.org and nationalauthority.org, the 2 cross-vertical reference properties in the network. These sites provide comparative frameworks, multi-trade licensing summaries, and standards documentation that span the full member site ecosystem rather than a single vertical.

Decision boundaries

The protocol applies strict decision boundaries to prevent scope dilution:

Licensing jurisdiction governs routing above all other classifiers. If a trade is licensed under a state plumbing board, it routes to the plumbing vertical regardless of whether the project also involves mechanical systems.
Project type does not override trade licensing. A commercial roofing project routes to National Roof Authority for roofing-specific standards and to National Contractor Authority for general contractor licensing overlays — not to a general commercial construction resource.
Geographic scope triggers escalation. Multi-state projects or nationally scoped regulatory questions escalate to the hub or to the cross-vertical reference properties rather than defaulting to a single state-specific member.
Consumer-facing and professional-facing referrals follow the same routing logic but land on different content sections within the target member site, as documented in the Provider Listing Standards and Consumer Resource Index.

The Network Quality Benchmarks define the accuracy threshold for referral decisions: a misrouted inquiry — one that sends a user to a member site where the relevant licensing or regulatory information is not maintained — is classified as a protocol failure and triggers a review under the Network Compliance Requirements.

References

On this site

Core Topics

Contact

Contact

Other Pages