Authority Network America

Authority Network America: Network Membership Criteria

Network membership within Authority Network America is structured around defined criteria that govern which service-sector reference properties qualify for inclusion and how inclusion is maintained over time. The criteria apply across 8 active member sites spanning licensed trades, home services, and contractor verification. Understanding the structure of these criteria is essential for industry professionals, researchers, and service seekers who rely on network resources to locate qualified providers, verify credentials, or understand regulatory standards.

Definition and scope

Membership in Authority Network America designates a reference site as a verified node within a coordinated national framework of public-service information resources. Each member site is assigned a vertical — typically a regulated trade or service sector — and carries the institutional responsibility of maintaining accurate, regulatory-aligned content for that vertical.

The network currently holds 8 member sites. Membership is not provisional or honorary; it requires demonstrable alignment with network quality benchmarks and ongoing compliance with the provider listing standards applied uniformly across all properties.

Scope is bounded to the United States. Member sites address national licensing structures, state-level regulatory variation, and trade-specific certification frameworks. Sites operating outside these parameters — including those focused on international markets or purely commercial directories — fall outside the membership definition.

How it works

Membership eligibility is evaluated against four structural criteria:

  1. Vertical specificity — The site must address a defined and regulated service sector, such as licensed electrical contracting, HVAC installation, or residential plumbing. Sites with ambiguous or overlapping scope that duplicate an existing member's vertical are not eligible without a formal scope differentiation.
  2. Regulatory grounding — Content must reference named licensing bodies, applicable statutes, or recognized standards organizations (e.g., the National Electrical Manufacturers Association, ICC, or state licensing boards). Fabricated regulatory claims or unsupported compliance assertions disqualify a property.
  3. Content integrity — Pages must meet the data integrity requirements detailed in the network data integrity policy. This includes inline attribution for specific figures, prohibition of fabricated statistics, and adherence to neutral third-person institutional voice.
  4. Cross-network interoperability — Member sites must support the cross-network referral protocol, allowing coordinated linking and referral pathways across the network without duplicating directory functions.

Membership is reviewed on a periodic basis. Sites that fail to maintain vertical specificity or content accuracy are flagged through internal audit and subject to remediation before any public-facing status change occurs. The network update log records material changes to membership composition.

Common scenarios

Scenario 1: Licensed trade vertical — plumbing
National Plumbing Authority covers licensing requirements, code compliance frameworks, and regulatory bodies governing residential and commercial plumbing across the United States. Its inclusion reflects the distinct regulatory structure of plumbing as a licensed trade in all 50 states, separate from general contracting licensing.

Scenario 2: Mechanical systems vertical — HVAC
National HVAC Authority addresses the certification, licensing, and equipment standards governing heating, ventilation, and air conditioning professionals. HVAC operates under EPA Section 608 refrigerant handling requirements (40 CFR Part 82), making it a distinct regulatory vertical from general mechanical contracting.

Scenario 3: Electrical systems vertical
National Electrical Authority documents the licensing structures, National Electrical Code (NEC) compliance requirements, and state-level variations affecting licensed electricians and electrical contractors. Electrical contracting is separately licensed in 46 states (National Electrical Contractors Association), justifying its standalone vertical status within the network.

Scenario 4: Roofing and exterior
National Roof Authority covers roofing contractor licensing, manufacturer certification programs, and warranty structures specific to residential and commercial roofing. Roofing licensing requirements vary substantially by state — 34 states require a roofing-specific or general contractor license for residential work — making a dedicated reference resource operationally distinct from a general contractor property.

Scenario 5: Pool and aquatic installations
National Pool Authority addresses the licensing, safety code compliance (including ANSI/APSP standards), and contractor qualification frameworks specific to swimming pool and spa installation. Pool contracting is separately licensed in 17 states, constituting sufficient regulatory specificity for its own vertical.

Scenario 6: General contractor vertical
National Contractor Authority serves as the reference for general contracting licensing, bonding, and insurance requirements, operating as a structural complement to the trade-specific verticals without duplicating their scope. See the contractor verification framework for how general contractor qualifications are assessed relative to trade-specific certifications.

Scenario 7: Cross-network reference nodes
Authority Network and National Authority function as broader reference nodes, covering multi-vertical frameworks and network-wide resources that do not fit a single trade vertical. These properties support the authority designation explained framework and are profiled in the member site scope comparison.

Decision boundaries

Two distinctions govern membership classification decisions:

Member site vs. external directory: Member sites produce reference-grade institutional content and operate under the network's content integrity and data attribution standards. Commercial directories, lead-generation platforms, or review aggregators do not qualify regardless of sector alignment.

Vertical-specific member vs. cross-network node: A vertical-specific member (e.g., plumbing, electrical) addresses a single regulated trade. A cross-network node addresses structural or multi-vertical topics. Both qualify for membership, but each is governed by the authority-network-america-provider-framework appropriate to its scope.

Sites operating in adjacent spaces — such as general home improvement content or insurance aggregation — that do not meet the regulatory grounding threshold are outside the membership boundary. The member directory reflects only confirmed, criteria-compliant properties.

References

On this site

Core Topics
Contact
Other Pages

In the network

State & Local Authorities