What is Independent Contract Certification?

Independent Contract Certification is a third-party validation of your standard agreements, powered by TermScout’s AI and legal experts. It benchmarks your contracts against thousands of real-world deals to ensure fairness and balance.

What does the Certify® badge mean?

The TermScout Certify® badge is a trust signal that proves your contract has been independently reviewed and verified as fair, balanced, and market-aligned.

How does the certification process work?

TermScout’s AI analyzes each clause in your contract, followed by human validation from legal professionals. Contracts that meet fairness and balance standards earn the TermScout Certify® badge.

Who benefits from contract certification?

Sales, Legal, Procurement, Finance, and RevOps teams benefit from faster deal cycles, fewer redlines, and greater buyer confidence.

Independent Business Contract Certification | TrustMark™

Independent contract certification

What Is TrustMark™?

Independent proof that makes contract confidence visible.

TrustMark™ is TermScout’s public-facing signal that a specific agreement has earned independent certification. It helps buyers recognize that the reviewed version meets defined standards for favorability, clarity, and designated Deal Breakers, giving legal and procurement teams a clearer place to start.

TermScout’s contract intelligence platform brings together structured contract analysis, real-world market benchmarking, clear contract signals, and expert review to evaluate eligibility.

What TrustMark™ confirms

A transparent standard, not just a claim.

Balanced or Customer Favorable

Overall contract favorability

Medium or High Clarity

Clear, understandable contract language

No designated Deal Breakers

Under the applicable certification methodology

Certification is agreement-specific

Each TrustMark™ applies to the documents and versions evaluated within the defined Scope of Review. It does not replace a buyer’s own legal assessment.

TrustMark™ at a glance

What TrustMark™ Makes Clear

Independent analysis, real-world market evidence, and agreement-specific certification give buyers a more confident starting point.

Independent Analysis and Expert Review

Certify® analyzes the submitted agreement, and expert review helps validate the findings against TrustMark™ certification criteria.

Evidence Beyond the Claim

Contract terms are benchmarked against real-world agreements to add objective market context. Market alignment alone is not a qualification requirement.

Clearly Defined Certification Standards

Qualifying agreements must have overall Favorability of Balanced or Customer Favorable, overall Clarity of Medium or High, and no designated Deal Breakers.

A Signal Buyers Can Verify

The buyer-facing TrustMark™ page identifies the documents evaluated, helping legal and procurement teams understand exactly what the certification covers.

TrustMark™ certification

What TrustMark™ Certification Confirms

Independent evidence for a specific agreement, not a blanket promise.

TrustMark™ confirms that the agreement documents and versions within TermScout’s defined Scope of Review met the applicable certification requirements.

Balanced or Customer FavorableOverall contract favorability

Medium or High ClarityThe agreement meets TermScout’s clarity threshold

No designated Deal BreakersBased on the applicable review criteria

Market benchmarking adds context, but is not a separate certification test. Certification does not automatically cover later revisions or materials outside the Scope of Review.

The certification in context

A signal buyers can explore

Example of a TrustMark certified agreement experience

The buyer-facing certification experience helps reviewers understand which agreement was evaluated and what the TrustMark™ covers.

How TrustMark™ Supports Every Side of the Deal

Bring independent contract evidence into the conversation earlier, so teams can evaluate standard terms with greater clarity.

For sales teams

Build confidence in your standard agreement early and give prospects a credible reference point for their review.

For legal and procurement

See what was independently evaluated and focus attention on exceptions and transaction-specific requirements.

For business leaders

Improve visibility and alignment around contractual terms while helping teams avoid unnecessary review friction.

TrustMark™ supports informed decisions. It does not replace an organization’s own legal or procurement review.

Explore a Certified Agreement

Certification essentials

TrustMark™ FAQs

What TrustMark™ certifies, how the review works, and what buyers should know about the agreement-specific trust signal.

Explore our certification methodology

What is TrustMark™?

TrustMark™ is TermScout’s public-facing certification signal for a specific agreement that meets its defined review requirements. It helps customers and their legal and procurement teams understand what has been independently evaluated.

How is TrustMark™ different from Certify®?

Certify® is TermScout’s contract intelligence platform, which analyzes contract language and provides market-based benchmarking and signals. TrustMark™ is the certification signal awarded to an agreement when it meets the applicable criteria and completes the certification review.

What does an agreement need to qualify?

The reviewed agreement must have overall Favorability rated Balanced or Customer Favorable, overall Clarity rated Medium or High, and no designated Deal Breaker terms under the applicable methodology. Market benchmarking provides context but is not an additional stand-alone qualification test.

Which documents and versions does TrustMark™ cover?

Certification applies only to the specific agreement documents and versions included in the defined Scope of Review. It does not automatically extend to other agreements, attachments outside that scope, or transaction-specific terms that were not evaluated.

Does certification automatically continue after an agreement changes?

No. TrustMark™ is tied to the version reviewed. A revised agreement is not automatically covered by a prior certification; changes may require a new evaluation to establish whether the updated version qualifies.

Does TrustMark™ replace legal or procurement review?

No. TrustMark™ offers independent evidence about the reviewed agreement under TermScout’s methodology. It does not guarantee that the agreement is appropriate for every buyer or replace legal advice, buyer-specific due diligence, or compliance assessments.

How can a buyer verify what was certified?

The buyer-facing TrustMark™ page provides information about the evaluated agreement and its Scope of Review. Buyers can use that evidence as a starting point for understanding the certification and identifying questions that still need their own review.

Where can a company share its TrustMark™?

Companies can share their TrustMark™ and buyer-facing certification page alongside their standard agreement, on their website, during sales conversations, and as part of legal or procurement evaluation. The signal should remain associated with the version and documents actually reviewed.