An administrative fee of EUR 3,000 is payable to process the review of a CoreTrustSeal certification.

Why an administrative fee? The administrative fee is a contribution towards the cost of operation, maintenance, and development of the CoreTrustSeal certification service. It is also used develop training material for reviewers and ultimately provide a robust and sustainable certification service. Members of the Assembly of Reviewers undertake CoreTrustSeal Data Repositories reviews on a voluntary basis.

How and when to pay the fee? An invoice will be sent to the applicant when they submit their application for review. Payments will be made to the CoreTrustSeal Foundation account—the nonprofit legal entity under Dutch law operating the CoreTrustSeal certification service. Payments can be made via bank transfer (no extra charge). For payments outside the SEPA area, please make sure that costs of bank remittance should be covered exclusively by the issuer. Once payment is received, the review process for the application commences.

How many revised submissions are allowed? A maximum of five (5) revisions can be reviewed as part of the same application payment leading to a certification valid for three (3) years. Additional revisions can be accepted at the discretion of the CoreTrustSeal Board.

Does payment of the fee guarantee certification? The short answer is ‘No’. The administration fee guarantees only that a submitted application is entered into the CoreTrustSeal peer review process, it does not pay for a CoreTrustSeal certification. A repository may reach its maximum five (5) revisions and still not have shown sufficient evidence to be certified by the CoreTrustSeal Board. It may also be the case that an applicant is not within the scope of the current certification.

Can I get a reviewers discount? Members of the Assembly of Reviewers who have provided six (6) or more reviews in the certification period of their institute/repository are eligible to receive a -33% discount for its recertification. Find out about the reviewer discount rules and conditions here: https://www.coretrustseal.org/apply/reviewers-discount/

Can I get a waiver? The administrative fee may be waived in exceptional cases and at the discretion of the CoreTrustSeal Board. For example repositories located in Low and Middle Income Countries may request a waiver. The decision to waive the administrative fee will depend on eligibility of the repository and is at the discretion of the CoreTrustSeal Board. Contact finance@coretrustseal.org to provide your request and contextual information.

Are volume discounts available? A volume discount of -25% is available for umbrella organizations certifying ten (10) or more data repositories. The administrative fee must be paid upfront for processing 10 or more certifications by the umbrella organization. The vouchers can be used during a 3-year period and additional vouchers can be added at the same discounted rate.

If you have other questions, please contact us at finance@coretrustseal.org