A badge that means one exact thing.

We verify a sentence. “Closed a three-year-old cafe in 2024” is a sentence a business closure filing can confirm or contradict. “Hospitality expert” is not, so we do not badge it.

Every claim on Thands has four parts: what you did, when it happened, what document proves it, and who checked it. A profile can carry verified claims and unverified statements side by side — the interface never blurs the two.

Documents we accept

• Employment record — a contract, payslip, or separation letter carrying the employer name and the start or end date the claim rests on.
• Business registration — the incorporation or closure filing. For a shutdown claim we need the dissolution, not only the registration.
• Visa / residency document — the permit or residence card showing the issuing authority, the category, and the grant date. Refusal letters count as evidence too.
• Medical record (masked) — a discharge summary or treatment letter with the clinical detail blacked out. We confirm that a treatment path occurred, never what it was for.
• Contract / official letter — a lease exit, settlement, or official letter that dates the event a claim depends on.
• Other official document — anything issued by a body that would face consequences for issuing it falsely. Tell us what it is and we will say yes or no before you send it.

Salary figures, account numbers, national ID numbers, and diagnoses can be masked before you send anything. We need the boundary of the fact, not its contents.

What we never verify

• Feelings and outcomes. “It was the best decision of my life” is a personal statement. It can appear on a profile, clearly marked, and it never gets a check mark.
• Expertise. We do not assess whether someone gives good counsel. We assess whether they were actually there.
• Predictions. Nobody on Thands is licensed to tell you what will happen to you. Answers are experience, not advice — legal, medical, financial, or immigration.

The receipt

Verification output is a public receipt on the profile: what was claimed, which document class confirmed it, and the date of review. A buyer can see the basis of every badge before spending a cent.

What happens to your document

• You upload through a single-use secure link, never by email attachment.
• A human compares it to the claim. No document is stored in a model or a third-party dataset.
• We record the outcome — claim, document class, reviewer, date — and delete the file.
• Your profile never displays the document, and buyers never receive it.

Fraud and delisting

Forged documents end the account permanently and forfeit pending payouts. Missing the 48-hour answer window twice removes a profile from the marketplace. A verified claim that is later contradicted by evidence is revoked in place — the receipt shows the revocation rather than quietly disappearing.