Governance

APIS governance keeps the standard open, explicit, and accountable as publication, issuer recognition, and verification surfaces evolve.

Governance Model

APIS is governed through a transparent, multi-stakeholder process that ensures the standard serves the broader ecosystem while maintaining technical integrity.

Technical Steering Committee

A technical committee responsible for the day-to-day development of the standard, reviewing proposals, and maintaining specification quality.

Governance Board

Representatives from issuer organizations, industry stakeholders, and independent experts who provide strategic direction and policy oversight.

Working Groups

Time-limited groups focused on specific topics such as security, privacy, interoperability, or sector-specific extensions.

Registry Signing

The APIS issuer-registry layer is a critical trust surface for status publication and verification. It is designed around distributed signing, auditable publication, and clear separation between canonical issuer records and adjacent public reference surfaces.

Multi-Signature Authority

Critical registry updates can require signatures from multiple authorized signers, reducing single points of failure.

Transparent Operations

Registry and publication operations are designed to be logged and auditable, supporting accountability without overstating current automation.

Distributed Trust

Signing authority and stewardship can be distributed across multiple independent parties as the ecosystem matures.

Standards Process

APIS evolves through a transparent, community-driven process.

1

Proposal

Anyone can submit a proposal for new features or changes to the standard.

2

Discussion

Proposals are discussed publicly, with input from stakeholders.

3

Review

The technical committee reviews proposals for technical merit and ecosystem impact.

4

Approval

Approved proposals are incorporated into the specification through versioning.

Governance Resources

Governance Charter

The founding document outlining governance structure and procedures.

RFC Process

How proposals are submitted, reviewed, and adopted.

Agent Registry Surface

See how public verification records and reference proofs are presented today.

Participate in Governance

Join the governance process to help shape the future of agent identity standards.

Get Involved