The 4-Step Legitimacy Scan.
Every company in the AAFHQ directory passes the same four checks — no exceptions, no shortcuts, no pay-to-play. Here's exactly what we look for.
License
We confirm the company holds an active license with its regulator — state, federal, NCUA, or its national equivalent. Expired, suspended, or missing license means the process stops here.
LICENSE NUMBERS ARE STORED ON EVERY VERIFIED PROFILE AND RE-CHECKED AT RENEWAL.
Registration
We verify the business is a real, legally registered entity — with a real registration date, a real address, and a track record you can check.
SHELL COMPANIES AND PO-BOX-ONLY OPERATIONS DON'T PASS.
Compliance
We review the company's consumer-protection record: regulatory actions, enforcement history, and complaint patterns. A clean record isn't optional — it's the standard.
OPEN ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS DISQUALIFY A LISTING UNTIL RESOLVED.
Legitimacy
The human check. We weigh transparency — full disclosures, honest fee notes, clear terms — against real consumer feedback and complaint history from the National Safety Network.
THIS IS WHERE THE BADGE IS EARNED, NOT BOUGHT.
What failure means
A failed check withholds or removes the listing until it's fixed. Repeat failures mean permanent removal from the directory.
Annual renewal
Verification expires after one year. The Enterprise Verification OS re-scans all checks — documents, compliance, identity, products, transparency, renewal — before a badge renews.
Badge tiers, earned
No pay-to-play. Ever.
Verification is independent of every subscription. Companies pay for visibility — never for the badge. That's the standard that makes the badge mean something.