1
Unverified
New accountA builder has created a profile but hasn't completed any checks yet. They can fill in their portfolio and company details, but they carry no trust signals. You'll always know when a profile is at this stage.
Verification
How we verify booth builders
Trust is something a builder earns step by step. Here’s exactly what each tier means, what we actually check, and why exhibitors can rely on the verified badge.
The trust ladder
Three tiers, in plain terms
A builder's tier only ever moves in one direction as they prove more — and you always see where they stand.
2
Email-verified
Email confirmedThe builder has confirmed control of their account email with a one-time code. It's the baseline gate to take part — enough to bid, but not a statement about the business behind the account.
3
Business-verified
Business + portfolio checkedThe builder's company registration has been validated and their portfolio has passed a manual review. This is the tier that earns the verified badge you see on a profile and in the bid matrix.
We’re honest about the ceiling: verification raises the cost of faking, it isn’t a guarantee. Deeper checks — reference calls, insurance certificates and identity verification — arrive in later phases alongside escrow.
What we check
The two checks behind the badge
Business registration
We validate the company's VAT or registration details against official registries where they're available — for EU builders, directly against the VIES database. We label this honestly as best-effort and region-dependent: coverage varies by country, and we tell you which checks actually ran on a given profile.
Portfolio review
A real person on our team reviews each business-verified builder's portfolio — sanity-checking the projects and spot-checking for obviously stolen photos. It's the single highest-value trust step we take, because it's the work that's hardest to fake convincingly.
The verified badge
When you see the verified badge on a profile or next to a bid, it means the business is registered, the portfolio has passed human review, and the whole decision sits on an audit trail. Here’s why that’s something you can lean on:
- Verified status, ratings and past stands are shown up front, before you ever share contact details.
- Every verification decision is recorded on an auditable trail, so a badge is never an unexplained sticker.
- If a builder edits a verification-relevant detail — company name, VAT number, country or portfolio — that badge is revoked and re-reviewed. Nobody can verify clean and quietly swap in stolen work later.
- Exhibitors who've completed a project can flag an inaccurate profile straight into our trust-and-safety queue.