PUBLICMCP Methodology

Verification Criteria

How listings on the PUBLICMCP directory earn their tier. Every check below runs against the business's live MCP endpoint and public records — not opinions, not a self-reported score.

AI Listed

Every registered business starts here. All checks are fully automated and re-run nightly against the live endpoint — no fee, no application, no human involved.

1
PUBLICMCP spec compliance
The business's .well-known/publicmcp.json discovery document is fetched and validated — must be reachable, return valid JSON, declare a spec version, and expose the three required tools (get_info, get_services, get_location).
2
Business identity schema completeness
The business's identity record is scored against the full PUBLICMCP schema (name, location, services, portfolio, contact info, and more) and the percentage of real, non-placeholder fields is published — not hidden inside a composite score.
3
Nightly rescore
Every check above re-runs automatically every night, so a listing's record reflects the current state of its live endpoint, not a snapshot from onboarding.
AI Verified

A one-time credential layered on top of Listed status, combining a third-party identity check with a human review of publicly verifiable claims.

1
Google Business Profile match
The business's claimed name and location are checked against Google's Places API for an active, operational listing at a matching address. No review content or star ratings are imported — only the existence and physical verification of the listing itself, which Google confirms independently (by postcard or phone) before a listing goes live.
2
Human review
A PUBLICMCP reviewer confirms any license or certification numbers against the relevant issuing board's public lookup, and spot-checks that identity-record claims (services, location, credentials) match the business's real, live website.
3
Annual recheck
The human review is one-time. After that, the Google Business Profile match and schema checks re-run automatically once a year. A failed recheck does not silently revoke Verified status — it flags the listing for a fresh manual review.

What disqualifies Verified status

A missing Google Business Profile match alone does not disqualify a listing — some legitimate businesses (by-appointment-only, home-based, newly opened) don't have an active profile. It's recorded on the listing's verification record either way. Verified status is a record of identity and data-hygiene checks, not an endorsement of service quality. See a live example at publicmcp.org/verify/mcp.sltcreative.com.