> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.whetstone.au/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# How Whetstone Verifies Advisors

> Whetstone advisors are checked by a person before taking bookings. What is verified, and what the Verified badge means.

Every advisor is checked by a real person before they can accept bookings. **Nothing is automatic in either direction** — a failed automated check is a reason to look harder, never a reason to reject on its own.

## What gets checked

<Steps>
  <Step title="Identity">
    A government-issued ID document, confirmed genuine and matching the applicant.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Credentials">
    The licences, registrations and memberships they claim, confirmed with the issuing body — not just read off a certificate.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Background">
    A reference call about the experience they describe. Does the career they have written match the one someone else describes?
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Every decision is written down

A note is **mandatory** on every verification decision. A status without a reason is not evidence, so the reviewer records what they checked, who they spoke to, and what convinced them — on the assumption it will be read a year later by someone handling a complaint.

That record is permanent and stamped with who made it.

## What the Verified badge means

A **Verified** badge means all three checks are complete and a person approved them. An advisor without it is invisible and unbookable — they do not appear on any shortlist, and their profile cannot be reached.

<Note>
  This is the platform's core promise and there is no way around it, including for applicants with impeccable credentials.
</Note>

## Why this matters

Business owners bring sensitive problems — cash flow, compliance, succession. Verification is what makes it reasonable to discuss those with someone you have never met.

## Related articles

* [Insurance explained](/trust/insurance-explained)
* [Bounded scope](/trust/bounded-scope)
* [Verification process, for advisors](/advisors/verification-process)


## Related topics

- [Advisor verification explained](/advisors/verification-process.md)
- [How to become a Whetstone advisor](/advisors/become-an-advisor.md)
- [How Whetstone Works](/getting-started/how-whetstone-works.md)
- [Find a Matched Advisor on Whetstone](/owners/finding-an-advisor.md)
- [Getting paid as a Whetstone advisor](/advisors/getting-paid.md)