VES is
- A standard for preserving consequential decision evidence
- A portable decision envelope
- Applicable to human, rules, workflow and AI-assisted decisions
- A way to verify a declared evidence package later
Verifiable Evidence Standard
Verifiable Evidence Standard (VES)
A published standard for preserving the evidence, authority, conditions, judgement and commitment behind consequential decisions so they can be independently reviewed without reconstructing them later.
VES 1.2Stewarded by Veriscopic
Valid evidence is not always sufficient decision evidence.
The 60-second explanation
Preserve the decision, not just the activity.
A consequential decision is rarely contained in one system. VES links the material evidence into a portable point-in-time envelope without replacing the systems that produced it.
Different evidence answers different questions.
What formed the decision at the moment the organisation acted?
Runtime records can show what a system did.
Governance evidence can show how an organisation is controlled.
VES addresses what evidence, authority, conditions, judgement and commitment formed the decision.
VES is not
- A runtime-control receipt or gateway
- An audit log or replacement for source systems
- A governance maturity taxonomy
- A certification that a decision was correct
Public model
The VES Decision Envelope
Nine public components establish what was decided, what applied, who or what contributed, and how the resulting package can be checked later.
- 01
Decision identity
The decision type, opaque subject reference, outcome and execution time.
- 02
Decision context
The material facts and source evidence considered in relation to the decision, with their declared relationship — for example available, relied upon, excluded or superseded.
- 03
Governing conditions
The policy, wording, rules, requirements or instructions applicable at the time.
- 04
Business authority
The role, delegated authority, limits and approval state at execution.
- 05
System contribution
Rules, models, workflows or external systems that materially influenced the decision.
- 06
Human judgement
Review, intervention, approval, override or rationale where applicable.
- 07
Commitment
The organisational outcome, including financial, contractual or customer consequence.
- 08
Evidence integrity
References, hashes, signatures and declared provenance for Evidence Objects, where available.
- 09
Verification
The profile used, checks performed, result status and visible limitations.
From reconstruction to replay
01Fragmented evidence
02VES Decision Envelope
03Review · Replay · Verify
Evidence and governing decision inputs are linked by a VES Decision Envelope for later review, replay and verification.
Decision-evidence maturity
A progression from recollection to preserved state.
The levels describe evidence maturity.
They are not certification grades and do not determine whether a decision was correct.
- L1
Narrative
The decision is described after the fact.
- L2
Documentary
Documents and artefacts are retained, but association or timing may be weak.
- L3
Traceable
Source evidence, versions and attributable decision history are linked.
- L4
Preserved Decision-State
A time-bound envelope preserves authority, conditions, human and system contribution, integrity data and a replay path.
Minimum viable decision state
Preserve enough. Not everything.
Replayability does not require indiscriminate capture.
Different decisions require different evidence.
Minimum Viable Decision State describes the smallest sufficient set of decision-state elements required for a particular decision to remain intelligible and verifiable later.
VES provides the evidentiary structure through which the required state can be represented.
A principle for deciding what must be preserved — not a claim that every decision needs the same evidence.
Independent verification
Evidence should outlive the system that created it.
A portable evidence package should not depend entirely on the originating application remaining available, unchanged or trusted.
Origin
System that produced the evidence
Review
Evidence required to review and verify the decision
- Systems
- Vendors
- Models
- Organisations
- Time
The objective is evidentiary continuity over time.
VES and replayability
Verification is necessary. Replayability goes further.
Integrity verification can establish whether preserved evidence remains consistent with the declared evidence package.
Replayability asks a broader question“Does the preserved evidence contain enough of the relevant decision-state for someone later to understand the decision in its original operating context?”
VES provides an evidentiary foundation for that capability.
Insurance applications
One evidence model across consequential workflows.
VES applies wherever an organisational commitment may later need to be understood, tested or replayed.
- 01
Claims
Preserve the basis of a settlement, referral or denial so later reviews do not begin with a forensic search.
- 02
Underwriting
Bind risk decisions to the evidence, authority and governing conditions in force at acceptance.
- 03
Delegated authority
Show which mandate, limit and approval state applied when an organisation committed.
- 04
Operational risk & assurance
Review consequential decisions through a consistent, portable evidence structure.
- 05
Reinsurance
Retain the decision evidence needed to examine coverage, authority and material conditions later.
Standards and implementation
VES within Veriscopic
VES
Defines the portable evidence model.
Veriscopic
Provides infrastructure for capturing, preserving, verifying and replaying decision-state.
Veriscopic uses VES as an evidentiary foundation for its Decision Records. The Veriscopic Capture Fabric can collect relevant state across people, systems, documents, rules and models and assemble it into a structured Decision Record.
VES defines the portable evidence model. Veriscopic provides infrastructure for applying that model within live decision workflows.
Current publication
VES 1.2
Published 21 September 2026 · Current, published and citable
VES 1.1 is superseded.
Open foundation
An implementation-neutral evidentiary foundation.
VES separates the evidence model from any single product implementation.
The standard defines the structure of a declared consequential-decision evidence package.
Veriscopic is one implementation environment and remains steward of the standard. This separation is intended to support portability, independent review and durability as underlying technologies change.
Important
VES structures consequential-decision evidence for later review and verification.
It does not certify that a decision was correct.
It does not itself establish regulatory compliance.
It does not replace legal, regulatory, audit or professional judgement.
Evidence can support judgement.
It does not replace it.