# Applications

Gold Standard Quality Awards · 2.0 · 2026-10-19

## About the Awards

This is the question Gold Standard Quality Awards answers. Compliance alone does not earn an award. Recognition follows only where complete, reliable evidence establishes compliance with every applicable requirement and a verified margin on a relevant core indicator.

## Award Criteria

Gold Standard Quality Awards addresses one question: whether reliable evidence establishes that a product exceeds the applicable regulatory requirements of its target market. Compliance with all applicable regulatory requirements is the entry threshold. An award requires at least one core parameter directly relevant to the principal use, quality or safety of the product to exceed the corresponding requirement reliably. Brand size, sales and price do not replace product evidence.

## Like-for-like Comparison

The assessment identifies the applicable legal instrument, edition, clause and limit before comparing the reported result. Test method, sample configuration, preconditioning, units and decision rule must match. Measurement uncertainty is considered where it affects the conclusion. Where a requirement is qualitative, a pass alone cannot be expressed as a percentage improvement. A lower measured value is better only where the relevant requirement defines it that way.

## Define the Scope

Identify the applicant, exact model, configuration, intended use and target market. A change in age group, power rating, installation or material may change the applicable requirements.

## Submit Complete Evidence

Provide the complete report with annexes, amendments and sample identification; the laboratory’s relevant qualification; a clause-by-clause comparison; and the required English and authentication documents. Uploads and subsequent requests are handled through the applicant account.

## Recognition for the Actual Test

Check the issuing body, actual testing site, methods and recognised scope, including the qualification or regulatory acceptance in force when the tests were performed. Check the current official record separately. ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation demonstrates competence within its stated scope; it does not establish acceptance under every regulatory programme. CPSC acceptance, FCC recognition, NRTL recognition, designated-body status and other product-specific requirements are verified separately where applicable.

## The Complete Report Matters

Submit every page, annex, amendment and limitation belonging to the report. The model and configuration must match the application. Photographs, summaries, selected result pages and certificates may support identification but do not replace the full test report. Authenticity is checked through the issuer’s verification channel or documented confirmation; confidential files are not made public without the corresponding release authority.

## English, Notarisation & Apostille

A non-English report must be accompanied by a complete English translation and the required notarisation and Apostille documentation. The translation must preserve the issuer, number, dates, methods, results, units, limitations and annex references. The issuing jurisdiction, nature of the document and Convention relationship determine the competent authority and available authentication route. An Apostille authenticates a signature, capacity and seal; it does not verify the test results or approve the product.

## Review & Decision

Technical review checks the regulatory baseline, evidence and claimed margin. A separate authorised person makes the decision. Missing or inconclusive evidence is requested through a recorded notice; it is not treated as proof of a higher standard.

## Review Period

A specific substantive request for additional documents or an outcome must be issued within six calendar months of the first formal submission. If neither has been issued by that point, the case closes without an award on procedural grounds; this is not a finding of technical nonconformity. Requests for additional documents state their own deadlines. Reconsideration may be requested free of charge within 30 calendar days of receipt of the formal decision notice. Progress and notices are available in the applicant account.

## No Award Fees

GSQA charges no application, review, award, certificate or mark-licence fees. The award cannot be purchased. Testing, translation, notarisation and authentication obtained from independent providers remain the applicant’s external costs. Paying a provider neither guarantees an award nor changes the assessment threshold.

## Award Mark

The mark identifies the awarded model and approved market scope, not an entire brand or an unassessed product family. Use it with the award reference and a working verification link or QR code. It must not imply government certification, universal market access or indefinite validity. Where a record expires, is suspended or is revoked, use must follow the applicable notice and licence terms.

## Record Status

A record is valid only for the model, configuration, market and period stated in it. Renewal requires current evidence; it is not automatic. Changes to components, materials, manufacturing, intended use, applicable requirements or report status must be declared. A new model or market extension requires a scope decision before the mark is used for it.

## Eight Languages

Award records explain the regulatory baseline, verified advantage and scope in English, Spanish, French, German, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese and Korean. Each version refers to the same award, model and evidence.

## Complaints & Review

A complaint identifies the affected record or application, the issue and supporting evidence. An applicant seeking review must cite the decision, state the grounds and submit the relevant material within the notice period. Review is not a purchase of a different result and does not replace a required new assessment. Status, receipt and formal outcome are kept in the case record. A correction request concerns an inaccurate fact; a misuse report concerns an unauthorised or misleading claim.

https://goldstandardquality.com/en/documents