A marketplace is only as useful as its worst listing. That’s the reasoning behind Agora’s decision to review every function before it’s listed, rather than opening the catalog to unreviewed self-serve uploads. This article covers how that review works and what the resulting grades actually mean.

Why application-based review, not self-serve

An open, unreviewed catalog is faster to fill but harder to trust, and document processing functions in particular often handle data that a business would rather not hand to an unverified vendor. Agora’s application and review process trades some listing speed for a catalog a business can reasonably trust on day one, even while it’s small.

What gets checked before a first listing

Every application goes through the same baseline: publisher identity and business registration are confirmed, the function passes a security review covering data handling and storage, and it’s tested against a representative sample data set before it appears in the catalog. This is the Verified tier, the floor every listed function has cleared.

How grades change after listing

Grading doesn’t stop at launch. Trusted status is earned through a minimum usage volume sustained over a rolling 90 days, combined with a rating threshold held across that same period, and it’s re-evaluated monthly rather than granted permanently. Axrail-Certified, the deepest tier, adds a full joint security and data-handling audit with Axrail’s own team, a formal SLA on uptime and response time, and priority support access.

Why grades can be revoked

A grade reflects current standing, not a one-time achievement. If usage volume, rating, or audit compliance slips below the threshold for a tier, that grade can be revoked. This is deliberate: a badge that never changes stops functioning as a trust signal within a year of being awarded.

What this means if you’re evaluating a function

Read the grading mark as a record of what’s actually been checked, not a marketing badge. A Verified function has cleared identity and baseline security checks but hasn’t yet proven itself under sustained volume. A Trusted or Axrail-Certified function has a track record behind the mark, which matters more the more sensitive or high-volume your use case is.

See the full breakdown of each tier’s criteria on the Trust & Badges page.