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European AI Agent Certification Standard
Methodology v 1.0 · Friday, 17 April 2026
Published by Future Proof Intelligence
Agent Certified EU · AI Agent Certification Standard
Technical Document · Levels

Certification Levels

Every assessed agent is placed into one of five tiers based on its weighted score across the seven dimensions. Each tier carries a meaning, a set of minimum conditions, and a defined validity period.

Document
Certification Tier Specification
Revision
2026.04
Tiers
Five
Validity
12 Months
Scoring Bands

The rubric at a glance

The final score is a single number between zero and one hundred, produced by the methodology. The number alone is not the certification. The certification is the tier the number falls into, together with the evidence file and the registered expiry date.

Pre Assessment
In Progress
Certified
Advanced
Elite
0 to 19 20 to 34 35 to 54 55 to 74 75 to 100
75+

Elite

Exemplar tier

What the score range means

The agent is operating at the top of the framework. Every dimension is materially above the operating floor, including the two highest weighted ones. Reviewers routinely cite Elite agents as reference profiles when producing sector guidance.

Requirements to earn Elite

  • Minimum raw score of eight on every dimension, with no exceptions
  • Independent assurance already performed or scheduled within the current year
  • Board level review of the agent in the last six months
  • Documented incident history showing at least one contained real event
  • Autonomy envelope tied to insurance policy wording

What an insurer learns from Elite

This is the tier where an insurer can price against a known, repeatable risk posture. Agent Certified has no arrangement with any insurer or supervisory authority, and no Elite result has been adopted as an underwriting input.

Validity & recertification

Twelve months. Recertification requires a full re assessment, not a desk update, and must include at least one new piece of incident or drill evidence.

55+

Advanced

Higher exposure ready

What the score range means

The agent is materially above the operating floor and suitable for higher exposure deployments, including use inside regulated workflows where audit trail and human oversight are non negotiable.

Requirements to earn Advanced

  • Minimum raw score of six on every dimension
  • No single dimension below five
  • Governance owner named and referenced in board minutes
  • Regression evaluation suite run on every change
  • Autonomy envelope enforced in code, not only in policy

What an insurer learns from Advanced

A credible risk posture. Advanced agents are acceptable for standard commercial cover, with sector specific endorsements added when deployment scope exceeds internal tooling.

Validity & recertification

Twelve months. Recertification may be partial if the agent has not materially changed, with desk review of updated evidence.

35+

Certified

Operating floor

What the score range means

The agent meets the minimum floor for certification. Governance, oversight and technical controls exist, are documented, and have been inspected. Counterparties may rely on the mark for standard commercial use.

Requirements to earn Certified

  • Minimum raw score of four on every dimension
  • Documented guardrails and a verified kill switch
  • Named accountable owner
  • Incident playbook in writing
  • Autonomy policy published internally

What an insurer learns from Certified

The operator has crossed the threshold below which reliance is not defensible. Certified is the minimum bar most European insurers will begin asking for by the second half of 2026.

Validity & recertification

Twelve months. A light touch annual review is required if no material change has occurred. Any change to the autonomy envelope triggers re assessment regardless of calendar date.

20+

In Progress

Active candidate

What the score range means

The operator has initiated formal controls but the evidence is not yet sufficient for a certification call. The agent is recognised as an active candidate with a known remediation path.

Requirements to earn In Progress

  • Minimum raw score of two on every dimension
  • A written remediation plan with target dates
  • Named owner, even if the role is still interim
  • Acknowledgement by the board that the agent is in production

What an insurer learns from In Progress

The operator is engaged with the framework and is progressing toward certification. This is an acceptable posture for pilots and internal tooling, not for client facing or regulated workflows.

Validity & recertification

Six months. The tier is intentionally short lived. Agents that remain at In Progress after twelve months without movement lose the tier.

<20

Pre Assessment

Baseline

What the score range means

Baseline acknowledged. The operator has engaged with the framework but governance, oversight and technical evidence are not yet sufficient to make a certification call in any direction.

Conditions

  • Evidence file opened with the assessment desk
  • No technical requirement beyond the existence of an agent in production or pilot
  • The operator receives a written gap report against the framework

What an insurer learns from Pre Assessment

Pre Assessment is a starting position, not a certification. It indicates that the operator has entered the process. Insurers typically treat Pre Assessment status as equivalent to uncertified for the purpose of reliance.

Validity & recertification

Three months. Pre Assessment lapses automatically unless the operator progresses to In Progress or above.

How a tier is arrived at is set out in the assessment process step by step, and the scoring logic behind the tiers is explained in the complete Agent Certified framework guide. The dimension that most often decides whether an agent clears Advanced is treated separately in performance and reliability. Further reading is indexed under AI agent certification.

Reference

Side by side comparison

The five tiers in one table. Use this as a quick read for risk committees, procurement teams and insurer intake forms.

Level Score Minimum per dimension Signal Validity
Elite 75 to 100 8 / 10 Reference profile. Priceable risk for insurers. 12 months, full re assessment
Advanced 55 to 74 6 / 10 Regulated workflows and higher exposure. 12 months, desk possible
Certified 35 to 54 4 / 10 Standard commercial use. Operating floor met. 12 months, annual review
In Progress 20 to 34 2 / 10 Candidate. Pilots and internal tooling only. 6 months
Pre Assessment 0 to 19 n/a Entry point. Treated as uncertified for reliance. 3 months
Next Step

See where your agent lands.

The first output of an assessment is a score and a tier placement, with a written evidence file. Most operators complete their first assessment in four to six weeks from intake to certification record.

Request Assessment Read Methodology
The Regulatory Context

Read the law that the methodology operates under.

The Agent Certified framework is calibrated to Article 26 of the EU AI Act, the revised Product Liability Directive, and the supervisory expectations of EIOPA and the AI Office. Agent Liability EU is the operator desk on those instruments.

agentliability.eu →