What does TAG Certified Against Fraud require, and what does it leave out?
Part of MFA avoidance
The short answer
TAG Certified Against Fraud is a voluntary program, launched in 2016, that certifies companies, not products, for following TAG's anti-fraud guidelines in named markets. Certified companies must filter all monetizable transactions for invalid traffic, filter domain, app and data center threats, and renew each year. The seal does not promise zero fraud or rule out made-for-advertising inventory.
Key takeaways
- TAG certifies a legal entity for specific geographic markets, and the seal may be used only in the markets TAG found compliant.
- Certification for US or Canadian operations can be earned by self-attestation; independent validation is required only for global, European, Chinese and UK scope.
- The core requirement is that all monetizable transactions a company handles are filtered for invalid traffic under a TAG-recognized standard, with a documented exception process.
- The seal is about invalid traffic. It says nothing about whether a site was built mainly to show ads, or whether its content suits a brand.
- Confirm a partner on the TAG Registry and check that the exact legal entity, market and certification match the claim.
What is the TAG Certified Against Fraud program?
The Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG) runs the Certified Against Fraud program (opens in a new tab), which it launched in 2016 to "combat invalid traffic in the digital advertising supply chain." Companies that are shown to follow the Certified Against Fraud Guidelines (opens in a new tab) receive a seal they can use to communicate that commitment. The current guidelines are version 11.0, dated July 2026 in their change log, and they are maintained by TAG's Anti-Fraud Working Group.
Definition
- Certified Against Fraud (CAF) seal
- TAG's certification that a company's material ad monetization operations in a stated geographic market follow the Certified Against Fraud Guidelines. It is awarded to a legal entity, renewed annually, and published on the TAG Registry.
The guidelines call the program voluntary, and TAG certifies "at the entity level, rather than certifying a specific product or business line within a legal entity." CAF is one of four programs on TAG's certifications page (opens in a new tab), alongside Certified Against Malvertising, Brand Safety Certified and Certified For Transparency. Each covers a different problem, so a seal in one says nothing about the others. For what invalid traffic itself means, see our guide to invalid traffic.
Who can earn the Certified Against Fraud seal?
Any TAG member company in good standing can apply, provided its membership includes the CAF program. Before that, it must become "TAG Registered" and enroll in Verified by TAG (opens in a new tab), which TAG calls "the first step for any company looking to join the TAG Community." Verified companies pass a proprietary background check and receive a unique 16-character TAG ID. The guidelines say CAF participation carries an annual fee that is included in membership dues.
| Covered party | Who it includes, in the guidelines' terms | Example in a US or Canadian buy |
|---|---|---|
| Direct Buyer | Advertisers that own the ads, and agencies that directly represent them | A brand and its media agency |
| Direct Seller | Publishers and content creators, and agents that directly represent a publisher; podcast creators count here | A news site or its sales house |
| Intermediary | Companies operating technology for buying or selling inventory, as indirect sellers or indirect buyers | An SSP, a DSP or an ad network |
| Anti-Fraud and Measurement Services | Companies that detect, measure or filter invalid traffic but do not transact inventory | A verification or measurement provider |
A company that plays more than one role must apply under each category it operates in and meet each set of requirements. Since version 10.0 in July 2024, a publisher acting as a Direct Seller can meet the filtering requirement by working only with intermediary partners that hold the CAF seal, which TAG's program page describes as "leveraging their relationship with a Supply Side Platform (SSP) that holds a valid CAF Seal."
What does Certified Against Fraud require?
The requirements fall into administrative, anti-fraud and transparency groups, and they differ by role. The heart of the program is section 4.5: a participating company "must ensure that 100% of the monetizable transactions (including impressions, clicks, conversions, etc.) that it handles are filtered for both general invalid traffic (GIVT) and sophisticated invalid traffic (SIVT)" under a TAG-recognized standard. Appendix A names two: the MRC Invalid Traffic Detection and Filtration Standards Addendum (opens in a new tab), updated June 2020, and a Chinese monitoring and verification standard, T/CAAD 002-2020.
| Requirement | Direct Buyer | Direct Seller | Intermediary | Measurement service |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TAG registration, compliance officer, annual training | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Invalid traffic detection and removal | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Domain, app and data center IP threat filtering | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Implement and honor ads.txt and app-ads.txt | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Payment ID System | No | No | Yes | No |
| Publish sellers.json or buyers.json with a TAG-ID identifier | No | No | Yes | No |
| Define key roles for responding to fraud events | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Some rules touch files a buyer can read. A certified Direct Seller must publish ads.txt on each domain it monetizes and use the certification authority field to carry the TAG ID of each listed intermediary that has one, as our TAG ID in ads.txt guide explains. A certified buyer or intermediary must buy only from sellers named in a published ads.txt file. Version 11.0 also added device attestation support for some app sellers and crawler transparency for intermediaries that run search or AI crawlers.
How a company earns and keeps the seal
- Join and verify. Become TAG Registered, enroll in Verified by TAG and name a TAG Compliance Officer independent of sales and marketing.
- Choose the scope. Apply by country, by region or globally, under each covered party category the company operates in.
- Choose the method. Self-attestation, or independent validation by an auditor with a digital media audit specialty; global, European, Chinese and UK scope require validation.
- Train and review. The compliance officer completes CAF training every 12 months and oversees quarterly internal reviews.
- Recertify each year. Apply by January 31; TAG says it notifies companies of the outcome by March 1.
What does Certified Against Fraud not guarantee?
The seal certifies a process, so its limits come from the guidelines themselves. Independent validation is "designed to provide limited assurance," and it is mandatory only for certain markets, so a company certified for the United States or Canada may have attested its own compliance. Section 4.5.a also lets a company seek an exception for the share of transactions it cannot yet filter, with a signed executive attestation stating the scope and the reason.
| Question | Does the CAF seal answer it? | Where to look instead |
|---|---|---|
| Does this company filter its transactions for invalid traffic? | Yes, for the certified entity and markets | The TAG Registry entry |
| Is this one site free of fraud? | No; certification covers a company's process, not a single domain | Log-level and placement reports |
| Is the site built mainly to show ads? | No | Ad layout, traffic source and content checks |
| Is the content suitable for the brand? | No | A suitability review; Brand Safety Certified is a separate TAG program |
| Are the other companies in the path certified? | No; each company holds its own seal or none | ads.txt, sellers.json and each partner's registry entry |
Certification can also end. TAG's complaints page (opens in a new tab) says failure to comply "can result in consequences, including but not limited to the loss of the applicable certification and seal," and lets anyone report non-compliance by email with written documentation. Certified companies can review allegations, submit rebuttal evidence and appeal, so an open complaint is not a finding.
How can a buyer confirm that a partner is certified?
TAG calls its Registry (opens in a new tab) "the official database for the global TAG Community," where a buyer can look up a partner's membership standing and the certifications it holds. The guidelines say certification status is posted to the Registry and that the certification method is recorded and displayed on TAG's website. A logo in a sales deck is a claim; the Registry entry is the record.
Confirming a CAF claim before a deal
- The legal entity in the Registry matches the company on the contract, not only a brand name or parent group.
- The Registry shows Certified Against Fraud, not only Verified by TAG or another TAG seal.
- The certified markets include the United States, Canada or both, as the campaign requires.
- The certification method, self-attestation or independent validation, is noted in the partner file.
- The partner's sellers.json lists a TAG-ID identifier that matches the Registry entry, where the partner is an intermediary.
- The check date is recorded, since recertification runs each year and a seal can be lost.
What does a CAF review look like on a real brief?
Fictional example
A home security brief in Rhode Island
A fictional home security and alarm monitoring company asks its agency for a winter display and online video plan in Rhode Island, around Providence, Warwick and Cranston, beside local news, home and family safety content. The brand's procurement team asks that each supply partner on the deal hold the CAF seal.
The trading desk looks up the three SSPs that sell the planned sites. Two show Certified Against Fraud for the United States in the TAG Registry, one by independent validation and one by self-attestation, and the desk records both methods. The third shows Verified by TAG but no CAF seal, so its path is left off the deal and the reason is written into the deal notes.
The planner treats the seals as one input. The site list still goes through the agency's made-for-advertising review, because a certified path can carry a site with clean traffic and a page built around ad slots. Two sites with timed ad refresh and arbitrage traffic signs go to review before the deal is set up.
Where does PlacementGraph fit next to a fraud certification?
Frequently asked questions
Is Verified by TAG the same as Certified Against Fraud?
No. Verified by TAG is the entry step: a background check that confirms a company's identity and gives it a 16-character TAG ID. Certified Against Fraud is a separate program a verified member can join, with its own requirements, training and annual recertification. A Registry entry can show one without the other.
Can a small publisher meet the CAF filtering requirement without its own technology?
Yes, under the version 11.0 guidelines. A Direct Seller can rely on intermediary partners for invalid traffic filtering if all of its direct and reseller intermediaries hold the CAF seal, or use in-house filtering that an independent auditor has certified against a TAG-recognized standard.
Does a CAF seal cover all of a company's markets?
Only if the company certified globally. TAG lets companies certify by country, by region or globally, and the seal may be used only in the markets TAG found compliant. Any use of the seal must name the markets it applies to, so check that the United States or Canada is listed for a North American buy.
What should a buyer do if a certified partner appears to break the guidelines?
TAG accepts complaints about non-compliance by email to its stated address, and asks for written documentation of the incidents. The certified company can respond with rebuttal evidence and appeal, so keep the evidence specific: dates, impressions, domains and the requirement in question.
Sources
- Certified Against Fraud Guidelines, version 11.0 (opens in a new tab)TAG (Trustworthy Accountability Group), July 2026
- Certified Against Fraud program (opens in a new tab)TAG
- Verified by TAG (opens in a new tab)TAG
- TAG Registry (opens in a new tab)TAG
- Certifications (opens in a new tab)TAG
- Complaints (opens in a new tab)TAG
- Invalid Traffic Detection and Filtration Standards Addendum, June 2020 Update (opens in a new tab)Media Rating Council
- Leading Trade Groups Define “Made For Advertising” Websites (opens in a new tab)ANA, September 26, 2023
Researched and written by PlacementGraph Research. Read how we research, source and update these pages. Corrections: diana@placementgraph.com.