Proven, Claimed, Contested: how we label every field
One score for a whole record hides more than it shows. Here is why we label every field separately, and how a detail moves from Claimed to Proven.
Most data tools give a record one score. It's tidy, and it's wrong in a particular way: a record isn't one thing. Its email can be rock solid while its phone number is a guess, and a single score averages the two into something that's true of neither.
So we label each field
| Proven | Two independent sources agree, or a register says so. |
|---|---|
| Claimed | One source says it and nothing contradicts it. |
| Contested | Sources disagree, so we show both and change nothing until one wins. |
| Unknown | We hold no evidence, and we never fill a gap with a guess. |
| All there is | Nothing further exists for a business of this kind. |
Independent means independent
We count independent origins, not sightings. A business's own website is one origin however many of its pages we read. So a website can back up a register, but it can't back itself up. Two pages on one site agreeing with each other isn't two sources.
A detail's journey
Say we find a phone number on a business's website. It's Claimed. Later a business listing says the same number. Now two independent places agree, and it's Proven.
Now suppose the website says one number and an old directory listing says another. That's Contested. We show you both, and we don't pick a winner until another independent source breaks the tie. Whatever happens, the old value stays in the history.
Complete is not the same as full
A sole trader has no company number and no directors. If we scored records out of a fixed list of fields, every sole trader would look poor. So a record can say All there is: we hold everything that kind of business publishes.
Why it matters to you
Because it tells you where to put your effort. Ring the Proven number first. Send to the Verified email. Treat a Contested address with care and look for another route. You can pick up the phone knowing what's solid.
See it on a real record on the Records page.
More from the blog.
A green tick next to an email address sounds like a promise. Here is what it proves, what it doesn't, and why we show four labels instead of one.
A catch-all server says yes to every address, including ones that don't exist. Here is what that means for your list, and how to send to them safely.
A practical walk-through: from a blank search to a saved list and a first campaign, with the checks that stop you wasting your time.
See it in the book.
Start free and search the UK, with every field labelled.