Assessment Limitations

Respire USA provides independent verification and assessment services designed to help people, communities, organizations and businesses better understand the evidence behind claims, credentials, programs, activities and other matters relevant to their decisions.

Respire assessments are conducted within a defined scope and reflect the evidence available and applicable to the questions examined at the time of review. Assessment findings, public directory information and Respire Verification Summaries should be understood within that scope and in light of the applicable assessment or review date.

These limitations are part of Respire's methodology. They are intended to prevent conclusions from extending beyond what the available evidence supports.

A Respire assessment applies only to the subject matter identified within the assessment scope.

Depending on the assessment, the subject may be an organization, program, product, facility, credential, certification, claim, relationship, supply-chain representation or other defined activity or proposition.

A finding concerning one subject should not be interpreted as a finding concerning every related entity, product, facility, affiliate, supplier, distributor, program, claim, jurisdiction or activity unless the stated scope expressly supports that conclusion.

Respire preserves assessment scope rather than extending findings beyond the evidence reviewed.

Respire assessments reflect information evaluated through an identified review period or assessment date.

Organizations and circumstances can change. Certifications may expire, be suspended or renewed. Regulatory status may change. Ownership, facilities, suppliers, relationships, operations, public claims and other material facts may change after an assessment is completed. Additional evidence may also become available.

A completed assessment therefore represents Respire's findings under the identified methodology and scope as of the applicable assessment date. It should not be interpreted as a permanent determination of future status, conduct or performance.

Where monitoring is active, subsequent information may be identified for review. Monitoring does not retroactively alter a completed assessment. Where new information warrants a new determination, Respire may initiate a separate reassessment.

Respire seeks competent, authoritative evidence appropriate to the question being examined and evaluates evidence according to its source, applicability, provenance and relationship to the assessment scope.

Not every fact can always be independently verified. Records may be unavailable, inaccessible, incomplete, outdated, jurisdictionally limited or insufficient to establish a particular fact or attribution. Certain information may not be publicly available or may require additional evidence before Respire can responsibly reach a conclusion.

Respire does not automatically treat a missing record, unavailable source, silence in the public record or unresolved attribution as evidence of wrongdoing or as proof that a claim is false.

Likewise, the absence of identified adverse information does not establish that no adverse information or risk exists.

Respire does not force certainty where the evidence does not support it.

Information may remain unresolved when available evidence is insufficient to confirm or contradict a proposition, establish identity or attribution, determine applicability, reconcile conflicting information or support another required conclusion.

An unresolved matter means that the available assessment record did not support a stronger conclusion within the applicable scope and review period. It should not automatically be interpreted as either confirmation or rejection of the underlying proposition.

Respire uses technology, including AI-assisted research and evidence aggregation, to support assessment work. These tools may assist in locating, organizing, comparing and structuring potentially relevant information.

AI assistance does not independently issue or authorize an official Respire assessment.

Human review remains part of the Respire assessment process, including where evidence requires contextual interpretation, entity or relationship attribution, reconciliation of contradictory information, regulatory or jurisdictional interpretation, evaluation of potentially consequential findings, finalization or publication decisions.

The Respire Public Directory is a discovery and information resource.

A public directory profile may contain approved information concerning a listed subject and, where applicable, a Respire Verification Summary.

A Respire Verification Summary is a controlled public presentation of approved assessment information. It is not the complete underlying assessment record.

Full Respire assessments are private by default unless Respire affirmatively determines otherwise. Public information does not automatically include underlying evidence records, confidential submissions, internal assessment materials, analyst reasoning, restricted information or other non-public records.

Directory inclusion should be understood according to the subject, scope, methodology, assessment or review date, and other qualifications associated with the individual record.

Directory inclusion or publication of Respire verification information does not constitute a blanket endorsement of an organization or every product, service, program, claim, credential, activity or future action associated with it.

It does not establish affiliation with Respire, universal certification, permanent approval or the absence of risk.

Where Respire publishes verification information, that information applies only within its stated scope and review period.

Respire provides verification context and assessment findings to support better-informed decisions. Neither an assessment, directory record nor Respire Verification Summary guarantees:

• the safety of any organization, product, service, facility, program or activity;
• compliance with every applicable law, regulation, standard, contractual obligation, certification requirement or other requirement;
• the financial condition, solvency or commercial viability of an organization;
• future conduct, performance, outcomes or continued qualification;
• that every potentially relevant fact, source, record, event or circumstance has been identified;
• the absence of fraud, misconduct, defects, violations, disputes or other risks; or
• that information valid at the time of assessment remains unchanged afterward.

Respire does more than collect or summarize information. Within the defined scope of an assessment, Respire evaluates the evidence and reaches independent findings and conclusions under its methodology.

Depending on the scope and purpose of the engagement, an assessment may identify areas where the evidence supports qualification, as well as gaps, deficiencies, inconsistencies, unresolved matters, missing or insufficient substantiation, and other areas that Respire believes warrant attention.

For paid client engagements, Respire may also provide recommendations, remediation considerations, or a roadmap describing areas that Respire believes should be clarified, strengthened, corrected, documented, or otherwise addressed. These recommendations reflect Respire's assessment of the evidence and applicable methodology at the time of review.

Respire's findings and recommendations are independent assessment judgments. They do not guarantee that implementing a recommendation will produce a particular future assessment outcome, certification, regulatory determination, directory status, procurement decision, or other third-party result.

Respire provides evidence, verification context, independent findings, conclusions and, where applicable, recommendations intended to support better-informed decisions. Respire may express an assessment opinion about matters within the defined scope of its work.

Respire may evaluate matters such as claim substantiation, certification integrity, regulatory position, credential sufficiency, operational consistency, supply-chain representations and other subjects within the applicable methodology. Respire's assessment does not replace an official determination by a regulator, certification body, court or other authority with jurisdiction over the matter.

Users and clients remain responsible for their own decisions and for determining whether additional diligence or advice from appropriately licensed or authorized professionals is necessary for their circumstances.

Respire recognizes that public information can change and that additional relevant evidence may become available after publication.

If you believe a public Respire record contains inaccurate, incomplete or outdated information, you may submit the specific information at issue and supporting evidence through Respire's Corrections / Disputes process.

Submitting information does not guarantee that a finding or public record will change. New information is evaluated through Respire's evidence, human-review and controlled-publication process before an approved public record is modified.