v2025-10-13
A Registry is the authoritative, machine- and human-readable record of the rules and specifications that define and govern a Trust Framework and the Schemes within it.
A Registry enables both people and machines to understand and implement the requirements of data sharing agreed in Schemes through persistent, version-controlled references that define how participants operate within Scheme governance. Rules can include, but are not limited to:
- Agreements
- Participant roles
- Data licences
- Assurance specifications
- Policies
- Access permissions
- Root certificates for participant credentials
- Data standards and formats
- API specifications
Each rule or specification in a Registry is assigned a unique and permanent identifier. These identifiers can be expressed in multiple formats such as RDF, Turtle, JSON or HTML for various purposes as required for the Scheme. This information allows organisations and systems to reference the precise Scheme rules in force at any given time, supporting automated audit, compliance and monitoring.
Registries are maintained under the associated Trust Framework governance which helps to ensure Registry stability, trustworthiness and transparency. Once published, entries in a Registry remain accessible and immutable. Later versions of a Registry will supersede rather than replace a previous version, allowing access to prior versions as needed and ensuring clarity on which rules are currently being used within a Scheme.
Governance of a Registry, including updates, deprecations, technical implementation, and version control follows any relevant procedures set out in the associated Trust Framework and its Schemes.