> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://support.iafcertsearch.org/verification-users-api-developer-guide/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://support.iafcertsearch.org/verification-users-api-developer-guide/api-integration/api-credit-consumption.md).

# API Credit Consumption

### Overview

The IAF CertSearch Verification API uses a credit-based consumption model. Understanding when a credit is consumed and when it is not, is essential for managing costs and planning your integration effectively.

**Core rule:** A verification credit is consumed once per company when the API returns an exact match. No match, no charge.

### What Is an Exact Match?

An exact match occurs when the API identifies a Certified Entity with a match score of **94–100** (Very High band), returning `match_type: exactly_matched`. Results scoring 30–93 are returned as `loosely_matched` — they appear in the response but **do not consume a credit**.

#### Match Score Bands

| Band      | Score Range | match\_type       | Credits Consumed |
| --------- | ----------- | ----------------- | ---------------- |
| Very High | 94 – 100    | `exactly_matched` | ✅ Yes            |
| High      | 80 – 93     | `loosely_matched` | 🚫 No            |
| Medium    | 60 – 79     | `loosely_matched` | 🚫 No            |
| Low       | 30 – 59     | `loosely_matched` | 🚫 No            |
| Very Low  | 0 – 29      | not matched       | 🚫 No            |

#### Match Rate Rules

<table data-header-hidden><thead><tr><th width="256.94921875"></th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Parameter</td><td>Value / Behaviour</td></tr><tr><td>Default match rate</td><td>94 (applied when not provided)</td></tr><tr><td>Minimum accepted rate</td><td>30, values below 30 are automatically raised to 30</td></tr><tr><td>Valid range</td><td>30 – 100</td></tr><tr><td>Rate > 100</td><td>Automatically capped at 100</td></tr></tbody></table>

#### When a Credit IS Consumed

**✅ Credit Consumed**

A credit is deducted from your balance when the following conditions are all true:

1. The API request is well-formed and authenticated.
2. The system finds a Certified Entity with a match score of 94 or above (`match_type: exactly_matched`).
3. The API returns a 200 OK response with company and certificate data.

#### When a Credit Is NOT Consumed

**🚫 Credit NOT Consumed**

No credit is deducted in any of these situations:

1. No match found, the API returns a 404 `not_found` response. The company could not be identified in the database.
2. Match found but score is 30–93 (`match_type: loosely_matched`). The result is returned for review but no credit is charged.
3. Authentication failure, invalid or missing API key (401 unauthorized).
4. Validation error, malformed request body (400 validation).
5. Re-verification within the grace period, accessing the same company again within your subscription grace period costs nothing.

#### **Credit Consumption by API Endpoint**

The table below summarises how credits are consumed across each Verification API endpoint.

<table><thead><tr><th>API</th><th width="227.49609375">Endpoint</th><th width="172.30078125">Credits Consumed</th><th>Notes</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Retrieve Company &#x26; Certificates</td><td>POST /company</td><td>1 per exact match</td><td>Retrieve Company &#x26; Certificates by name / identifiers. One credit per matched company.</td></tr><tr><td>Bulk Retrieve Companies &#x26; Certificates</td><td>POST /bulk-companies</td><td>1 per exact match</td><td>Bulk Retrieve, each company in the batch that returns an exact match consumes 1 credit.</td></tr><tr><td>Match Companies</td><td>POST /match-companies</td><td>None</td><td>Match Companies endpoint, company matching only, no certificate data returned. No credits are charged.</td></tr><tr><td>Retrieve Company &#x26; Certificates by IAF ID</td><td>GET /company/{ce_id}</td><td>1 per exact match</td><td>Retrieve Company &#x26; Certificates by IAF ID. A valid IAF ID always resolves; 1 credit charged.</td></tr><tr><td>Bulk Retrieve Company &#x26; Certificates by IAF ID</td><td>POST /bulk-company-by-id</td><td>1 per exact match</td><td>Bulk Retrieve by IAF ID, 1 credit per valid IAF ID that returns data.</td></tr><tr><td>Retrieve Certificate by IAF ID</td><td>GET /certificate/{cert_id}</td><td>1 per exact match</td><td>Retrieve Certificate by IAF ID. Returns a single certificate record; 1 credit consumed on success.</td></tr></tbody></table>

#### **💡 Key Point**

Credits are charged at the company level, not the certificate level. A company with 10 certificates still costs only 1 credit to verify. All certificates under that company are returned in the same response at no additional cost.


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