> 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/consumption-decision-flow.md).

# Consumption Decision Flow

Use the logic below to determine whether a credit will be consumed for any given API call:

<table data-header-hidden><thead><tr><th width="84.015625"></th><th width="346.4609375"></th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Step</td><td>Question</td><td>Outcome</td></tr><tr><td>1</td><td>Is the API request authenticated (valid API key)?</td><td>NO → 401 error, 0 credits consumed.</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>Is the request body valid (required fields present, format correct)?</td><td>NO → 400 error, 0 credits consumed.</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>Does the company exist in the IAF CertSearch database at or above the requested match rate threshold?</td><td>NO → 404 not found, 0 credits consumed.</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>Is the match score 94 or above (Very High band, <code>match_type: exactly_matched</code>)?</td><td>NO → 200 success, 0 credits consumed (loosely_matched result returned for review).</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>Has this company already been verified within the current grace period?</td><td>YES → 200 success, 0 credits consumed (free re-verification).</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>Exact match confirmed — first-time or post-grace verification.</td><td>✅ 200 success — 1 credit consumed.</td></tr></tbody></table>

#### Monitoring Your Credits

You can track your credit usage at any time from within your IAF CertSearch account:

* Navigate to Administration → Membership and Billing in the left-hand menu.
* The Used Credits counter shows total credits consumed across all users in your account.
* The Upcoming Bill section shows the cost for any overage charges in the current billing cycle.
* Full invoice history is available for download in PDF format.

If you need to increase your credit limit or resolve an `insufficient_credit` API error, contact: <support@iafcertsearch.org>

#### Quick Reference Summary

<table data-header-hidden><thead><tr><th width="532.3828125">Situation</th><th>Credits Consumed</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>API returns exactly_matched (score 94–100, 200 OK) — first time or post-grace</td><td>1 credit</td></tr><tr><td>API returns exactly_matched — within grace period (re-verification)</td><td>0 credits</td></tr><tr><td>API returns loosely_matched (score 30–93, 200 OK)</td><td>0 credits</td></tr><tr><td>Company not found (404)</td><td>0 credits</td></tr><tr><td>Invalid API key / authentication failure (401)</td><td>0 credits</td></tr><tr><td>Malformed request / validation error (400)</td><td>0 credits</td></tr><tr><td>Multiple certificates returned for 1 matched company</td><td>1 credit only</td></tr><tr><td>Bulk endpoint — 5 companies, 3 exactly_matched, 2 loosely_matched</td><td>3 credits</td></tr></tbody></table>


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