Tiers of legal effect
Taxonomy name: TAXONOMY_NAME
What a certification does under a named statutory provision, on a scale from no legal effect to legal gateway. Tier attaches to a provision, not to an instrument, so one certification can sit on several tiers of the same statute.
Tiers 03 to 05 are the only ones that change an outcome rather than a negotiating position.
TIER 05Legal gateway
The certificate is itself permission to do something otherwise unlawful.
TIER 04Presumption of conformity
Burden shifts to the regulator, who must disprove your compliance.
TIER 03Affirmative defense / damages bar
Defeats or caps a civil claim. You must plead and prove it.
TIER 02Mitigating factor
Does not prevent a finding of breach. Reduces the sanction after one.
TIER 01Evidentiary element
May be submitted as evidence of compliance. Burden of proof stays with you.
TIER 00No legal effect
Market and procurement signal only. No statute references it.