Legal Context ProtocolLevels of Trust
Four levels of trust assurance — each independently valuable, from informational to fully integrated.
This section is advisory.
Beyond the standard location, this specification suggests approaches at increasing levels of trust assurance. Each level is independently valuable. A service can implement any level without implementing the others. Higher levels naturally incorporate the capabilities of lower levels.
The levels are bilateral by construction. Each produces evidentiary records that bind both parties to the same description of what was on offer, and those records are independently verifiable by either side. The levels do not advantage either party; they level a field that, in the absence of any standard, is tilted toward whichever party keeps better records — typically the larger one. Higher levels add bilateral evidentiary weight, not seller advantage.
Overview
| Level | Name | What It Provides | Key Fields |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Informational | Agent finds terms; proceeding = consent | terms |
| 2 | Provable | ATR hash proves the exact document | atrHash |
| 3 | Signed | Digital signature proves explicit intent | acceptanceRequired |
| 4 | Integrated | Hooks to legal infrastructure | disputeResolution, api |
Choosing a Level
The levels are proportional to the transaction:
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Level 1 is sufficient for low-value, high-volume transactions — API calls, SaaS subscriptions, commodity purchases. The terms exist and are discoverable. This is the same trust model as browsewrap agreements today, but with a standard location.
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Level 2 adds provability for transactions where it matters that the terms cannot be altered after the fact — B2B procurement, service agreements, any transaction where a dispute about "what the terms were" is plausible.
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Level 3 adds explicit consent for transactions where affirmative acceptance is required — regulated industries, high-value contracts, agreements where the law requires a signature.
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Level 4 adds legal infrastructure for complex, high-value agreements — dispute resolution, escrow, compliance gating, multi-party agreements, private terms.
A $20 API call and a $5M contract do not need the same infrastructure. The levels exist so that the trust assurance is proportional to the transaction.