How SpillSage Verify Works: Our Business Verification Methodology
SpillSage Verify is our pilot program for confirming that a business is legally registered, tax-compliant, and physically real — grounded in public, checkable facts rather than vague trust scores. Here is exactly what we check, what it means, and what it deliberately does not claim.
What 'Verified' Means — and What It Doesn't
A SpillSage Verified badge confirms that, as of a specific date, we independently checked that a business is legally registered, was tax-compliant at the time of checking, operates from a real, confirmed location, and has disclosed its public litigation history, if any.
It does not mean SpillSage endorses the quality of a business's products or services, guarantees its future compliance, or scores its creditworthiness. Verification confirms specific, dated, factual claims — it is not a character reference, and it is not a credit report. We are deliberately narrow about this distinction because vague trust claims are exactly what an already-crowded badge economy doesn't need more of.
What We Actually Check
Legal existence: we confirm the business's registration status directly through Kenya's Business Registration Service, including that it remains active and has a valid registered office.
Tax compliance: businesses voluntarily provide their current KRA Tax Compliance Certificate. We record its status as current or lapsed — a lapsed certificate simply means re-verification is needed, not that anything improper occurred.
Physical presence: we confirm, typically by phone, that the business genuinely operates as described, at the location claimed.
Public litigation disclosure: we search only Kenya Law's publicly published judgments and cause lists, and disclose findings as neutral fact — not as a judgment. Being party to litigation does not, by itself, indicate a business is untrustworthy; large, reputable companies are routinely sued as a normal part of operating. We report what's publicly on record and let the reader interpret it.
Where We Draw Firm Legal Lines
SpillSage Verify is not a credit reference bureau. We never score creditworthiness or aggregate negative credit listings — that activity requires a license under Kenya's Banking Act, which is a different regulatory category entirely, and one we are not licensed for.
All litigation-history checks use only what is already public through Kenya Law's own publication system — nothing else, from any source, ever. We also never request or retain passwords, PINs, or login credentials for any government portal; businesses share only the documents themselves.
Where This Stands Today
SpillSage Verify is currently in a small, deliberate pilot phase. We are verifying a handful of real Kenyan businesses to test and refine this methodology before any commercial rollout, and to learn directly from business owners, lenders, and procurement teams what actually matters to them — rather than guessing in advance.
If you run a business in Kenya and would like to be one of the first verified profiles, or if you're a lender, procurement officer, or buyer who would find a service like this useful, we'd genuinely like to hear from you — reach out through our contact page.