Public standard
Certification standards
Public criteria, weighting and thresholds required for each RefurbCertified level.
The RefurbCertified standard is fully published. No secret criteria influence decisions. Weights reflect the relative importance of each requirement for buyer trust.
Minimum score required
A weighted overall score of at least 70/100 is required for any certification. Silver (80+), Gold (85+) and Platinum (92+) levels reward documented operational excellence.
Certification domains
Six domains cover the full refurbished device lifecycle.
- Quality & testing — Functional testing, grading consistency, defect handling and repair documentation.
- Data security — Certified data erasure, chain of custody and privacy compliance.
- Commercial transparency — Accurate product descriptions, warranty terms and returns policies.
- Operations — Parts traceability, logistics and secure packaging.
- Environmental responsibility — Waste management, recycling and circular economy practices.
- Governance — Legal registration, regulatory compliance and corporate governance.
Criteria weighting
Each criterion has a weight coefficient (1 to 3). Weight-3 criteria — functional testing, data erasure — have the greatest impact on the final score.
Formula: overall score = Σ (criterion score × weight) / Σ (weights). Total reference weight: 20 points.
- Weight 3: critical requirements for safety and perceived quality
- Weight 2: important requirements for commercial trust
- Weight 1: complementary requirements (logistics, environment)
Thresholds & levels
Certification level is assigned automatically based on validated audit score:
- Certified — score ≥ 70/100
- Silver Certified — score ≥ 80/100
- Gold Certified — score ≥ 85/100
- Platinum Certified — score ≥ 92/100
Blocking non-conformities
- No data erasure procedure (DS-001) — automatic rejection
- Invalid legal registration (GOV-001) — automatic rejection
- Score below 70/100 — certification refused
- Major non-conformity not corrected within deadline — suspension
| Code | Criterion | Domain | Weight | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| QC-001 | Functional test procedures | Quality | 3 | Documented testing on all refurbished devices |
| QC-002 | Grading standards | Quality | 2 | Cosmetic criteria applied consistently |
| DS-001 | Data erasure process | Data security | 3 | Certified wiping or destruction of stored data |
| DS-002 | Privacy & GDPR | Data security | 2 | Data protection policies and practices |
| CM-001 | Warranty policy | Commercial | 2 | Clear, enforceable warranty terms |
| CM-002 | Returns & after-sales | Commercial | 2 | Documented return process and customer support |
| OP-001 | Parts traceability | Operations | 2 | Tracking of replacement parts and repairs |
| OP-002 | Logistics & packaging | Operations | 1 | Safe shipping and handling |
| ENV-001 | Waste & recycling | Environment | 1 | Responsible disposal of non-reusable components |
| GOV-001 | Legal compliance | Governance | 2 | Valid registration and regulatory compliance |