Editorial & Corrections Policy

How Pages Are Produced

PlainCredential's data pages are generated from official public datasets. We download the source data directly from the publisher, load it into a structured database, and render every page from that database. The figures you see, counts, rankings, rates, dates, and breakdowns, come directly from the published records and are not hand-typed. A minority of profession/state figures not yet individually verified against a state board show a labeled category-average estimate instead; see methodology for the current scope.

This is a data-publishing model: the same template renders many pages so that every record is covered consistently. We are transparent that these data pages are produced programmatically from the source records rather than written individually. The editorial work goes into the pipeline, how data is sourced, normalized, deduplicated, and presented, into the methodology, and into the written guides.

Sourcing Standards

• Primary sources only. Every figure comes from official public datasets, not third-party aggregators.
• Attribution in context. Pages name the source and link to it where applicable, and show the date the data reflects.
• Derived values are labeled. Numbers we compute ourselves, rankings, trends, ratios, are presented as our analysis of the source data, distinct from the publisher's own figures.
• Estimates are labeled, not invented silently. Where a state-board-verified figure is not yet available for a profession, we may show a category-average estimate as a labeled placeholder rather than leaving the field blank; see the methodology page for the current scope of estimated versus verified records.

Update Cadence

We refresh the underlying data on a regular schedule as the source publishes updates, so there can be a lag between an official release and its appearance here. Historical records remain in our database for reference, and the data-vintage date is shown on the relevant pages.

Corrections Process

If a record on PlainCredential looks wrong, please tell us. Because our pages are generated from the source datasets, a genuine error almost always traces back to either the source data or our processing of it, so this is how we handle a report:

1. Report. Use the contact page with the page URL and the value that looks off.
2. Verify. We compare the record against the published source.
3. Fix at the source. If the value is wrong on our side, we correct it in the database and pipeline that generate the page, not just on the single page, so every affected page is fixed at once. If the record faithfully reflects the published data, we explain that and point to the primary source.
4. Note it. Material corrections are reflected the next time the page rebuilds.

We aim to respond to data-error reports within 72 hours.

Corrections Log

A running record of material corrections shipped to PlainCredential's data or sourcing. This log started 2026-07-19; we do not have a reconstructed record of corrections made before that date.

• 2026-07-09. A guide page claimed to aggregate 2,800+ profession-state education-hour records but imported no database data; every figure was hand-typed, and some invented entries didn't correspond to real profession names in our catalog. Rebuilt the page from the live database.
• 2026-07-05. Corrected the portal's most significant data-truth finding: every one of the 51 states showed exactly "97 professions licensed," a statistically implausible pattern for real government licensing data since states genuinely differ in which professions they choose to regulate. Traced to an ETL stage that filled every state-profession pair with an estimate rather than leaving unverified pairs distinguishable; disclosed the category-average estimate scope in the methodology instead of presenting it as fully verified.
• 2026-07-05. A renewal-cycle chart on the professions overview page was a hardcoded snapshot (18/24/8/5 professions per cycle) that had drifted out of sync with the live 97-profession catalog. Wired it to the live database.

Editorial Independence

PlainCredential is an independent publisher and is not affiliated with the agencies or organizations that publish the underlying data. We do not accept payment, sponsorship, or promoted placement from any covered entity. Our only revenue is contextual display advertising served by Google AdSense; advertisers do not influence what we cover or how we present it.

Appropriate Use

PlainCredential is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, medical, or other professional advice. Details can change after we ingest a record. For any important decision, confirm the current information with the primary source or a qualified professional. See our full disclaimer.