For employers and buyers
What an Organisational Trustmark means.
A short guide for anyone checking a supplier, partner or employer that says it holds a GCSB Organisational Trustmark.
Independent by design. GCSB does not provide training, consulting or audit services. Partners implement, auditors examine and the Board decides - on evidence, with no outcome guaranteed.
The Board decides
Only the GCSB Board decides whether an organisation receives a Trustmark and at which tier. Reviewers and External Auditors can only recommend.
GCSB never implements
GCSB does not build, run or advise on the security programme it certifies. Implementation is done by the organisation itself or by an independent Implementation Partner.
Examiners stay independent
Anyone who helped implement a programme can never examine that same client. Under Route C, a GCSB-Registered External Auditor reviews the evidence and recommends only.
Valid for 12 months
Each award carries a GCSB-OT number and is valid for 12 months. After that it must be renewed, or it no longer counts.
Verify in three steps
How to check an award
Step 1
Ask for the number
Every award has a number in the form GCSB-OT-YYYY-NNN, shown on the certificate and badge.
Step 3
Match the details
Confirm the organisation name, tier and expiry date match what you were told. If the record is missing or expired, the award cannot be relied on.
Want the full detail? See the Organisational Trustmark programme or the employer guide to individual credentials.