How we verify
What the seal on every guide means, and what it does not
Every fee, rate, deadline and requirement on PHGuides is copied from a document the agency itself published, and recorded with the name of that document and the date we read it. The seal at the top of each guide tells you which of four things is true of the page you are on.
| Seal | What it means | What you should do |
|---|---|---|
| Sourced | Every figure came from the agency's own published material: a circular, a citizen's charter, a fee schedule, an official page. The sources are listed at the foot of the page, numbered. | Use it. Confirm with the agency before paying, because agencies change fees without notice. |
| Estimate | The agency does not publish this figure. We compiled it from the closest official material and say so. It is not an official rate. | Treat it as a planning number only. Ask the agency for the actual amount. |
| Sourced | Sourced, but we have not re-checked it in more than 180 days. The rule above the seal turns red and the seal says so. | Check the agency's page before relying on it. Tell us if it has changed. |
| Unsourced | The page is a walkthrough with no official figures on it. Nothing is presented as an agency number. | Read it as orientation. Get every amount from the agency. |
Where the figures come from
Only from the agency. Circulars, citizen's charters, fee schedules, contribution tables and the agency's own website. We do not take figures from news sites, forums, other guide sites or social media, and a guide cannot be published without naming at least one agency source for every figure on it. The build refuses it.
Every source we have used is listed on the Sources page with the date we last read it.
How often we re-check
Each guide carries the date it was last checked against its sources. We re-check on a rolling cycle, and any guide that passes 180 days without a re-check is marked stale on the page itself, automatically. We would rather show you an old date than pretend a figure is current.
When an agency changes something
Agencies change fees and rates without announcement and without a changelog. When we find a change, we update the figure, the source and the date together, and the old figure does not stay on the page. If you find a change before we do, tell us and include the page. A correction from a reader is usually faster than our own cycle.
What we never do
- Give advice. We state what the agency publishes and what the arithmetic shows. The decision is yours.
- Hardcode a rate into a calculator. Every calculator asks you for the current rate and tells you where to find it.
- Process anything for you. We are not an agent, a fixer or a liaison, and we will never ask you to pay for something the agency provides.
- Claim a figure is official when it is not. If we compiled it, the seal says Estimate.
Who checks
PHGuides is an independent publisher. Guides are researched and checked by the PHGuides editorial team against the agency documents named on each page. No guide is written or checked by anyone employed by or acting for a government agency.
Corrections: hello@phguides.com.