Updating or Correcting a Listing in the Authority Industries Directory

The Authority Industries Directory maintains reference-grade listings across national industry verticals, and the accuracy of those listings depends on a structured process for flagging, reviewing, and applying changes. This page explains how the update and correction workflow operates, what types of changes qualify under each pathway, and where editorial discretion governs outcomes. Understanding this process helps directory users and listed entities navigate the difference between a routine data refresh and a substantive editorial dispute.

Definition and scope

A listing update refers to any modification that brings an existing directory entry into closer alignment with verifiable, current facts — for example, a change in a business's primary service category, geographic coverage, or contact information. A listing correction is a narrower action: it addresses a specific factual error where the published information is demonstrably wrong against an authoritative source.

These two actions are distinct. Updates often involve new information that was not present at the time of original indexing — the business expanded into a new vertical, or a previously unverified credential was confirmed. Corrections, by contrast, involve information that was incorrect from the outset or became incorrect due to a change in status (for example, a license lapse or a business closure).

The scope of this process covers all entries within the Authority Industries Directory listings, regardless of the vertical in which the listing appears. The directory's vetting criteria establish what qualifies as a verifiable source for any field within a listing — and those same standards govern what evidence is required to support a change.

How it works

The update and correction workflow follows a staged review model. Submissions enter an editorial queue and are evaluated against the directory's published quality signals before any change is applied to a live listing.

The staged process operates as follows:

1. Submission intake — A change request is received through the designated pathway. The request must identify the specific listing by name or ID, specify which field or fields are in dispute, and provide supporting documentation tied to a named public source (a state licensing board record, a federal registry entry, or an equivalent authority-grade reference).
2. Source verification — The editorial process checks the provided documentation against the data sources framework used to build and maintain the directory. If the source does not meet the threshold for authority-grade reference, the request is returned with a documentation gap notice.
3. Cross-field impact review — Changes to one field may require corresponding changes elsewhere in the listing. A business reclassified into a different service vertical, for instance, may require re-evaluation of its category tags and geographic scope codes.
4. Approval or escalation — Routine updates with clean documentation are approved and applied within the standard editorial cycle. Disputed corrections — where two sources conflict, or where the listed entity contests the change — are escalated to a senior editorial review.
5. Confirmation notice — Once applied, the change is logged with a version timestamp. The prior version is retained in an internal record but is not published.

Common scenarios

The most frequent update requests involve 3 categories: contact information changes, service area expansions, and credential status revisions.

Contact and location changes are the most operationally straightforward. A business that has relocated or changed its primary phone number or web address can submit updated records from a state business registry or equivalent public filing, and the change typically clears source verification without escalation.

Service area and vertical reclassification requires more documentation because it affects where the listing appears across the directory's covered verticals. A contractor originally listed under a single trade category who has expanded into a second licensed trade must provide documentation for both the new credential and its jurisdictional validity.

Credential and licensing corrections are the most editorially sensitive. If a license number on file is incorrect, expired, or belongs to a different entity, that correction implicates the directory's integrity and the trusted service authority relationship that the network is built to reflect. These cases are cross-referenced against state licensing board databases and, where applicable, federal registries such as the SAM.gov federal contractor database maintained by the U.S. General Services Administration.

Decision boundaries

Not all requests result in changes. The editorial framework distinguishes between 3 outcomes: approved, returned for documentation, and declined.

A request is declined — not merely returned — when the supporting documentation conflicts with an authority-grade source already on file, when the change would misrepresent the scope of the listed entity's verified activity, or when the request attempts to move a listing into a category for which the entity does not meet the submission process criteria.

The contrast between an update and a correction also maps onto who typically initiates the request. Updates are most often initiated by listed entities or their representatives. Corrections are more often initiated by third-party users of the directory — researchers, procurement teams, or referral networks — who identify a discrepancy between the published listing and a public record. The reporting pathway for inaccurate directory information governs third-party submissions specifically, with a different evidentiary threshold than entity-initiated updates.

Editorial discretion is not unlimited. The Authority Industries editorial policy defines the scope of reviewer judgment and the appeal pathway available when a correction is declined. Decisions that affect listing visibility — including temporary suspension of a listing during a dispute — follow a documented protocol rather than ad hoc review.

References

• U.S. General Services Administration — SAM.gov Federal Contractor Registry
• Authority Industries Editorial Policy
• Authority Industries Vetting Criteria
• Authority Industries Data Sources
• Authority Industries Quality Signals
• Reporting Inaccurate Directory Information