Editorial policy · United States
How verification works
A listing earns the Verified badge only when the business appears on a recognized certifying body's published member list. Independent of payment. Independent of how the listing was sourced.
The principle
Most directories sell visibility. A business pays for a featured listing, a top spot, a verified-looking badge. Buyers cannot tell what was earned and what was bought. found.rocks treats that as a problem to solve, not a revenue model to copy.
The Verified badge here means one specific thing: the business is on the published member list of a body that vets its members independently. We did not place the business there. The business did not pay us to be there. The badge is an external signal, surfaced.
Recognized sources, today
A US business listed on found.rocks is shown as Verified if it appears on the following published member list.
Natural Stone Institute
In useThe national trade association for the natural stone industry in the United States. Formed in 2018 by the merger of the Marble Institute of America and the Building Stone Institute. The accreditation program is the only independent third-party credentialing program for natural stone fabricators, installers, and quarriers — covering quality control, safety, business practices, technical knowledge, and ethics.
naturalstoneinstitute.org → Find an Accredited CompanyWhat Verified does not mean
- Not a quality endorsement by us. We do not inspect work, take references, or rate workmanship. The badge surfaces an external body's decision, nothing more.
- Not a payment. No business pays found.rocks to be Verified. No business can.
- Not a guarantee of every recognized body. An excellent business may belong to a state or regional body we do not yet treat as a Verified source. That does not reduce the business — it reflects the deliberate narrowness of the badge.
- Not the only signal of quality. Many fine stonemasons and fabricators are not accredited. Read the listing, look at the website, ask for project examples. The badge is one signal among several.
Common questions
Does a business pay to be Verified?
No. Verification is awarded only when a business appears on a recognized certifying body's published member list. It is independent of payment, independent of any advertising relationship, and independent of how the listing was sourced.
Why are most US listings not Verified?
The Verified badge has a deliberately narrow definition. Most US natural stone businesses are not accredited members of the Natural Stone Institute or another recognized body — that does not mean they are not skilled or reputable. The badge identifies a specific category of certification, not the only path to quality.
My business is on a body you do not yet recognize. How do I get Verified?
Send the body name, the membership URL, and the criteria for membership to hello@found.rocks. We add new sources when the body publishes a member list, the criteria are clear, and the certification is independent of payment to the body. New sources are reviewed and added on a rolling basis.
Will the verification policy change?
The list of recognized sources may grow over time as additional bodies are added. The principle — that Verified means independent membership of a published list, never paid placement — does not change.
Open the US section
Search natural stone businesses across the United States. The Verified badge appears next to listings that meet the criteria above.
Open the US section →