Using the Quality Mark™ on your public legal information signals that it is trustworthy and relevant.
If you produce free legal information that is primarily intended for use by the public in British Columbia, you can qualify to use the Quality Mark on your information. There are three steps involved:
Step 1. Complete the best practices self-assessment on your information, and achieve a minimum score. Take the best practices self-assessment, where you must score at least 12 out of a possible 16 points.
Step 2. Commit to applying the public legal information best practices. As a final stage of the self-assessment, you must commit to applying the public legal information best practices to your information to the best of your ability.
Step 3. Apply the Quality Mark to your information. If you qualify, you will be given access to downloadable files of the Quality Mark, in two orientations and various sizes to fit your needs.
When you take the best practices self-assessment, if you qualify to use the Quality Mark, you will be given access to downloadable files of the mark in two orientations and various sizes. The two orientations are ribbon and landscape.
| Quality Mark Ribbon | Quality Mark Landscape |
|---|---|
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A number of organizations in British Columbia that produce and support public legal information have collaborated to develop the Quality Mark.
If you successfully qualify to use the Quality Mark, then you can decide what web pages to use the Quality Mark on — as long as they are substantially similar to the one you self-assessed.
Yes, as long as you have qualified to use the Quality Mark, and the website is substantially one that features public legal information. “Substantially” means more than half of the website must be public legal information. “Public” means the information is primarily intended for use by the public.
Yes. The Quality Mark is intended for use on public legal information in any format, as long as the information achieves the minimum score required on the best practices self-assessment.
The Quality Mark can be used to promote any public legal information that has achieved the minimum score required on the best practices self-assessment.
No. The Quality Mark can be used only on free information.
Examples of inappropriate use of the Quality Mark include:
- The Quality Mark cannot be used on information that has a commercial purpose.
- The Quality Mark cannot be used on information that did not meet the minimum score required on the best practices self-assessment.
- The Quality Mark cannot be used on information that is primarily aimed at audiences other than the public in British Columbia, Canada.
A committee drawn from the collaborating organizations behind this initiative meets regularly to monitor the use of the Quality Mark. If the committee considers any use of the Quality Mark to be contrary to the terms set out here, the committee will send a cease and desist letter to the offending party. The committee will also take additional steps under the law.