Understanding credential labels
3 min read · Last reviewed
Profiles on Care Mason can list credentials, and each one carries a label describing how it was checked. Knowing what those labels do — and do not — mean helps you read a profile with the right expectations.
The labels, in plain terms
- Self-reported: the provider entered this themselves. It has not been confirmed with any outside source.
- Source-checked: a reviewer confirmed the credential with the issuing source, such as the organization that grants it.
A label tells you how much checking sits behind a claim. It is deliberately factual so you can weigh each credential yourself.
What a label is not
A credential label is not an endorsement, a rating, or a recommendation. Publishing a profile is not a background check and not a verification of someone’s business identity.
- We never claim a provider is "fully vetted" or "guaranteed safe" — no directory can honestly promise that.
- Source-checked means one specific credential was confirmed, not that everything on the profile was.
- The absence of a source-checked label does not mean a credential is false — only that it has not been confirmed here.
Using labels in your decision
Treat labels as one input among several. If a specific credential matters to you, it is completely reasonable to ask the provider about it directly and to verify it yourself with the issuing organization.
When something is important to your family, confirm it in your own conversation. Care Mason gives you the starting point; the verification that matters most is the one you do yourself.