Editorial principles
Content must be direct, useful, and limited to the scope supported by verified records. We do not create pages merely because a state-by-service URL pattern is possible.
Source hierarchy
- Direct official sourcesGovernment agencies, official service portals, official policies, forms, manuals, and public databases.
- Authoritative primary directoriesGovernment directories and recognized state-office associations used for nationwide routing and cross-checking.
- Reliable supporting sourcesUsed for discovery or context, not as a substitute for an exact official claim.
Claim-level controls
Important claims are mapped with the exact value, scope, conditions, exceptions, source owner, source URL, source-review status, and status. A URL alone is not treated as sufficient evidence for every statement on a page.
Missing data
When a required exact field is unavailable, we do not guess, copy another state, estimate without evidence, or publish generic filler. The proposed page remains unpublished, is merged into a broader verified guide, or is rejected.
Corrections and updates
Reported corrections are checked against the most specific current official source. Material changes should update the source record and the affected structured data.
Writing and presentation standards
Pages answer the primary question near the top, then present exact data, official actions, conditions, exceptions, source information, and related internal links. Language should remain American English, factual, readable, and free of copied government wording.
Official actions must be visually distinguishable from internal navigation. Advertising, when enabled, must not resemble a government button, filing action, or source citation.
Representative review before publication
Automated checks cover routes, metadata, internal links, canonicals, structured data, sitemap inclusion, and source presence. Representative pages are also reviewed at desktop and mobile widths, including long headings, large tables, long official URLs, blocked-portal limitations, and pages without photographs.
Editorial independence from advertising
Future advertising revenue does not determine which pages are published, how official sources are interpreted, or whether a page remains indexable. Commercial links must not replace the direct official action required by the user’s query, and ads must remain visually separate from government-source buttons and verification boxes.