Verification terms

You may list, sell, bid and buy without any verification. Nothing on the platform requires it, and 15-minute high-stakes auctions do not require it at all.

An independent expert confirms or corrects the species and form, rates whether the photographs are sufficient, and records a confidence score together with a signed no-conflict declaration.

Where an expert cannot reach a confident identification the outcome is recorded as unable to verify: the plant stays listed as unverified, no certificate is issued and no verification fee is charged on the sale.

Experts are matched by species speciality, province, workload and response time. A seller can never choose their own assessor, and an expert with any financial interest in the sale must decline.

A certificate records one expert's opinion at one point in time, together with the photographs assessed, the confidence score, the expert's signature and stamp, and the plant's permanent registered reference number. It travels with the plant through later sales.

It is not a guarantee of value, health, legality of origin, or of a permit. It does not transfer any statutory permit obligation away from the seller.

Verification is free for now, so no verification fee is charged on a completed sale of a verified plant. If that changes, the fee will be shown at the time you submit the plant. No fee is charged where the outcome is unable to verify, or where the plant does not sell.

Photographs and identification information submitted for assessment may be used to improve our identification tools and in marketing material, as set out in clause 1.7 of the Terms of Use and in the Privacy Policy.

Identification of cycads from photographs has limits. Neither the expert nor Cycad Central accepts liability for a good-faith opinion that is later disputed. Where a finding is challenged with evidence, the assessment can be reviewed and the record corrected, and every change is written to the audit log.