GRID Data Schema

Purpose and Scope of this document

This document describes the types and format of data provided by participating Authoritative Registrars to be shown in the Global Registry Information Directory (GRID). It establishes the baseline for "Global Trust" by ensuring that every entry in the GRID is backed by a clear legal mandate and a verifiable administrative origin.

Data Quality Principles

For the GRID to function as a reliable "Trust Root" for global supply chains, data in the GRID about Registrars adheres to the following core principles:

1. Authoritative Origin: Data must be sourced directly from the entity with the mandate to maintain the Register for a UN Member State.
2. Legal Transparency: The legal basis for the Registrar's UN Member State authority must be publicly accessible.
3. Digital Diversity: UN Member State eligible Registrars of varying digital maturity levels should be able to participate.
4. Temporal Integrity & Historical Traceability: Registrar metadata and cryptographic trust material must be attributable to specific effective dates and verifiable over time. Historical updates, key rotations, and status changes must remain verifiable to support retrospective trade audits and legal dispute resolution.

Data Schema for the GRID

The following table describes the mandatory and optional metadata required for a Registrar to be listed in the GRID.

Field	Type	Format	Maturity Level	Description & Comments
UN Member State	String	ISO 3166-1 Alpha 2 Country Code	Baseline	The ISO 3166 Alpha 2 Country Code for the UN Member State (e.g., AU, CA, GB).
Subdivision Code	String	ISO 3166-2	Baseline	The ISO 3166-2 Subdivision code for the Registrar (e.g., BC for British Columbia). Value SHALL be NULL if no subdivision is present.
Registrar Full Name	String	Free (Latin script)	Baseline	The official name of the administrative organization (e.g., Australian Securities and Investments Commission).
Registrar Identifier Code	String	ECCMA (ISO 8000-116) Registered Acronym	Baseline	The official acronym or code for the organization (e.g., ASIC). Used as the registry identifier in ALEI strings.
Register Name	String	Free (Latin script)	Baseline	The specific dataset or list being indexed (e.g., National Business Register or ABR).
Register Type	Enumeration	UN/CEFACT Code	Baseline	Classification of entities recorded. Options: Organisation, Land, Vessel, Professional, Individual.
Legal Basis	String	URI	Baseline	Mandatory. A persistent link to the legislation establishing the registrar's authority (e.g., a link to the Corporations Act 2001).
Authoritative Body	String	URI	Baseline	Link to the parent Ministry or oversight body (e.g., Department of Treasury).
Participant Profile	Enumeration	UN/CEFACT Code	Baseline	Options: range A to E, see Implementation Guidelines
Register ID (ALEI prefix)	String	ISO 8000-116 URN	Baseline	A globally unique ID constructed using the ALEI syntax: [Country]-[Subdivision].[Registry]. (e.g., AU.ASIC or AU.ABR).
Registered ID Pattern	String	URI Template	Baseline	A URI template used to construct a resolvable identifier for a member of the register (e.g., abr.business.gov.au/{id}).
Query Endpoint	String	URI Template	Advanced	A human-readable query endpoint (e.g., https://abr.business.gov.au/ABN/View?abn={id}).
Resolver Endpoint	String	URI	Advanced	Identity resolver service endpoint per UN identity resolver standards.
DID / Public Key	String	Decentralized ID	Advanced	Required for DIA Issuance. The cryptographic identifier (DID) used to verify the Registrar’s digital signature. For Profile C (DIA Issuance), use of a DID method with verifiable history (such as did:webvh) is strongly recommended to preserve historical verifiability of signatures across key rotations.
GRID Reference	String	URI	Advanced	The unique, persistent GRID issued pointer for this specific Registrar entry.
Registrar Notes	String	Free (Latin Script)	Baseline (Optional)	Optional commentary or operational context provided by the Registrar regarding this register. Classified as Asserted data (conveyed by GRID without independent verification).

Formal Definition

The formal description of the data structure is defined in the registrar.json file located in the repository for this project. Version control is managed as described in Schema Versioning.

This page renders the content of this file as shown below:

schemas/v2.0.0/registrar.json

{
  "$schema": "http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#",
  "$id": "https://opensource.unicc.org/un/unece/uncefact/gtr/schemas/v2.0.0/registrar.json",
  "title": "GRID Registrar Metadata Schema",
  "$comment": "Unified schema for the Global Registrar Information Directory (GRID).",
  "type": "object",
  "required": [
    "UN_member_state",
    "subdivision_code",
    "registrar_full_name",
    "registrar_identifier_code",
    "register_name",
    "register_type",
    "legal_basis",
    "authoritative_body",
    "participant_profile",
    "register_id",
    "registered_id_pattern"
  ],
  "properties": {
    "UN_member_state": {
      "type": "string",
      "pattern": "^[A-Z]{2}$",
      "description": "The ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code (e.g., AU, ES, CA)."
    },
    "subdivision_code": {
      "type": [
        "string",
        "null"
      ],
      "pattern": "^[A-Z]{2}-[A-Z0-9]{1,3}$",
      "description": "Full ISO 3166-2 code (e.g., CA-BC). Must be explicitly set to null if no subdivision exists."
    },
    "registrar_full_name": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Official administrative name of the organization."
    },
    "registrar_identifier_code": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "ECCMA acronym (e.g., ASIC, BER)."
    },
    "register_name": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Specific register dataset name."
    },
    "register_type": {
      "type": "string",
      "enum": [
        "Organisation",
        "Land",
        "Vessel",
        "Professional",
        "Individual"
      ],
      "description": "Classification of the recorded entities."
    },
    "legal_basis": {
      "type": "string",
      "format": "uri",
      "description": "Link to the legislative mandate."
    },
    "authoritative_body": {
      "type": "string",
      "format": "uri",
      "description": "Link to the oversight Ministry/Department."
    },
    "participant_profile": {
      "type": "string",
      "enum": [
        "A",
        "B",
        "C",
        "D",
        "E"
      ],
      "description": "Type of participation in GRID and UNTP"
    },
    "register_id": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "ISO 8000-116 ALEI Prefix (e.g., CA-BC.BER)."
    },
    "registered_id_pattern": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "URI template for member identifiers."
    },
    "registrar_notes": {
      "type": [
        "string",
        "null"
      ],
      "description": "Optional commentary provided by the registrar regarding this entry.",
      "$comment": "Added to provide a legitimate location for registrar-specific metadata/notes."
    },
    "query_endpoint": {
      "type": [
        "string",
        "null"
      ]
    },
    "resolver_endpoint": {
      "type": [
        "string",
        "null"
      ],
      "format": "uri"
    },
    "did": {
      "type": [
        "string",
        "null"
      ]
    },
    "grid_reference": {
      "type": [
        "string",
        "null"
      ],
      "format": "uri"
    }
  }
}

Example

Here is the sample JSON object for the Spanish Business Registry (Registro Mercantil Central), formatted to align with the registrar.json schema and the data principles described above.

{
  "UN_member_state": "ES",
  "subdivision_code": null,
  "registrar_full_name": "Colegio de Registradores de la Propiedad, Mercantiles y de Bienes Muebles de España",
  "registrar_identifier_code": "CORP",
  "register_name": "Registro Mercantil Central",
  "register_type": "Organisation",
  "legal_basis": "https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-1996-17402",
  "authoritative_body": "https://www.mjusticia.gob.es/",
  "participant_profile": "C",
  "register_id": "ES.CORP",
  "registered_id_pattern": "https://www.registradores.org/registro-mercantil-central/{id}",
  "registrar_notes": "The Central Mercantile Register provides official information on all Spanish legal entities and acts as the technical coordinator for provincial registers.",
  "query_endpoint": "https://www.registradores.org/registro-mercantil-central/busqueda?q={id}",
  "resolver_endpoint": null,
  "did": "did:web:registradores.org",
  "grid_reference": "https://grid.example.org/registers/ES.CORP"
}

Note that this example uses did:web. While this is supported for baseline discovery, did:webvh is preferred and provides the required cryptographic event log for historical reliance.