Examples
Worked examples
- Is an instance
A national data centre certified to CoreTrustSeal hosting climate datasets.
- Is an instance
An ISO 16363-certified national archive accepting scientific research data deposits.
Counter-examples
Looks similar, but isn't
- Not an instance
A personal Dropbox folder is not a trusted digital repository.
- Not an instance
A self-styled 'archive' with no third-party certification is not a TDR in the technical sense.
- Not an instance
A repository that merely claims OAIS-model compliance in its own documentation, without an external assessor's certification, is not yet a trusted digital repository — OAIS is the conceptual framework these certifications assess against, not itself a certification.
Editorial commentary
The ‘trusted’ in trusted digital repository is a third-party-assessed status, not a self-claim. Standards differ in depth and scope: CoreTrustSeal (16 requirements, lightweight self-assessment + peer review) is the most widely adopted baseline; nestor seal (DIN 31644) is the German standard; ISO 16363 (audit and certification of trustworthy digital repositories) is the most rigorous. Funders and policy bodies increasingly require deposit into a trusted repository as a condition of funding.
The three-tier certification framework
These standards are commonly described as a three-tier “Core / Extended / Formal” framework of increasing rigor: Core level is CoreTrustSeal, a peer-reviewed self-assessment against 16 numbered requirements (organisational infrastructure, digital object management, and technology) with a EUR 3,000 administrative fee and a three-year certification term; Extended level is the nestor Seal (DIN 31644), which builds on the same OAIS-derived criteria with additional formal documentation requirements; Formal level is ISO 16363, a full external audit and certification, the most resource-intensive of the three. Most research-data repositories pursuing certification start at CoreTrustSeal.
Why funders increasingly require it
Data-management-plan requirements from major funders (UKRI, NIH, the European Commission under Horizon Europe) increasingly specify deposit into a “trusted repository” as a condition of the award, precisely because CoreTrustSeal/ISO 16363 certification gives the funder independent assurance — rather than the depositing institution’s own word — that the data will remain accessible, integral, and citable over the long term rather than disappearing if a single grant-funded platform loses support.
References
- Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems, ‘Reference Model for an Open Archival Information System (OAIS)’, ISO 14721:2012.
- ISO 16363:2012, Space data and information transfer systems — Audit and certification of trustworthy digital repositories.
Also known as
TDR · Certified repository
Machine-readable encodings
Use in your systems
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vocab-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/"
vocab-term="Trusted digital repository"
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"datePublished": "2026-05-21T02:17:27",
"dateModified": "2026-08-22T15:38:27",
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