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+# Evidence and Freshness Policy — v0.1
+
+**Date:** 2026-08-13  
+**Status:** Draft — Contract v0.1  
+**Owner:** Tony / VeriPath  
+**Scope:** Architecture | Operations  
+
+---
+
+## Evidence Tiers
+
+### Tier 1 — Verified
+Direct observation, owner-confirmed, or instrument-backed.
+
+Sources include:
+- Business owner confirmation
+- Direct observation (photograph, instrument reading)
+- Owner-provided documentation
+
+### Tier 2 — Corroborated
+Confirmed by independent sources.
+
+Sources must be independent. Multiple extractions from the same website are `same_origin`, not independent.
+
+Independent examples:
+- Website schema + Google Maps listing (different data pipelines)
+- Owner confirmation + website schema
+
+### Tier 3 — Indicative
+Single source, probabilistic, or directional.
+
+Includes:
+- Single website scrape
+- Third-party listing (Yelp, Foursquare)
+- AI model inference without citation
+
+---
+
+## Source Independence
+
+Two sources count as independent only if:
+- They originate from different data pipelines, or
+- One is owner-confirmed
+
+Sources deriving from the same business input (e.g., website footer, schema, booking page) are `same_origin`.
+
+---
+
+## Freshness Windows
+
+| Domain | Window | Auto-stale trigger |
+|---|---|---|
+| Regular fields | 30 days | Not rechecked within window |
+| Hours | 7 days | Holiday periods, seasonal changes |
+| Pricing/Services | 14 days | Owner notification or observed change |
+| Booking | 7 days | Link broken or provider changed |
+
+A field transitions to `stale` when its freshness window expires without re-verification. A field transitions to `disputed` when two independent sources contradict.
+
+---
+
+## Liability and Action Risk
+
+| action_risk | Agent behavior |
+|---|---|
+| low | Informational display |
+| medium | Provide with timestamp and recheck notice |
+| high | Display only; do not support transaction |
+
+GeoLocal and downstream systems are not liable for actions taken based on stale data. Transactional guarantee requires real-time re-check.
+
+---
+
+## Related documents
+
+- `docs/architecture/canonical-business-record-v0.1.1.md`
+- `docs/decisions/2026-08-12-veripath-system-of-record-boundary.md`