LAVAN Credibility · What a passport tells you
Six scores, ten domains, one record.
How to read a Trust Passport: what each score answers, what each domain covers, and what the record does not claim.
A specimen
What one looks like.
This sample is illustrative. The business on it does not exist.
LAVAN Trust PassportIssued: 05 MAY 2026 · Valid: 05 MAY 2027
✓ LAVANCertified
Sample Trust Passport · Illustrative data · Not a real record
Meridian Agro Processing Ltd
NGLagos, Nigeria · Agro-Processing · Est. 2014
CAC Reg: RC-1042880 · Established Tier
Business Credibility Score
720/1000
Established Tier · Agro-Processing sector
Readiness scores
- BCS720Business Credibility
- VCS820Verification Confidence
- LRS710Lending Readiness
- ERS680Equity Readiness
- OMS740Operational Maturity
- GIS750Governance Integrity
Assessment domains · 10 evaluated
- Legal & Ownership Integrity96
- Governance & Leadership94
- Financial Reporting Quality91
- Liquidity & Cash Flow61Flagged
- Tax & Statutory Compliance93
- Internal Controls & Risk87
- Operational Process Maturity89
- Commercial Resilience84
- Data Transparency & Evidence Quality92
- Capital & Diligence Readiness86
The six decision scores
A different score for a different decision.
A lender, an investor and a buyer are not asking the same question, so the passport does not give them the same answer.
Business Credibility (BCS)
The headline score, on a 0–1000 scale. It summarizes the whole assessment.
Verification Confidence (VCS)
How far the evidence behind the scores has been verified. Read this before any other number.
Lending Readiness (LRS)
How ready the business is to engage a lender.
Equity Readiness (ERS)
How ready the business is for an equity investor.
Operational Maturity (OMS)
How mature its day-to-day operations are.
Governance Integrity (GIS)
How sound its ownership, direction and control are.
The ten assessment domains
What is examined.
Every score is built from these ten domains. Each is reviewed against documents. Choose a domain to see what it covers.
Domain 01 of 10
Legal & Ownership Integrity
Whether the business is properly constituted, and who owns it.
Reviewed against documents such as
- CAC Certificate of Incorporation
- Memorandum & Articles of Association
- CAC Form CO7 (Particulars of Directors)
- CAC Form CO2 (Allotment of Shares)
- Share Register / Shareholder List
Domain 02 of 10
Governance & Leadership
How the business is directed, and by whom.
Reviewed against documents such as
- Board Resolution
- Board Charter / Terms of Reference
- Corporate Governance Policy
- Organisational Chart
- Director / Executive CV / Profile
Domain 03 of 10
Financial Reporting Quality
Whether its accounts and reports can be relied on.
Reviewed against documents such as
- Audited Financial Statements
- Management Accounts
- External Auditor's Report
- Financial Projections / Forecast
- Balance Sheet
Domain 04 of 10
Liquidity & Cash Flow
Whether it can meet its obligations as they fall due.
Reviewed against documents such as
- Bank Statement (6–12 months)
- Cash Flow Projection
- Credit Facility / Overdraft Letter
- Working Capital Schedule
- Debtors / Receivables Schedule
Domain 05 of 10
Tax & Statutory Compliance
Whether its filings and registrations are current.
Reviewed against documents such as
- FIRS Tax Clearance Certificate
- VAT Registration Certificate
- Tax Returns (3 years)
- PAYE / Employee Tax Remittance Evidence
- Pension Compliance Certificate (PenCom)
Domain 06 of 10
Internal Controls & Risk
How errors, fraud and risk are prevented and caught.
Reviewed against documents such as
- Internal Audit Report
- Risk Register
- Internal Control Policy
- Financial Approval Matrix
- Procurement Policy
Domain 07 of 10
Operational Process Maturity
Whether the way it operates is documented and repeatable.
Reviewed against documents such as
- Operations Manual / SOPs
- ISO / Quality Management Certification
- Customer Contract Sample
- Supplier / Vendor Contract Sample
- HR Policy / Employee Handbook
Domain 08 of 10
Commercial Resilience
How dependable its customers, contracts and demand are.
Reviewed against documents such as
- Customer / Client List
- Revenue Breakdown by Customer/Segment
- Sales Report (12 months)
- Signed Commercial Contracts
- Purchase Orders / LOIs
Domain 09 of 10
Data Transparency & Evidence Quality
How complete and checkable its evidence is.
Reviewed against documents such as
- Data Protection / Privacy Policy
- Data Protection Compliance Evidence
- Data Audit / Privacy Impact Assessment
- Information Security Policy
- Data Processing Agreement (DPA)
Domain 10 of 10
Capital & Diligence Readiness
Whether it could withstand a lender’s or investor’s examination.
Reviewed against documents such as
- Information Memorandum / Investment Deck
- Capitalisation Table
- Shareholder Agreement
- Term Sheet / Heads of Terms
- Valuation Report
Reading a passport
In this order.
Check the dates
When was it issued, and has it expired? A passport is a statement about a moment.
Confirm it is genuine
Use the verification link or QR code. It takes under a minute and needs no account.
Read Verification Confidence first
It tells you how much of what follows rests on verified evidence.
Go to the score for your decision
Lending Readiness for a loan, Equity Readiness for an investment, and so on.
Look at what was flagged
A flagged domain is where your own diligence should begin.
Limits
What a passport does not tell you.
The future
It does not predict repayment, returns or performance.
A credit rating
It is not one, and LAVAN is not a credit bureau.
An audit opinion
It does not replace audited accounts.
What to do
It informs a decision. It does not make one.
LAVAN publishes how the assessment works. The method is the same for every business.