Framework version history.

A private ruleset can be rewritten quietly. A public standard cannot. The changelog exists so that any member, client, operator or regulator can see exactly what changed, when it changed and why. Every material amendment carries a version increment, a publication date and a short editorial note describing the intent of the change.

Superseded versions remain accessible. A broker who signed a charter contract under version 1.2 of a standard can still produce the exact text they relied upon, even after version 1.3 is adopted. Standards are living documents; the historical record must not be.

The framework uses a two-part version number. A major increment — 1.x to 2.0 — indicates a structural change: new obligations, new evidence expectations, or a materially different scope. A minor increment — 1.2 to 1.3 — indicates a clarification, a corrected cross-reference, or a narrow amendment that does not alter what a compliant member must do.

Purely typographical corrections do not trigger a version change; they are logged separately as an errata note beneath the affected standard.

When a standard is revised, members are expected to review the change within the transition window stated in the publication note. Where the revision affects a client-facing document — a quotation template, a broker-role disclosure, a charter contract — the updated wording must be adopted for new engagements from the effective date. Existing engagements remain governed by the version in force at the time of contracting.

Members subject to evidence review should retain the version of each standard applicable to every engagement in their file, alongside the record demonstrating compliance with it.

For most members, three practical steps cover a revision cycle: circulate the change note internally, update the affected template or checklist, and confirm the change in the member's next client-facing engagement letter. The development process page describes how those changes were arrived at; the changelog above records what they are.