Operations
Part of UGC operations: eight gated states from admitted brief to acceptance, payment and closure
UGC marketplaces quality checklist: the gates one asset must clear
Check one England UGC asset against independent brief, claim, disclosure, rights, safety, accessibility, security, payment and controlled exit gates.
Quality means that the exact asset has evidence for its intended use. It does not mean that the video looks polished or that a marketplace marked the task complete.
Apply this checklist to F-UGC-01 and F-UGC-02, fictional template assets for one English brand unit. They are not real files, so do not hunt for them. Record PASS, FAIL or UNRESOLVED, plus owner, evidence, version and date for every line.
What to take away
- Quality means the exact asset has evidence for its intended use, not that it looks polished.
- The creator is usually first owner of commissioned work unless the parties agree otherwise in writing.
- Any FAIL or UNRESOLVED result means HOLD. Apply that rule to every line.
Worked PASS example, fictional asset F-UGC-02, gate C-01 claims. Owner: claims reviewer. Evidence: signed product test report TR-22, version 2.0, dated 3 February 2025. Asset version: final render v6. Date: 5 February 2025. Result: PASS.
Marketplace quality gates to audit
- Audit the marketplace's own gates with the same PASS, FAIL or UNRESOLVED format.
- Request review log fieldsasset identifier, gate, result, owner, evidence, version, date and reviewer.
- Request the takedown service level agreement: response time, escalation route, covered channels and exclusions.
- Ask for the reviewer count, language coverage, training records and conflicts policy.
- Request a redacted PASS row and a redacted takedown record.
- If the marketplace cannot show owner, evidence, version and date, mark that gate UNRESOLVED.
- Platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and YouTube operate in the UK, but a UGC marketplace is a separate service.
Commission and authority
- Does the legal buyer approve the brief, spend, creator route and channel?
- Is the creator's identity checked by an appropriate method rather than inferred from a profile?
- If a representative acts, does the file show their exact authority?
- Has uncertainty about age been sent to a safeguarding specialist?
Department for Education child-performance advice concerns particular performances and activities in England. The DfE child performance licensing rules in England are the relevant gate. It is a prompt for qualified review, not a reason to guess age or licensing status.
Claims and commercial recognition
- Does every objective statement point to current evidence for the stated product and conditions?
- Has the advertising reviewer checked the overall impression, qualifications and final wording?
- Is the commercial relationship identifiable in the intended placement and timing?
- Can the publisher correct or withdraw the asset promptly?
CAP substantiation rules and its separate recognition rules support two different checks. The ASA's CAP Code section 3 covers substantiation, and section 2 covers recognition. A clear label cannot repair a false claim, while substantiation cannot make an advert recognisable.
Rights and asset integrity
- Does the rights schedule cover script, performance, footage, music, images, likeness and trade marks?
- Are territory, channel, duration, paid use, edits and reuse explicit?
- Does the reviewed file identifier match the delivery and proposed publication version?
- Are rejected and corrected cuts retained with reasons?
The IPO's copyright ownership guidance explains that the creator is usually first owner of commissioned work unless the parties agree otherwise in writing. Payment and possession are not substitutes for the required permission.
Inspect the evidence bundle rather than accepting a contract heading. Every permission should identify the granting party, covered material, asset version, channel, territory, term, editing scope and withdrawal conditions. A newly added music track, featured person or crop returns the asset to rights review.
Data, access and production
- Is each personal-data field necessary, sourced, permissioned, current and correctable?
- Are instructions, supplier roles, subprocessors, access and deletion documented?
- Are credentials absent from briefs and protected through buyer-controlled access?
- Have captions, transcript, visual information, contrast and final rendering been reviewed?
ICO rules under the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 govern personal data, access and deletion.
GOV.UK accessible-format guidance addresses approved source text, captions and communication suppliers in government. It is an operational reference, not certification for a private asset. Test the actual channel format with an accessibility specialist.
Run the final-render check on the proposed device and publication path, not only the source file. Save caption text, transcript, visible disclosure, link destination and review result against the exact candidate identifier. If an automated caption or platform transformation changes meaning, correct the render and repeat the affected checks.
Money, release and exit
- Do the contract, accepted deliverable, invoice, consideration and payment parties reconcile?
- Has finance kept marketplace charges, creator payment, gifted value and taxes distinct?
- Does the publisher have a recorded pause, access-revocation and recovery route?
- Can the buyer export evidence, remove access and prove retention or deletion decisions?
NCSC publishing-account guidance supports access logging, credential protection and emergency recovery. It does not certify a marketplace.
The exit check also needs a readable evidence export, revoked individual and supplier access, a documented retention exception where applicable, and proof that the authorised owner can still correct or withdraw the publication. A download button alone is not an exit test.
Apply the HOLD rule from What to take away. F-UGC-01 has no creator, rights pack, final render, account or payment evidence, so it cannot pass this checklist.
Before you act
- Record PASS, FAIL or UNRESOLVED with owner, evidence, version and date.
- Check the creator's identity by an appropriate method, not a profile.
- Confirm every objective statement points to current evidence for the stated product.
- Inspect the evidence bundle rather than accepting a contract heading.
- Test the actual channel format with an accessibility specialist.
- Export evidence, revoke access and prove retention or deletion decisions.
Common questions
What does quality mean for a UGC asset?
Quality means evidence for the exact asset's intended use. For a marketplace audit, ask for one redacted PASS row with owner, evidence, version and date.
Why do claims and commercial recognition need separate checks?
Substantiation and recognition are separate CAP Code checks. Ask the reviewer for the final wording version, sign-off date and the evidence cited for each objective claim.
What must an exit test include beyond a download button?
An exit test needs more than a download button. Ask the marketplace for its takedown service level agreement and the last three takedown timestamps.
