The Terms and Definitions used within the TrustCB procedures and templates are consistent with those used within the applicable Scheme. The schemes operated by TrustCB are based on ISO/IEC 15408 (Common Criteria), so that terminology is used.

For ease of reference the commonly-used terms and the phases of certification are defined here:

Terms and Definitions
Developer The organisation that has primary responsibility for the development and maintenance of the TOE. Typically, the Developer is also the Sponsor.
Sponsor The entity paying for the certification process and that gets usage rights for the certificate. In ISO/IEC 17065, the Sponsor is commonly referred to as “customer”.
Quality Supervisor The individual within TrustCB who has day-to-day responsibility for monitoring the application of, and adherence to, the Quality Management System (QMS).
Evaluator An evaluation facility licensed by TrustCB. The evaluation facility must be an ISO/IEC 17025 accredited (or equivalent) laboratory specialised in the field of IT Security Evaluation. For Common Criteria evaluations, such a laboratory is referred to as an Information Technology Security Evaluation Facility (ITSEF).
Certifier TrustCB, or (depending on context) an individual within TrustCB who is assigned to a specific certification task.
Target of Evaluation (TOE) The IT entity to be certified, used in a specific manner. This includes:
  • a specified version of a product that is to be used in a specified deployment
  • a site used for specified activities during the product lifecycle (such as development, manufacturing, and despatch)
  • a Protection Profile to be used in product evaluation activities.
User The User of the certificate; for example, the User of an e-Passport would be the government issuing the e-Passport.
Application Form The document submitted by the Sponsor (in cooperation with an Evaluator) to request Certification activities.
Application (verb) The act of submitting the Application Form (document).
Certification Agreement The contractual agreement between the Sponsor and TrustCB for the performing of certification activities in relation to the specified TOE.

The phases of certification are as follows:

Phases of certification
Submission Phase The initial phase, which commences with the initiation of TrustCB involvement and ends when the Evaluation Review Phase commences. This phase includes all activities associated with the generation and delivery of the Application Form by the Sponsor and the processing of the Application Form by TrustCB, resulting in either acceptance of the application by TrustCB and an agreed contract for certification activities, or rejection of the application.
Evaluation Review Phase The phase where the TrustCB certifiers oversee the Evaluator: The transition from Submission Phase to Evaluation Review Phase is receipt by TrustCB of (a commitment to) payment from the Sponsor. This phase is made up of the Certifier review of each verdict reached by the Evaluator, to endorse or query the evaluation verdict.
Certification Phase The phase where the evaluation tasks have finished successfully and the certificate is being issued: The transition from Evaluation Review Phase to Certification Phase is Certifier endorsement of all Evaluator verdicts relating to the specified certification activity. During this phase, the certification artefacts are generated by the Certifier. This includes the generation of the Certification Report, which records the certification decision and, where applicable, the generation of the certificate.