Evidence types and confidence signals
We record every piece of evidence with an internal confidence signal. These numbers help us sort and combine evidence consistently: first-hand contact counts for more than a second-hand report, and expired certificates and conflicting reports count against a listing.
They are not an Islamic ruling or a scientific measure of halal status, and they don’t mean one kind of evidence is “better” than another in every case. For example, a phone call scoring slightly above a certificate reflects that a call confirms current practice at that restaurant today. It does not mean a call outranks a certifying body’s inspection. What you see on each listing is the tier and the evidence behind it, not these numbers.
| Evidence | Internal signal |
|---|---|
| Direct phone call with restaurant staff | 1.00 |
| In-person visit | 1.00 |
| Recognized certificate on file (verified, not expired) | 0.95 |
| Owner/manager verification form | 0.75 |
| Invited trusted contributor | 0.60 |
| Approved community correction | 0.35 |
| Public discovery data | 0.20 |
| Anonymous community report | 0.10 |
| Expired certificate (penalty) | -0.30 |
| Conflicting reports (penalty) | -0.25 |
Halal tiers
Every listing is assigned one of the following tiers, with the public wording shown:
- certified
- Certified halal evidence available
- owner verified
- Owner or manager verified halal status
- community reported
- Community reported — not independently verified
- unverified
- Unverified listing
- not halal
- Reported not halal
- unknown
- Halal status unknown
What we list — and what we don't
We list restaurants that serve verified halal food. Some of those also serve alcohol on the premises — and that is a matter of personal and scholarly preference, not something we rule on. So we publish them and flag the alcohol clearly (on the listing, in the amenities, and in the FAQ), and you can use the “No alcohol” filter to exclude alcohol-serving venues if you prefer. We present the fact; you decide.
We do not list a place as halal — and mark it not halal — when the food itself is not permissible, for example a venue that serves pork or uses non-zabiha / non-halal meat. Those are facts about the food, not preferences, so they disqualify a listing.
Recognized certifying bodies
A certificate counts as certified-tier evidence only if it comes from a recognized body, is verified, and is not expired.
- ISWA — ISWA Halal Certification Department, USA Halal Chamber of Commerce
- IFANCA — Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America
- HFSAA — Halal Food Standards Alliance of America
- HMA — Halal Monitoring Authority
- MCG — Muslim Consumer Group
- ISNA Halal — Islamic Society of North America — Halal
This list covers the bodies whose certificates we accept as certified-tier evidence for US restaurants. It is not a ranking. Bodies differ on questions such as stunning and machine slaughter, and our certifier profiles record each body’s published positions as we complete them.
Staleness and freshness
Information ages. We display a last-verified date on every listing and escalate the warning as time passes:
- 0–90 days
- Shown as “Verified [Month Year]” — no warning.
- 91–180 days
- Shown as “Last verified [Month Year]”.
- 181–365 days
- Amber warning: verified over 6 months ago — confirm before visiting.
- Over 365 days
- Red warning: data may be outdated — please verify directly.
- No date on record
- Shown as “Verification date not recorded”.
- Estimated date
- Where the exact check date was not recorded, the date is estimated from when the listing was published and labelled “estimated” in the listing’s verification record.