A single agency check is only useful if the sheet shows where each line came from. Set the order of work and the marks before you open any page, and keep the sheet open until every open question has an answer.

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Write the name exactly as it appears

Put the name the agency gave you on the top line. Under it, write the name as the public file shows it and the name as the listing shows it. Copy both letter for letter. Do not tidy the spelling. A difference in spelling is a line to check, not a line to fix.

Pull the public file before the listing

The public file is the anchor, so pull it before you look at anything a listing says. For each entry, record the file name, the entry's own wording, and where you found it. Mark every line FILE. Note the day you made the pull, so the sheet shows when the record was read.

Pull the listing next

Open the listing page and record the category it uses, the address it shows, and any statement it makes about the business. Mark every line LISTING. A listing can describe a business that the public file describes differently, and finding that gap is the purpose of this step.

Match and mark the gaps

Compare the name and address on each side. Where they agree, leave the line as it is. Where they differ, write both versions next to each other without choosing one. Mark the line OPEN. Do not fill an OPEN line with a guess about which version is correct.

Write the editorial lines last

Anything the agency or a page says about its quality, its staff, or its service goes in a separate column marked EDITORIAL. Keep editorial lines out of the match columns. They do not count as a check.

Hold the sheet open

Do not mark an agency as checked while any OPEN line lacks a written answer from the agency. If the answer is missing, write that the answer is missing and keep the sheet open for the questions in your verification list. The sheet records what was found. It does not rank anything.

The steps for pulling each file are set out on this site's self-check page: how to check a provider yourself.