Get Certified

Since 2014, W.A.G.E. has certified well over one hundred institutions from across the U.S. with operating budgets ranging from $3,000 to $94 million. Getting W.A.G.E. Certified represents a long term commitment to equity and requires institutions to demonstrate having paid fees meeting W.A.G.E. standards at the end of each fiscal year. While not all institutions have remained certified, to date they have collectively paid out more than $23 million in artist fees.

If your institution is interested in certification, please read the program guidelines , generate a sample fee schedule by entering your projected expenses in the CALCULATE FEES field of the Fee Calculator  and review the steps below.

Institutional information and documentation you'll need to get certified:

Once an administrator has signed up  as a user, they can search our database by name and EIN number, claim the institution, and register it for certification.

Your first certification will be your current fiscal year. It can be registered at any time during the year as long as fees meeting W.A.G.E. standards have been paid throughout. To get certified, enter your projected Total Annual Operating Expenses (TAOE) and highest salary, upload your projected operating budget, and if your operating expenses are over $250,000, pay the annual certification fee. Certification fees are calculated at 0.02% of an institution’s projected expenses, starting at $100 and capping off at $700. Certification is free for institutions with operating expenses under $250,000.

Certified institutions must demonstrate having met or exceeded W.A.G.E. standards by entering each artist fee payment made during the fiscal year. This can be done anytime but must be completed within 60 days of fiscal year-end. Institutions making fewer than five payments annually are not eligible for certification. All fee payment documentation is kept confidential.

W.A.G.E. generates custom fee schedules and issues certifications to institutions based on their projected Total Annual Operating Expenses (TAOE). Because this number changes each fiscal year, new certifications must be registered annually. We send automated notifications starting 30 days before your fiscal year ends with fee tracking and recertification reminders. Waiting more than 6 months to recertify will incur a $100 late fee; waiting more than 12 months to recertify will incur a $200 late fee.

Questions? Read the FAQ.  More questions? Email us at certification@wageforwork.com.