Get Certified

W.A.G.E. Certification is intended as an ongoing commitment to equity. You can apply to be certified for previous, current or upcoming fiscal years, but they must be consecutive. Please read the program guidelines  and review the information below before registering your first certification.

W.A.G.E. produces custom fee schedules and issues certifications to institutions based on their projected Total Annual Operating Expenses (TAOE). Because this number changes each fiscal year, certifications must be re-registered and maintained annually. Each certification is associated with a fiscal year so your current certification expires when your fiscal year does.

Before you can register a certificate for the next fiscal year, you must demonstrate having met or exceeded W.A.G.E. standards by entering each artist fee payment using the certification app and submitting them for review. This can be done anytime but must be completed within 60 days of fiscal year-end. All institutional information and payment documentation are kept confidential.

To help keep W.A.G.E. raging, in 2023 we began charging a modest service fee for the certification of institutions with operating expenses over $250,000. Service fees are calculated at 0.02% of an institution’s projected expenses, starting at $100 and capping off at $700. W.A.G.E. Certification is free for institutions with operating expenses under $250,000.