Airline distribution Travel technology glossary

NDC certificationIATA NDC certification and the ARM index

Also called IATA NDC certificationNDC Level 4NDC@ScaleNDC-CapableARM indexAirline Retailing Maturity index

Definition

NDC certification was IATA's programme for confirming that an airline, travel seller, aggregator or IT provider used NDC messages that conformed to the official schemas, graded by level from shopping to full order servicing. Since November 2022 it has been replaced by IATA's Airline Retailing Maturity (ARM) index, which records verified capabilities instead of levels.

What NDC certification means

IATA's NDC standard defines the XML messages airlines and sellers use to shop, book and service airline offers. Because each party builds its own implementation, IATA ran a certification programme, introduced in 2016 according to its NDC@Scale white paper, so partners could see who had implemented which messages.

IATA's certification guide, last updated in November 2019, set out levels. Level 1 was no longer offered by then. Level 2 covered offer management through shopping messages. Level 3 added order creation, viewing and changing. Level 4 added reshop and order change notifications for full servicing. Airlines, sellers and aggregators with a live deployment could become NDC-Certified; IT providers could be NDC-Capable, including on test environments. Certification lasted 12 months.

NDC@Scale sat above Level 4. IATA's 2018 white paper framed it as proof of the technical set-up, support organisation and use cases needed to handle growing NDC volumes, including SLAs, developer portals, 24/7 help desks and servicing flows.

The ARM index took over. IATA says the former NDC and ONE Order certification registries have been superseded by it, and its NDC registry page states participants completed the transition on 1 November 2022. Instead of a level, the public registry lists verified capabilities across six streams: Shop, Order, Pay, Account, Settle and Setup. Private modules measure how widely capabilities are deployed with partners and, for airlines, how much value they capture from airline retailing.

How NDC certification works

Under the ARM index, a company's NDC and order capabilities are verified against IATA standards and published in a registry.

  1. Implement the standardThe airline, seller or IT provider builds NDC and related order, payment or settlement messages to a published IATA schema version.
  2. Submit evidenceThe company provides message traces or evidence for each capability it claims, as the old programme required for each level.
  3. IATA verificationIATA checks that the messages conform to the standard for the capabilities claimed, such as shopping for flights or changing an order.
  4. Registry listingVerified capabilities appear in the public ARM index registry in plain business terms rather than message names or levels.
  5. Partnership and value modulesAirlines and sellers can also share deployment data with IATA, and airlines who complete all pillars can receive a confidential maturity report twice a year.

NDC certification in practice

Level 4 aggregator (verified). In a press release dated 24 September 2019, Verteil announced it had become an NDC-Certified Level 4 aggregator, citing full offer and order management messages on NDC schema version 17.2, including reshop and involuntary change notifications.

ARM recognition (verified). Accelya has announced recognition under the ARM index for IATA 24.1 capabilities covering the Shop, Order, Pay and Account streams. The label refers to a version of IATA's standards, not a certification level.

Illustrative. An agency evaluating an airline API sees it listed for shopping and order creation but not for order change. It should expect to handle changes through another channel or ask the airline for its roadmap.

Who uses it

Travel agenciesAgencies use the registry to check which NDC functions an airline or aggregator has verified before planning a connection.
AirlinesAirlines use verification to show partners their NDC API supports the shopping and servicing flows sellers need.
IT providers and aggregatorsTechnology vendors cite recognition to show that their platforms implement IATA messages correctly for their customers.
Corporate travel buyersBuyers reviewing TMC or booking tool NDC claims can compare them with what is listed in IATA's registry.

Advantages and limitations

Advantages

  • It gives a neutral, IATA-checked reference for what a company's NDC implementation supports.
  • Capability listings in business terms are easier for buyers to read than message names or level numbers.
  • Combining NDC, ONE Order and payment capabilities in one registry shows readiness across the whole order flow.

Limitations

  • Verification checks that messages conform to the standard; IATA states it does not validate content, quality or commercial products.
  • A listed capability does not guarantee that an airline offers the same content, fares or servicing to every seller or market.
  • Older references to Level 3, Level 4 or NDC@Scale describe a retired scheme and may not reflect current capabilities.

Frequently asked questions about NDC certification

What did NDC Level 4 mean?

Level 4 was the highest numbered level in IATA's NDC certification. It covered full offer and order management, adding reshop and order change notification messages to the shopping and order messages of Levels 2 and 3, so changes, including airline-initiated ones, could be handled through NDC.

Does IATA still certify NDC?

Not under the old level system. IATA moved participants to the Airline Retailing Maturity index, with the transition completed on 1 November 2022. Companies now have specific capabilities verified and listed in the ARM index registry rather than receiving an NDC level.

What is the difference between NDC-Certified and NDC-Capable?

Under IATA's former programme, NDC-Certified applied to airlines, sellers and aggregators that had a live NDC deployment. NDC-Capable applied to IT providers whose products were built on the standard and could be assessed on test environments.

Does an ARM index listing mean an airline's NDC content is good?

Not by itself. IATA verifies that messages follow the standard, not the commercial content, fare availability or service quality behind them. Agencies should still test the API, compare content with other channels and check servicing and support terms.

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Sources and further reading

  1. IATA — Guide to the NDC Registration and Certification Program (updated November 2019)
  2. IATA — NDC@Scale white paper (October 2018)
  3. IATA — NDC Registry
  4. IATA — ARM index factsheet
  5. IATA — Airline Retailing Maturity index
  6. Travel Weekly — IATA shifts away from NDC certification process
  7. Verteil — Verteil Technologies certifies as an IATA Level 4 NDC aggregator
  8. Travel Daily News — Accelya secures IATA 24.1 ARM recognition