The rubric · nothing hidden
Methodology: how records are verified and scored
Two promises run this site: every fact carries the date it was last checked, and every score can be recomputed from published inputs. This page is the second promise in writing.
The short answer: The Index Score is a 0–10 rubric over five published inputs: cost transparency (0–3), state transparency (0–2), named regulator (0–1), product clarity (0–2), and standing (0–2). It measures how checkable a lender’s terms are — never whether the loan is a good idea.
The rubric, line by line
- Scale
- 0–10
- Inputs
- 5 published lines
- Recomputable from
- the CSV
- Measures
- Disclosure, not quality
Cost transparency — 0–3
- 3 — publishes a numeric APR range on its public site
- 1 — describes fees or a per-$100 structure but no public APR
- 0 — no public cost figures at all
State transparency — 0–2
- 2 — publishes its state exclusion list (the binding availability statement)
- 0 — no published list; availability marked unknown everywhere
Named regulator — 0–1
- 1 — names its tribal regulator or dispute body
- 0 — disputes run through the agreement alone
Product clarity — 0–2
- 1 — publishes loan amounts with figures
- 1 — publishes a repayment schedule or term
Standing — 0–2
- 2 — active, no litigation or regulator-alert context on the record
- 1 — active, with litigation/alert context noted
- 0 — paused, wound down, or closed
The verification routine
- Pull the lender’s live site; if it is dark or half-broken, pull the Internet Archive copy and mark the site’s status on the record.
- Transcribe only documents: rate sheets, exclusion lists, regulator registrations, tribal codes. Marketing copy is recorded as marketing, not as fact.
- Cross-check the tribe against the BIA’s federally recognized list and the lender’s own regulatory page.
- Score the record against the rubric above; the earned points render on the record itself.
- Stamp the record with the date of that pull. When terms change later, the record is re-pulled and re-stamped — the old stamp is never silently kept.
What we refuse to do
- Guess availability. A lender without a published exclusion list stays “unknown,” in every table, everywhere.
- Invent APRs. A brand that publishes no rate gets a labeled illustrative example, never a fabricated range.
- Sell placement. There is no sponsored slot in the index; the funnel is separate from the records.
- Vanish closed lenders. Wound-down brands keep their records with a status stamp — that history is half of what this market teaches.
Methodology FAQ
Why publish the formula instead of a single editorial verdict?
Because a score you cannot reproduce is a claim, not a measurement. Every lender record here shows its earned points per line; anyone can recompute the total from the CSV. If you disagree with an input, you can say exactly which line and why — and we will re-pull the source.
What the score deliberately does NOT measure
Affordability, speed, customer service, or approval odds. A 10/10 record can still be a 700% APR loan — the score says its terms are checkable, not that borrowing is wise. We would rather be loud about that than quietly blend a “quality” opinion into a disclosure metric.
How does a record get its verification date?
A reviewer pulls the lender’s live site (or its Internet Archive copy when a site goes dark), re-transcribes tribe, amounts, terms, cost, exclusion list, and regulator into the catalog, and stamps the record with that date. Marketing claims are recorded as marketing; only documents — rate sheets, exclusion lists, regulator registrations — count as published facts.
How does a record get corrected?
Email the records desk with the record and the primary source. Corrections re-stamp the record with a new verification date; disputes about scores are answered by pointing at the rubric line, not by adjusting the number.
Who pays for this?
Tribal Lenders Index is an editorial index and a matching service. The index and the research desk are unpaid and unsponsored; the application funnel pays the bills when a reader chooses to check offers. The separation is structural: no lender can pay to appear, to rank, or to change its record.
Where our numbers come from
Tribal Lenders Index is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any indexed lender. Rubric outputs are editorial measurements of published disclosure, computed mechanically from the catalog fields on the dataset page.