Quick answers.

How do I create an account?

Go to the sign-up page and create your account. Signing up is free: you can browse all 407 rules and verify any sealed record without paying. You only pay when you run a check ($25) or open an assignment ($99).

How do I turn on two-factor authentication?

In the web app, go to Settings → Two-factor. Scan the QR code with any authenticator app, enter the code to confirm, and save your backup codes somewhere safe — they're how you get back in if you lose your phone. Two-factor is a web-app feature; turn it on there, not in the mobile app.

What do I need to run my first evaluation?

A finished report to check — a PDF works. Drop it in, North Star suggests the rule sets that apply, you confirm, pay $25, and get an Evaluation Report on screen and as a PDF. The Evaluate walkthrough describes the flow step by step.

What loan programs and states does North Star cover?

FHA, VA, USDA, and Conventional (Fannie + Freddie). State licensing rules for Washington and Oregon today — more Western states may follow based on demand. The full rule library — all 407 rules across 15 catalogs — is at athenadecisionsystems.com/catalogs.

What does each severity mean?

• Critical. Loan-eligibility blocker. The deal cannot proceed until cured. Fix these first.
• Material. Report defect requiring correction before sign-off. Won't block the loan but will block the lender's QC acceptance.
• Advisory. Best-practice nudge. Non-blocking. Consider whether the suggestion applies to your specific report.

What does "compliant" mean in the summary?

A compliant rule fired against your submission and passed. Compliant rules show up in your results just like findings — they show the rule was checked and your report satisfied it.

What does "not applicable" mean?

The rule's applicability gate didn't match this submission's envelope or content. For example, an FHA-specific rule doesn't fire on a USDA loan; a multifamily rule doesn't fire on a single-family subject. Not-applicable rules don't count as "misses" — they simply don't apply.

I disagree with a finding. What do I do?

Two options, both of which preserve the audit chain:

• Per-report override (before the run). Before you run the check, add an override with the rule ID and a written reason. The override and your reason are recorded with the run — and when you seal an Assemble workfile, they carry onto the Decision Record, so a future reviewer sees the rule fired and sees your documented justification.
• Reviewer action (after the run). On a completed run's findings, click Accept / Reject / Modified to record whether you agreed with the finding. These decisions persist as learning events that inform future product iterations.

What's a Decision Record?

The cryptographically sealed file you get when you seal an Assemble workfile. It contains the hash of your workfile, the hash of the rule set, the timestamp, the hash of the findings, and our digital signature. Anyone holding our public key can re-verify it offline, indefinitely. (An Evaluate check doesn't produce one — it returns an Evaluation Report.)

For the full framing — what the seal does and doesn't attest — read the audit-chain page. The framing matters; it's contractually binding (see Terms of Service §6).

How do I verify a Decision Record?

Open the free browser verifier at verify.athenanorthstar.com, drop in your Decision Record file, and it checks the signature for you. No account is needed, and the file never leaves your browser.

Independent auditors can pull our public keys from appraisal.athenanorthstar.com/v1/audit/public-keys. There's a full walkthrough on the verify page.

What happens to my Decision Records if I close my account?

They stay verifiable indefinitely. The browser verifier doesn't require an account, the public keys are publicly available, and the Records you sealed while using North Star stay in the audit chain. Closing your account doesn't break their verifiability.

Your uploaded content (the input that produced the Records) is deleted on the timeline described in the Privacy Policy after account closure, but the Records themselves persist.

What if Athena Systems goes out of business?

Every Decision Record we ever sealed stays verifiable. Verification was built to not depend on our infrastructure: anyone with the Record file and our public key — both freely available — can re-verify it. We couldn't take that away even if we wanted to.

How much does North Star cost?

You pay per use: $25 for each Evaluate check, $99 to open an Assemble assignment. No subscription, no monthly minimum, no per-seat fee. You're charged before the work runs, through Stripe. See the pricing page for the full breakdown.

How do I cancel?

There's nothing to cancel — you only pay per use, so there's no monthly bill, no annual contract, and no lock-in. We never save your card, so there's nothing to remove. Stop whenever you like and you owe nothing further. To close your account entirely, email support@athenadecisionsystems.com. Your Decision Records remain verifiable either way.

Can I export my data?

Yes. Decision Records download as JSON and Evaluation Reports as PDF, any time while your account is open. How long we keep your uploaded content is set out in the Privacy Policy.