Credential

A credential is a proof of qualification, competence, or clearance that is attached to a person, and often considered an attribute of that person. It often signals rank. Well-known credentials include:

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• a personal title, e.g. "Lord", "Knight", "Right Honourable", indicating an earned rank or position within a power structure
• a command rank, e.g. "Captain", "Sargeant", indicating likewise a very specific position in a command hierarchy, e.g. police rank or military rank
• an academic degree or professional designation such as "PhD", "P.Eng" or "M.D."
• citizenship often signalled by a passport or birth certificate
• the right to drive on roads in a given place, signalled by a drivers license
• the right to practice a given trade in a given place, signalled by a trade ticket acceptable to authorities or regulators in that place and often presented at a union hall for simultaneous recognition of membership in a trade union
 
Credential: Documentation ►