Identity matched
Government-issued identity has been checked against the name and evidence supplied in the application.
Evidence before introductions
Guide verification,
made specific.
A Mountain Linkup verification means we checked the guide’s identity, current evidence and exact guiding scope. It is not a blanket approval for every mountain, route or condition.
- Standard
- New Zealand · Version 1.0
- Published
- 26 August 2026
The short version
No badge from a form.
No request before review.
Applications begin as pending. Mountain Linkup records the evidence source, approved disciplines and next review date before a guide can receive a private traveller request or progress to payment.
01
The review
Eight checks must be complete.
Qualification is current
The credential is confirmed with the issuing association or an official source.
Guiding scope recorded
The guide may only receive objectives covered by the exact qualification and any supervision limits.
First aid is current
Remote or outdoor first-aid evidence is appropriate to the work and remains in date.
Operator compliance checked
WorkSafe registration, operator coverage or a documented not-applicable reason has been checked.
Insurance is current
Public liability and professional cover, held personally or through the operator, has been evidenced.
Land access checked
The relevant DOC concession, other permission or a documented not-applicable reason has been checked.
References and declarations checked
Professional references, status disclosures and the Mountain Linkup conduct declaration have been reviewed.
02
Qualification scope
Qualified does not mean qualified for everything.
Recognised evidence
For technical mountain work, we confirm a current NZMGA, IFMGA or recognised equivalent credential with the issuing body. Experience alone does not replace the technical qualification required for that objective.
Limits stay attached
Discipline, terrain and supervision limits are recorded. Assistant qualifications are only accepted within their required supervision. A guide is only matched inside the approved scope.
03
Status control
Verification can pause or expire.
Application received. The guide cannot receive traveller requests.
One or more checks need evidence, clarification or renewal.
All eight checks are complete and the recorded review date is current.
Requests and payment stop while an expiry, report or status change is reviewed.
The next review is no later than 12 months after verification and may be earlier when first aid, insurance, association membership, operator registration or another relied-on document expires. Guides must report relevant changes immediately. Mountain Linkup may suspend a profile while a serious complaint, incident, disciplinary matter or evidence gap is reviewed.
04
What verification means
A documented check, not a safety guarantee.
What we confirm
The evidence listed in this standard was checked, the approved scope was recorded and the review date was current when Mountain Linkup introduced the guide.
What the guide still decides
The guide remains responsible for the trip plan, risk communication, conditions, participant suitability, equipment, legal compliance and the final decision to proceed, change or turn back.
What travellers still do
Travellers must give accurate experience and health information, review the proposed plan, ask questions, follow instructions and understand that mountain activities carry inherent risk.
What Mountain Linkup does
We control access to requests and payment, keep an evidence trail, re-check expiring records and provide a way to report a concern. We do not direct the guide’s on-mountain judgement.
05
Official checks
Primary records, not screenshots alone.
NZMGA current guide directory Open ↗WorkSafe adventure activity operator register Open ↗DOC commercial guiding concession guidance Open ↗Adventure Activities Regulations 2016 Open ↗
This is Mountain Linkup’s platform standard. It does not replace a guide’s, operator’s or other business’s obligations under New Zealand law, WorkSafe requirements, land-manager permissions or professional association rules.