💡 Application best practices
How to give the Validator Board what it needs to judge your application well.
The Validator Board decides from what you write and the evidence you link. Once your validator meets the minimum requirements, your ecosystem contributions weigh the most, so make them complete and easy to verify.
List every contribution
List everything your validator and team do for the Solana ecosystem, not only the biggest item:
- Apps, tools and dashboards you build or run.
- Infrastructure you provide, such as RPC services.
- Open source work, including contributions to other Solana projects.
- Research, guides and educational content.
- Community work: events, groups and communities you run or support.
- Programs, services and activities for validators, stakers or builders.
For each one, say what it is, who uses it and how it supports Solana.
Back every contribution with evidence
The board can only weigh what it can check, and the form has a required question for supporting evidence. For each contribution, add links the board can open:
- Repositories with real, recent activity.
- Live sites, apps or dashboards.
- Users, usage or integrations, where you have them.
- Posts, articles, talks or videos you published.
- Your website, X and GitHub, so the board can tie the work to your validator.
When the link between a piece of work and your validator isn't obvious, explain it.
The more supporting evidence you provide, the better the board can judge your application when it votes. Lists without links are the most common reason applications fall short.
Show a track record
Board members look at how long the work has been going on. Contributions created just before applying, or a GitHub that is empty or inactive, carry little weight. Show history: when you started, releases, and how the project has grown.
Make the application complete
- Answer every question in full. Very short applications are hard to judge.
- Explain why you want to join the stake pool and how you will contribute to The Vault once accepted.
- Check your validator against the Approved list criteria first: uptime, delinquency, client and commission. A 0% base and 0% MEV commission also qualifies you for the Elite Performance bucket once approved.
- Disclose every validator you are associated with, and only give legitimate referrals.
- Describe services as they are today, and say what is still in development.
To submit, follow Validator application process.
🧑⚖️ Validator Board
Who sits on the Validator Board, how it votes on stake pool applications every month, and how approved validators can apply to join it.
🔁 Unsuccessful applications
What to do when the Validator Board does not approve your application, the most common reasons, and when you can apply again.