# How to join (/en/docs/partners/rising-tide/join)



The Rising Tide rules are public; membership is not automatic. Joining takes four steps, and a person looks at each one.

## Why by application [#why-by-application]

Public rules do not mean public membership. Rising Tide runs on three gates, and the gates protect partners who play by the rules: bad partners cannot get in, the rules cannot be gamed, and money paid out can be recovered.

| Gate      | What it does                                                                                                                         | What it stops                                                                                                         |
| --------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Admission | By application; a person reviews the entity, the channel and the background; access opens after the intermediary agreement is signed | Anonymous sign-ups; customers building a shell to become their own partner; anyone claiming a customer you registered |
| Rules     | No markup and nothing added to the customer's price; everything settles on consumed, non-refundable usage                            | Arbitrage through markup or top-up stuffing                                                                           |
| Recovery  | 10% of each period is held back and released after 90 days; identity matching; no share on related parties                           | Unrecoverable payouts after refunds; self-dealing                                                                     |

## Four steps [#four-steps]

| Step     | You                                                                                          | Praxis                                                                          | Time                                                |
| -------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------- |
| 1 Apply  | Send the application email with the documents listed below                                   | Confirms receipt                                                                | Same day                                            |
| 2 Review | Answer follow-up questions                                                                   | Reviews the entity, the channel and the background, with a video call if needed | Reply within 5 working days                         |
| 3 Sign   | Sign the intermediary agreement, with the current version of these rules and clauses annexed | Countersigns                                                                    | Within 2 working days of receiving your signed copy |
| 4 Access | Register your first customers                                                                | Opens the partner area, statements and the registration entry                   | Within 3 working days of signing                    |

## Documents [#documents]

* Entity: business licence or equivalent registration; individual applicants provide identification and a description of their business.
* Channel: who your customers are, which industry, how they use model capacity today, and the expected order of monthly consumption.
* Background: previous software, consulting or channel business, with cases or customer references if available.
* Related-party declaration: confirmation that you have no employment or family relationship with the decision-makers of the customers you intend to register, and that neither you nor your related parties will be customers.

## What the review looks at [#what-the-review-looks-at]

The review answers three questions: whether the entity is independent and real; whether the channel is real, meaning the customers exist or can be verified; and whether the applicant and the intended customers have any relationship excluded by clauses 5, 9 and 10 of [Governance](/en/docs/partners/rising-tide/governance). All three must pass before signing. The review does not look at your size: the thin-pool logic holds for a small channel just as well.

## How to register a customer [#how-to-register-a-customer]

In the partner area, submit the customer's entity name and the email of the account to be opened. Registration takes effect immediately, timed by submission; that is the "first to register" rule of clause 1 of [Governance](/en/docs/partners/rising-tide/governance). After the customer's first purchase, registration becomes a 24-month attribution.

## After signing [#after-signing]

* Partner area: register customers, check attribution, download statements.
* A monthly statement in the layout on the [Statement](/en/docs/partners/rising-tide/statement) page.
* Changes to rules and clauses notified under clause 2.
* Either party may terminate the intermediary agreement with 30 days' written notice; attribution and shares on customers already registered and converted continue to the end of their terms, and holdbacks are released on the original schedule.
* The intermediary agreement is governed by Hong Kong law, and disputes go to arbitration at the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre.

Send applications to [contact@deepractice.ai](mailto:contact@deepractice.ai) with the subject "Rising Tide application · entity name".