OJCP 0.3

Released 2026-10-08. Specification: https://spec.ojcp.dev/

Minor version. All changes are additive and backward-compatible: the schema $id
namespace stays at /v0.1/, and ojcp_version accepts "0.1", "0.2" and "0.3", so
existing providers and agents keep validating.

Changed

• jobLocation accepts an array of Place — a posting open in more than one location can now state every location the employer accepts, as schema.org itself permits. A single Place remains valid, so existing single-location consumers are unaffected. Providers MUST NOT reduce a multi-location posting to one of its locations. Updated in schemas/job-posting.json, schemas/responses/search-jobs.json, the JobPosting section of spec/ojcp-v0.1.bs, and examples/responses/search-response.json. Reported with coverage figures in #19.
• Agent identity binding no longer uses the Public Suffix List (RFC 0001 erratum E1, #11). A signed agent_id binds when the reversed Signature-Agent host prefixes it on a label boundary (wayfarer.ai → ai.wayfarer.*), which closes the hole that let any subdomain claim every agent_id under its registrable domain. A verified agent_id must be lowercase LDH hostname labels. Providers MUST NOT use an unverified agent_id for allowlists, rate limiting or session binding. Updated in the spec's Agent Identity, Error Responses, Security and IANA sections. Migration: an agent that signs from a host outside its own namespace — a sibling subdomain such as keys.eu.wayfarer.ai signing as ai.wayfarer.agent, which bound under the PSL rule — must either sign from wayfarer.ai / agent.wayfarer.ai or list that origin in https://agent.wayfarer.ai/.well-known/ojcp-agent.json.
• restricted_feed in auth.agent_signatures.required_for also covers any search_jobs request that would return restricted or private jobs, and a provider that gates any part of its feed MUST list it. The manifest example declares restricted_feed in optional_scopes and agent_signatures.
• user_mandate on AgentDeclaration is now fully specified (see User mandates below); its schema description states the profile instead of deferring it.
• Spec structure — "Open Questions" is replaced by a Scope section stating what the specification deliberately does not define (form skill descriptors, the user-mandate credential format, registry operations, verifier internals, conversion reporting). The Versioning section states the current version and the minor-version compatibility rule. Examples now declare ojcp_version "0.3".
• The eligibility-gates design record is renumbered from 0005 (a duplicate number) to 0006.

Added

• Delegated agent signing — /.well-known/ojcp-agent.json, served at the host an agent_id names, authorizes third-party Signature-Agent origins to sign as it. Schema in schemas/agent-identity.json, example in examples/agent-identity.json.
• agent_id_malformed error code, in the spec's error table and schemas/responses/error.json.
• Provider-derived attribution (RFC 0007). A provider that declares attribution credits each application from evidence it already holds, in order: a valid provider-issued attribution_ref, then the caller's most recent impression of that job within the attribution window (last touch), then none. Agents that search and apply under the same authenticated or verified identity are credited without relaying anything. Providers MUST NOT treat a missing source_attribution as unattributed when an impression matches, and MUST NOT fingerprint callers. New optional fields: attribution_ref on search_jobs results and the get_job_detail response, source_attribution.attribution_ref on begin_application and submit_application, an attribution outcome on the begin_application response, and an attribution manifest block (supported, methods, window_days). New Attribution section in spec/ojcp-v0.1.bs; updated schemas, examples/manifest.json, examples/responses/search-response.json, examples/responses/begin-application-verification.json, and docs/proposal.md. All additions are optional, and referrer and reference_id keep their meaning.
• User mandates — a normative profile for AgentDeclaration.user_mandate: a key-bound credential (SD-JWT VC RECOMMENDED) that binds the exact agent signing key (cnf.jkt) and the consuming resource server (aud) to a canonical ojcp_action statement; on multi-tenant ATSs the statement also binds the employer, and for submit_application it binds the application_id, a JCS/SHA-256 candidate-data digest, and a provider-issued single-use mandate_nonce (new optional field on the begin_application response). Covers mandate-admission policy, independent decisions for platform identity, candidate identity and user authorization, a fixed fail-closed verification order, atomic jti/nonce consumption, exact-key binding across key rotation, and revocation. New error code user_mandate_required, returned whether a required mandate is missing or fails verification. Decision record 0003.
• Agent-scoped job visibility — search_jobs accepts an optional agent_declaration, and JobPosting gains an optional visibility block (tier: public | restricted | private; audience: permitted agent_ids), enforced server-side against a verified agent_id. private jobs also require the restricted_feed scope. Anonymous or unverified callers see only public jobs; total_results, open_roles_count and every other count include only visible jobs; get_job_detail and begin_application answer a non-visible job with job_not_found; visibility.audience is never returned. Gating MUST depend on the agent's identity, never on candidate characteristics. New example examples/job-posting-restricted.json. Decision record 0004.
• Inline identity verification via MCP Apps — optional ui_resource (ui:// URI) on VerificationStep, and an embedded_app value in the verifier manifest's proof_delivery_methods. verification_url remains required as the fallback; proof delivery and validation are unchanged. Decision record 0005.
• Eligibility gates — an optional eligibility block on JobPosting with three hard gates: visa_sponsorship (offered, not_offered, unspecified), relocation (offered, not_offered, required, unspecified) and security_clearance (required, not_required, unspecified). An absent or unspecified gate MUST NOT be read as a negative, and agents MUST ignore enum members they do not recognise. Decision record 0006.
• user_mandate_required error code, in the spec's error table and schemas/responses/error.json.
• ojcp_version accepts "0.3" in the manifest and all tool response schemas ("0.1" and "0.2" remain valid).
• Interoperability table entries for MCP Apps, HTTP Message Signatures / Web Bot Auth, and SD-JWT VC.