Reference

Action Type, Ratification Threshold & Guardrail Matrix

A maintained reference to the procedural requirements attached to each governance action type, with every changeable value held in a versioned dataset rather than in prose.

Type: Reference
Difficulty: Intermediate
Time: 25 min
Version: v1.0.0
Updated: 8/9/2026

governance actionsconstitutionprocess

What this helps you do

Procedural requirements decide what a vote can and cannot achieve: which bodies vote, what has to be reached for ratification, and which guardrails constrain the action. Those requirements are protocol parameters and constitutional text, and both can change.

This resource therefore separates two things. The method, which is stable, lives in the written guidance. The requirements themselves live in a versioned dataset published with the site, carrying an effective date, a verification state, and a canonical source for each entry. Nothing procedurally changeable is written into fixed copy where it cannot be maintained.

When to use this

You need to know which bodies vote on an action and what ratification takes.
You are checking whether an action is procedurally capable of doing what it claims.
You are writing a rationale that refers to thresholds and want the value dated and sourced.

When NOT to use this

You need the authoritative current parameter values for a formal or legal purpose. Read them from chain.
You are assessing the merits of a proposal rather than its procedural frame.

What you'll need

The action type from your intake brief
Access to current on-chain protocol parameters
The current Constitution text and guardrails script reference

Estimated completion time

25 minutes

Working time for one governance action, assuming the inputs listed here are already to hand.

How to use it

1Start from the action type recorded in your intake brief.
2Read the matrix entry for that type: voting bodies, ratification requirement, guardrail scope, and any interaction rules.
3Check the verification state shown against each value. Entries marked unverified are working notes, not authority.
4Confirm the current threshold parameters from chain or from a block explorer before relying on any number in a published rationale.
5Record the dataset version and the date you checked, so a reader can reconstruct what you saw.
6Where the matrix and the chain disagree, the chain is correct. Report the discrepancy so the dataset can be corrected.

The tool

Full reference - v1.0.0

What the matrix records for each action type

Which bodies vote: DReps, stake pool operators, constitutional committee
Whether a body is not entitled to vote on that type
The ratification requirement expressed as a protocol parameter name, not a hardcoded number
Guardrail scope that applies
Whether the type can be enacted alongside or must follow another action
Canonical source for each entry, with the date it was checked

How to use an entry

Identify the action type
Read which bodies vote and confirm your own body is entitled to
Note the parameter name governing ratification
Look up the current value of that parameter on chain
Record value, source and date in your working notes
Check whether guardrails constrain the permitted range of the change

Maintenance rules for this dataset

Every entry carries an effective-from date
Every changeable value carries a verification state: verified, unverified, or superseded
Values are stored as parameter references wherever a parameter governs them
A correction bumps the dataset version and is recorded in the changelog
No procedural value is written into page copy where it cannot be versioned

The requirements matrix

Dataset v1.0.0 - effective 2026-08-09 - Cardano mainnet

Procedural requirements are protocol parameters and constitutional text, and both can change. Values are recorded as parameter references, never as fixed numbers in page copy. Every entry carries a verification state and the date it was checked. Read the current values from chain before citing them.