The Short Version
TPN stands for Trusted Partner Network. It is a content security program wholly owned by the Motion Picture Association (MPA). Studios and streamers use it to see how their vendors protect pre-release content, and many of them now ask vendors about their TPN status.
People usually call this "TPN certification". TPN does not use that word: it says its assessments and Shield statuses are not an approval, a certification or a pass or fail. A Shield is a record of where you stand against the MPA Content Security Best Practices, and each content owner makes its own risk-based decision using it.
If your post-production house, VFX studio, sound facility or creative agency handles unfinished content before it is released, expect clients to ask about TPN. This guide explains what it is, why it was created, and what the process involves.
Why TPN Was Created
Before TPN existed, every major studio ran its own content security audits. If you wanted to work with several studios, each could send its own assessment team to your facility, ask its own questions and make its own decision.
For vendors, this was expensive and repetitive, answering the same basic questions again and again for different studio teams. For studios, it meant maintaining in-house audit teams and vendor reviews without a shared standard.
TPN was built to give the industry one benchmark. It maintains the MPA Content Security Best Practices, runs an assessment program around them, and shares the results on a platform called TPN+, which is also a registry of service providers. The idea is that you complete the questionnaire and assessment once, and content owners that take part in the program can review it instead of running a separate audit. Each of them still decides what it requires from you.
What a TPN Assessment Covers
An assessment tests your sites, services and applications against the MPA Content Security Best Practices. The controls fall into four domains, and you only answer the ones that apply to your scope:
Organizational Security
Policies and procedures, risk management, personnel security (background screening, onboarding and offboarding, training) and incident response.
Operational Security
Receiving, packaging and shipping content, work-from-home and remote sites, and asset tracking and destruction.
Physical Security
Entry and exit points, visitor management, electronic access control and monitoring, alarms and camera systems.
Technical Security
Endpoint protection, authentication and authorization, network segmentation and firewalls, remote access, encryption, vulnerability management and patching, application security and, in the latest version, AI and machine learning tools.
For each control, the Best Practices set the minimum requirement and list Additional Recommendations for studios that want to go further. An independent assessor checks your answers against evidence. The result is an assessment report, not a pass or fail.
The Four TPN Shields
Since September 2025, TPN has used four Shield tiers. Before that there were two, Blue and Gold, and Classic Gold Shields stay valid until they expire.
- Blue is a self-assessment. You answer the questionnaire in TPN+ yourself and no one verifies the answers. It is valid for one year from submission.
- Silver means a TPN-accredited assessor has verified your answers against evidence, and you have submitted a remediation plan for the gaps they found.
- Gold means every Best Practice gap from your assessment has been closed, with the remediation reviewed by TPN.
- Gold Star means you have also completed the Additional Recommendations, reviewed by TPN.
Silver, Gold and Gold Star are valid for two years from the publication of the assessment report.
Which Shield matters depends on the client, and what one content owner accepts for a project, another may not. Sensitive titles can come with extra requirements. TPN leaves that decision to each content owner, so ask the client's vendor security team what they expect. For a closer look at each tier, read TPN Shields Explained.
Who Gets Asked About TPN
Any facility in the media supply chain that handles pre-release content for studios or streaming platforms may be asked:
- Post-production houses, editorial, color, finishing, deliverables
- VFX studios, effects work on feature films and series
- Sound facilities, mixing, ADR, sound design
- Creative agencies, marketing agencies that receive screeners or rough cuts
- Storage and delivery vendors, cloud storage, CDN, media asset management
- NAS and infrastructure, on-premises storage facilities used for high-value content workflows
The key question is whether your facility receives, processes, stores or transmits content before it is publicly released. If yes, ask your clients whether they want to see a TPN status.
How the Process Runs
- Create a TPN+ account and profile. This is free, and you describe your operation and add the sites and applications you want assessed.
- Complete the Blue questionnaire. This is a self-assessment that works as a free gap analysis only you can see.
- Fix what you already know is missing. Network changes, access control configuration, physical security upgrades and written policies. Documentation is usually the most time-consuming part, because the Best Practices expect written policies across many areas.
- Join TPN and choose an assessor. An active membership is needed to complete an assessment on the platform. You pick a TPN-accredited assessor from the directory on TPN's website, agree scope and price, and contract with them directly.
- Complete the assessment. The assessor verifies your answers on site or remotely, and the report is published. You submit a remediation plan for the findings.
- Remediate. You track the fixes in TPN+ and TPN reviews the evidence. Closing every Best Practice item earns Gold, and closing the Additional Recommendations earns Gold Star.
How long it takes depends on your starting point and scope. TPN's own quick start guide suggests aiming for a first Shield within 90 days, which is a target rather than a promise.
How Much Does It Cost?
Cost varies with the size of your facility, your scope and how many controls you start with. There are three separate pieces:
- TPN membership. TPN publishes its membership fees, which scale with annual gross revenue, at trustedpartnernetwork.org/membership. The questionnaire is free.
- The assessor. Assessment costs are not included in membership. You agree the fee directly with the assessor, so ask for quotes. TPN suggests collecting more than one.
- Remediation. This depends entirely on your gap list, which is why a gap assessment comes first.
Ask for real quotes rather than relying on a typical total.
Getting Started
The right first step is a gap assessment: understanding where you stand against the Best Practices before you commit to a remediation plan or a budget. The free Blue questionnaire in TPN+ is one way to do that, and a consultant can walk through it with you.
From there you can scope the remediation, set a timeline, and request quotes from TPN-accredited assessors.
Clouds Agency provides TPN readiness consulting for studios, post houses, and creative agencies in Los Angeles: gap assessments, fixes and policy writing. We help you get ready, and an independent TPN-accredited assessor does the assessment. If you are ready to get started, reach out here.
Written by the team at Clouds Agency, a Los Angeles creative and production consulting agency.