Definition and scope
What Is the Negative UNL? addresses a distinct part of validators and network governance. Learn how the network temporarily accounts for trusted validators that are offline.
XRPL governance is distributed across deterministic software rules, server operators, validator choices, amendment voting, and the consensus process. These topics clarify what validators can do, what they cannot do, and how protocol changes become active. No single validator or list publisher controls the ledger. Consensus claims must distinguish local trust configuration from network-wide results.
How it works
The Negative UNL records trusted validators considered offline so the network can adjust quorum calculations without immediately changing every published validator list. Validators vote on additions and removals through ledger consensus.
- NegativeUNL: verify this field, object, or component against the cited protocol documentation.
- DisabledValidators: verify this field, object, or component against the cited protocol documentation.
- quorum: verify this field, object, or component against the cited protocol documentation.
- liveness: verify this field, object, or component against the cited protocol documentation.
Practical example and checks
When a trusted validator is persistently unavailable, eligible validators can support its Negative UNL inclusion; the ledger records the state until performance or voting causes removal.
For production use, preserve the exact signed or queried data, record the network and validated ledger reference, and compare the result with the current primary documentation before changing off-ledger state.
Open the related live demo or evidence lab →Limits, risks, and common confusion
The Negative UNL is a liveness mechanism, not a punishment list or proof of misconduct. It does not replace careful validator-list maintenance.
No single validator or list publisher controls the ledger. Consensus claims must distinguish local trust configuration from network-wide results.
Current network status
Enabled on XRPL Mainnet. NegativeUNL was enabled on XRPL Mainnet in feature responses from both official public servers at review time. Client and service support can still vary.
Status reviewed 2026-08-23. Amendment-dependent behavior must be rechecked against the network's live feature state before operational use.