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UCP for Services

Appointments and bookings have a charter under review, but no spec yet. Here is what the charter proposes, what is open, and who is involved.

Charter under review Read from the spec repo on 22 Oct 2026

A charter for a Local Services council was filed on 9 October 2026. The Governing Council started reviewing it on 16 October.

There is no services schema in the spec. The Governing Council wants to confirm it is a new domain, like Food and Lodging, rather than an extension of shopping.

Charter
#922Local Services, open
Filed
9 Oct 2026Under Governing Council review
Namespace
NoneNo services schema on main
Earlier proposals
#303 · #317 · #479Open; the charter commits to folding them in

Timeline

  1. 25 Mar 2026 Services vertical proposed (#303)
  2. 26 May 2026 Booking availability proposed (#479)
  3. 10 Jul 2026 Governing Council discusses a services group
  4. 9 Oct 2026 Local Services charter filed (#922)
  5. 16 Oct 2026current state Governing Council review begins
01What's proposed

Book a slot, hold it, pay for it

The charter proposes a council to define how an agent finds and books time with a business: appointments, group sessions, shared resources and rentals. It is under review; nothing has been written as a spec.

  1. Find a slot

    A service catalog and real-time availability across staff and resources.

  2. Hold it

    A time-limited hold, so nobody else takes the slot while the buyer decides.

  3. Book and pay

    A booking object on UCP checkout, so payment and the booking are confirmed together. Payment in full at booking only, in the first phase.

Source: #922 "Phase 1 (MVP)". The charter gives no dates.

Left to other councils

  • Overnight staysRoom and rate inventory stays with Lodging.
  • MealsMenus, carts and food orders stay with Food. A table reservation counts as scheduling.
  • Payment handlingPayment instruments and handlers stay with the Payments Tech Council; card holds and capture are worked out jointly.

Source: #922 "Domain Scope"

Later phases in the charter

  • Other ways to payA card held as a guarantee, authorise then capture, paying at the counter, and mixed carts.
  • After the bookingReschedule, no-show, waitlist and cancellation rules.
02What's still open

Proposals on the table

Filed in the spec repo, not agreed. The charter commits to folding the three earlier proposals into its first design.

Charter

under Governing Council review
  • #922
    Local Services council
    A Domain Tech Council for scheduling and bookings. It suggests the Universal Scheduling Protocol (USP) as a starting point; the Governing Council calls USP an initial sketch.
    charter

Earlier proposals

open
  • #303
    Services vertical
    Extending UCP beyond physical goods to services.
    feature request
  • #317
    Universal appointment scheduling
    An appointment-scheduling proposal with a prototype in its own namespace.
    proposal
  • #479
    Booking availability
    Tickets that must be booked for a date and time slot, such as parks and museums that sell out.
    feature request

Source: the issues linked, and Governing Council minutes of 16 Oct 2026

03Who's involved

Named in the charter

As #922 names them. Anyone can comment on the charter or file a proposal.

Charter · #922 · filed 9 Oct 2026

Platform: Meta. Businesses: Wix, Housecall Pro, Squarespace, Jobber, HoneyBook, Stripe and Shopify.

At its 16 Oct meeting the Governing Council agreed to mark the charter Under Review and clarify its scope with the proposer (minutes).

04FAQ

Common questions

Is there a UCP spec for bookings and appointments?

No. A charter for a Local Services council (#922) was filed on 9 October 2026 and is under Governing Council review.

Who is behind the charter?

It names Meta as the platform, and Wix, Housecall Pro, Squarespace, Jobber, HoneyBook, Stripe and Shopify as businesses.

Why can't a shopping checkout handle a booking?

A time slot exists once and someone else can take it. The charter proposes a time-limited hold before payment, and confirming the booking and the payment together.

Where does services end and Lodging or Food begin?

The charter leaves overnight stays to Lodging and meals to Food, and treats a table reservation as scheduling. The Governing Council has not decided on it yet.

All questions

Can a deposit be taken today?

A deposit with the rest due later can be expressed with payment terms from release 2026-08-25. Holding a card as a guarantee, or paying at the counter, cannot.

Every fact on this page: Universal-Commerce-Protocol/ucp, read 22 Oct 2026.

Sources
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