---
id: KB-NO-029
url: https://app.codecontract.io/help/regulation/the-certificate-is-signed-by-someone-nobody-knows
idioma: en
categoria: normativa
subcategoria: producto
audiencia: usuario
nivel: avanzado
actualizado: 2026-08-13
tambienEn: [es]
relacionados: [KB-NO-015, KB-NO-022]
citadoPor: [KB-IU-018]
---

# The certificate is signed by someone nobody knows

_A certificate is worth whatever its issuer is worth. Checking takes three minutes and almost nobody spends them._

**Responde a:** how do i know a certificate is valid · certificate from an unknown laboratory · check whether a certifier is accredited · fake supplier certificate

A certificate arrives with a stamp, a reference number and an impeccable look. It gets filed. Months later someone asks who issued it and it turns out to be a body nobody has heard of, appearing in no register, whose website runs to three pages. The document is not fake — it simply evidences nothing.

## The four grades, and only the first is fraud

| What it is | What it is worth |
| --- | --- |
| A forged document | Nothing, and it is a serious problem besides |
| Genuine, from an unrecognised body | Little: it is one company's opinion |
| Genuine, but of another scope | Good for its own scope, not for yours |
| Genuine, recognised and current | What you were after |

> [!IMPORTANT]
> **The row that shows up most in real life is the second, and it is not fraud: it is marketing.** One company pays another to review something and receives a document saying so. All true, all genuine, and worthless to whoever requires accreditation of you — because what is required is not that somebody certifies it, but that it is certified by whoever is recognised to do so. Telling those apart is exactly the work nobody does at filing time.

## Three checks, three minutes

1. **Search for the issuer by name and number** — Recognised bodies appear in public, searchable registers.
2. **Read the certificate's scope, not just its title** — It is usually in the small print, and that is where cover shows.
3. **And check the date and the status** — A suspended or withdrawn certificate looks exactly the same.

> [!WARNING]
> One detail separates those who check from those who file: **the certificate you need is the one for the specific product or process, not for the company**. A manufacturer holding a management certification says nothing about whether THAT model meets what you need. It is the most commercially exploited confusion and the easiest to undo: look for what you are buying inside the certificate.

> [!NOTE]
> Which accreditation is required in each case, which bodies are recognised to issue it and how currency is verified depends on the product, the sector and the country. **Your adviser or the relevant body settles that**; here we explain how to spot the case where a genuine document evidences less than it appears to.

**Is a stamped certificate valid?**

The stamp is not the evidence. The issuer and the scope are.

**Can I ask the supplier to justify it?**

Yes, and an evasive answer is itself information.

**What if the issuer is in no register?**

Treat it as a supplier declaration, which is a different thing.

## Ejemplos

**A supplier hands over a certificate from a body that appears in no register.**

- Looks the issuer up before filing and treats it as a supplier declaration

→ The file reflects what that paper actually evidences, which is less than it seemed.

**The manufacturer's management certification is filed in the belief it covers the product.**

- Checks whether the model being bought appears in the certificate's scope

→ It emerges in time that the product document was missing, not the company one.

**A valid-looking certificate has been withdrawn for months and the paper looks just as impeccable.**

- Checks the status and currency, not only the printed date

→ The file stops resting on a document that is no longer in force.

**A certificate arrives and is filed without looking at who issued it.**

- Checks the issuer before accepting it

→ A certificate is worth what its signatory is worth.

**The issuer cannot be found anywhere.**

- Asks the supplier and records the answer

→ The doubt is settled before a client settles it.

**A client asks about the issuer of one of your certificates.**

- Checks what was recorded on receipt

→ You answer without phoning the supplier.