--- id: KB-SC-002 url: https://app.codecontract.io/help/smartcheck/why-it-cannot-be-edited-or-deleted idioma: en categoria: smartcheck subcategoria: certificar modulo: smartcheck audiencia: usuario actualizado: 2026-08-12 tambienEn: [es] relacionados: [KB-SC-001, KB-SC-003] citadoPor: [KB-SC-001, KB-SC-003, KB-SC-012, KB-SC-013, KB-PR-024] --- # Why certified items cannot be edited or deleted _The most repeated question, and why the answer is the feature rather than a bug._ **Responde a:** how do I delete a certified document · I uploaded the wrong file to SmartCheck · can certified evidence be edited · right to erasure and evidence It is the first question nearly everyone asks, usually with some irritation: "I uploaded the wrong file, how do I delete it?" The short answer is that you do not. The long answer is more interesting. **En corto** - If it could be deleted, certifying would prove nothing. - A file uploaded by mistake is not a problem: certify the right one and both remain. - Having two versions does not hurt you; usually it helps. - The right to erasure of personal data is handled through your data protection procedure, not by deleting evidence by hand. ## The reasoning Imagine deletion were possible. Someone asks you to prove you held a certificate on 3 March, you show them, and the other side replies: "sure, but you could have uploaded that yesterday and deleted the old one". They would be right. The entire usefulness of certifying depends on nobody — including you — being able to alter it afterwards. So immutability is not an awkward restriction that would be nicer removed: it is precisely the product. An audit archive its owner can edit is not an audit archive. ## What to do when you get it wrong 1. **Do not try to undo it** — There is nothing to undo, and it is not a problem. Move on. 2. **Certify the correct document** — Upload it normally. It gets its own date, later than the wrong one. 3. **Name each one so you do not confuse them** — Metadata and labels can be adjusted: what does not change is the certified content. > [!NOTE] > Having two versions is almost never a problem. When someone asks you to account for something, the sequence is usually exactly what interests them: what was there before, what was corrected and when. ## And personal data It is a fair question: if someone exercises their right to erasure, what happens to evidence carrying their name? That case is not solved by deleting by hand from the interface — which is exactly what cannot be done — but through your organisation's data protection procedure, which covers retaining evidence held under a legal obligation. If a request like that reaches you, talk to whoever handles data protection before touching anything. ## Frequently asked questions **Can I rename it or move its folder?** Yes. What is immutable is the certified content and its date; the organisation around it can be adjusted. **Can I hide a piece of evidence without deleting it?** You can organise it and restrict who sees it within your organisation, but it does not disappear from the record. **What if I uploaded something confidential by mistake?** Talk to whoever handles data protection in your organisation. It is a foreseen case, but it is handled by procedure, not by deleting the record. **Does uploading the same file twice count as two certifications?** Each upload is a piece of evidence with its own date. If the file is identical, so is its fingerprint, and that is visible. ## Ejemplos **Someone certifies a report draft by mistake instead of the final version, and notices the next day.** - Certifies the final version, which gets today's date - Labels the first one "draft" to tell them apart - Leaves both where they are → The file shows there was a draft on the 3rd and a final version on the 4th, which is more credible than the final one appearing alone. **A document with a typo is sealed.** - Seals the corrected version and keeps both → The correction is explained rather than hidden. **Somebody asks to delete an evidence record for tidiness.** - Explains that immutability is what gives it value → The proof still counts because nobody can touch it. **Something is sealed by mistake.** - Seals the right version and documents the error → The history stays clear and verifiable. **Somebody is reluctant to seal for fear of not being able to amend.** - Reviews before sealing and seals successive versions → Sealing stops feeling irreversible. **Somebody asks why it cannot be edited.** - Compares with a document that can be edited → It becomes clear that editable and provable are opposites.