---
id: KB-SC-004
url: https://app.codecontract.io/help/smartcheck/what-is-worth-certifying
idioma: en
categoria: smartcheck
subcategoria: certificar
audiencia: usuario
nivel: intermedio
actualizado: 2026-08-13
tambienEn: [es]
relacionados: [KB-SC-001, KB-TZ-002]
citadoPor: [KB-SC-005, KB-SC-006, KB-SC-007, KB-SC-009, KB-SC-012, KB-SC-015, KB-CF-008]
---

# What is worth certifying

_Certifying everything is noise. These are the cases where it genuinely matters._

**Responde a:** which documents should i certify · when to use smartcheck · is it worth sealing every document · what is certifying evidence for

Certifying does one thing: it lets you prove later that something existed and said exactly this on a given date. If nobody will ever dispute that, certifying it adds nothing.

## Where it does

| Document | What is protected |
| --- | --- |
| A delivery or handover note | That it was delivered that day and in that condition |
| A technical report or survey | That it said this before there was a dispute |
| A design, a formula, source code | That it was yours on that date |
| Photos of a site or of damage | That they were taken when you say, not after |
| An important communication | That it was sent and what it said |

## Where it does not

- Drafts that will change next week.
- Documents already signed: the signature carries its own date.
- Copies of third-party official documents, which are verified at source.

> [!IMPORTANT]
> Certifying does not say the content is true. It says that content existed on that date. A certified report with invented figures still has invented figures, only with a trusted date.

> [!NOTE]
> The useful question is not "is this important?" but "could anyone dispute in two years what this said or when?". If yes, certify it.

**Can I certify something old?**

Yes, but the date certified is today's, not the original.

**Does it take space or change the document?**

The document does not change. What is stored is its fingerprint.

**Does it still hold if I convert the file?**

No: converting changes it. Certify the file you intend to keep.

## Ejemplos

**An engineering practice delivers a report that may end up in litigation.**

- Certifies the report on the day it is delivered

→ Two years later they can prove what it said before the dispute, without relying on their own filing.

**Everything incoming is sealed and the listing stops being useful.**

- Seals what could end up disputed

→ The listing says something again.

**An agreement closed by email is not sealed.**

- Seals the thread when the agreement closes

→ What was agreed can be proved later.

**Drafts that will change are sealed.**

- Seals on closing, not during

→ Each seal corresponds to something final.

**There is doubt whether to seal a client deliverable.**

- Seals it the day it is delivered

→ The delivery date stops being argued.

**Something already signed is sealed.**

- Checks whether the signature already provides the date

→ You do not pay twice for the same thing.