---
id: KB-SC-007
url: https://app.codecontract.io/help/smartcheck/what-certifying-evidence-means
idioma: en
categoria: smartcheck
subcategoria: empezar
audiencia: usuario
nivel: basico
actualizado: 2026-08-13
tambienEn: [es]
relacionados: [KB-SC-004, KB-GL-005]
citadoPor: [KB-SC-018, KB-SC-020]
---

# What certifying something means

_Being able to prove later that something existed and said this._

**Responde a:** what is smartcheck · what certifying a document is for · what sealing evidence means · how do i prove i had this earlier

Certifying something is leaving a record, checkable by anyone, that a specific file existed exactly as it stands on a given date. No more and no less — and it turns out that is exactly what gets disputed when there is a problem.

**En corto**

- It certifies when, not whether what it says is true.
- Anyone can check it, with no account and without asking you.
- The document does not change: its fingerprint is stored, not a different copy.

## What problem it solves

When two parties disagree about what was delivered, when notice was given, or what condition something was in, it is almost always one person's word against the other's. Certifying turns your version into something checkable: it does not depend on being believed.

## What usually gets certified

- A report or survey, on the day it is issued.
- Photos of a delivery or of a site's prior condition.
- A design, a formula or a piece of work, to date its authorship.
- An important communication and what it said.

> [!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.

> [!WARNING]
> The date certified is today's. Certifying something from three years ago does not prove it is three years old: if something matters, certify it the day it is made.

**How long does it take?**

It is immediate.

**Does the other party have to agree?**

No. Verification does not depend on your relationship.

**Does it work years later?**

Yes, as long as the file is kept.

## Ejemplos

**A surveyor delivers a report that may end up disputed.**

- Certifies it the day it is signed

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

**People think certifying stops somebody copying something.**

- Understands it certifies existence, not exclusivity

→ The proof is not credited with what it does not do.

**What must be proved is that something was said, not that a file exists.**

- Seals the notice or the communication

→ What is proved is what was needed.

**A document is sealed and then modified.**

- Seals each final version

→ Each seal points at an exact content.

**There is a question whether a third party will accept it.**

- Checks what can be verified and how

→ Expectations are set before they are needed.

**The evidence is kept and the file is lost.**

- Keeps both together

→ The proof stays complete.