---
id: KB-SC-009
url: https://app.codecontract.io/help/smartcheck/certifying-an-important-communication
idioma: en
categoria: smartcheck
subcategoria: certificar
audiencia: usuario
nivel: intermedio
actualizado: 2026-08-13
tambienEn: [es]
relacionados: [KB-SC-004, KB-SC-006]
citadoPor: [KB-SC-011, KB-SC-014]
---

# Certifying that you said what you said

_When what needs proving is not a document but a notice._

**Responde a:** prove i sent an important notice · certify an email · proof that i communicated something · digital alternative to recorded delivery

Some communications are not documents and still need proving: notice of a cost overrun, notice of a defect, a warning that a deadline will slip. They get disputed just like a contract, and usually with less evidence behind them.

## What exactly gets certified

**En corto**

- The full text of what you communicated.
- The date, set by a third party rather than by you.
- Who it was addressed to.

What it does not certify is that the other party agreed. That needs their signature, which is a different and stronger thing.

## Notify or get it signed

| If what you are communicating... | Do this |
| --- | --- |
| Is informative and changes nothing | Notify; the send record is enough |
| May have financial consequences | Certify the communication |
| Modifies what was agreed | Send it for signature, not as a notice |

_The gap between "I told you" and "you accepted" is the whole difference._

> [!IMPORTANT]
> Certifying a communication does not replace notification methods required by a contract or a rule. If your contract says communications go through a specific channel, that channel remains mandatory; this is additional evidence, not a shortcut.

> [!WARNING]
> Certify the text you actually sent, not a summary of what you remember sending. A reconstructed text proves nothing and, if the original turns up and differs, it weakens your position.

> [!NOTE]
> The most useful thing is usually the dullest: certifying, at the time, the email warning about the delay — not the fifty-page report at the end.

**Is it the same as recorded delivery?**

They are different things and worth asking your adviser about for your case. This proves content and date; recorded delivery adds a postal operator.

**Can I certify it days later?**

You can, but the certified date is today's. If it matters, do it the same day.

**Can the other party check it?**

Yes, with no account, on the public verification page.

## Ejemplos

**A builder tells a client that a design change will increase costs.**

- Certifies the email the same day it is sent

→ When the overrun is disputed four months later, the date and the text do not rest on their word.

**A warning was given by phone and there is no record.**

- Sends the warning in writing and seals it

→ The warning stops depending on two memories.

**A warning was emailed and the other side says it never arrived.**

- Seals the send with its date

→ It is on record when it was communicated.

**Warning comes late and you want to prove it was given.**

- Seals the warning the day it goes out

→ The warning's date is beyond dispute.

**The warning goes to the wrong recipient.**

- Checks the recipient before sealing

→ The seal proves something useful.

**Every email is sealed out of habit.**

- Seals the warnings that could be disputed

→ The history stays manageable.