FAQ
Straight answers on contents, legal effect, privacy, availability and test records.
What does Audrie check, and what is left to me?
Audrie proves the file is unchanged, who authenticated it, when, and that it is still valid. Whether the content is accurate, complete or right for your purpose stays with you. Audrie never reads your document, which is why it works for files you could not upload anywhere.
Does an Audrie record have legal effect?
That depends on your jurisdiction and the transaction. Australia, the European Union and the United States each treat electronic authentication differently. Audrie gives you strong, checkable evidence to put in front of whoever decides. Ask your adviser how it fits your case. The terms and conditions govern if anything here differs.
Dr Ian Freckelton AO KC's opinion considers Audrie's authentication process under Australian evidence law. It supports the evidentiary use of the process described to him, and explains the role of expert evidence and the requirements of the particular proceeding. It is not a court ruling or a guarantee that a document will be admitted. You can read the public overview and approved statements, or request the full opinion.
Does authenticating mean the signer read the document?
A person-authenticated record shows that the person approved this exact file, deliberately, with a passkey. An organisation record is signed with its organisation's system key and does not establish individual approval. If your process needs proof of review, record it in your own workflow and authenticate the final file.
Can the signer bind their organisation?
Audrie confirms the signer's role and membership of the organisation at that moment. Whether that role carries authority for a particular obligation is for the organisation to decide. Where it matters, add your delegation or authority check alongside the Audrie check.
Is anything about me on the public ledger?
The ledger carries fingerprints, identifiers and timestamps. No message Audrie emits names a person or a registered organisation, and none carries document content.
Records signed for an organisation, including by a person acting for it, are filed under that organisation's own ledger address. That address is public, and the organisation's name is not written on the ledger. Anyone who looks the address up can tell which organisation it belongs to, and so the signer's employer.
Can a person and an organisation both authenticate?
Yes, and a record always says which. A person authenticates in the portal, confirmed with their passkey, and is named on the record. An organisation authenticates through the API, which suits documents you issue in volume, and the record shows that an organisation signed. Checks made with an organisation key also name it. Use a person where someone must be accountable by name, and the organisation where the organisation itself is the right signer. See authenticate as your organisation.
What if the public ledger is unavailable?
Audrie commits to a public ledger run by a third party, so Audrie does not control its uptime. A verification reports a record as still settling rather than claiming more than it can prove, and records settle within seconds in normal operation. Your proof does not depend on Audrie staying in business: the ledger entry stays checkable, and so does the certificate inside a certified PDF.
Can I try the API without creating real records?
Yes. A test key lets you build and trial freely. Test records are marked as test, carry no legal weight, and Audrie clears them after 30 days. Switch to a live key when you are ready for records that last. See sandbox and test keys.
Are there file size limits?
In the Audrie web app, a certificate page is added to PDFs up to about 1 GB, and a certified PDF is verified in the browser up to about 2 GB. Larger files are covered too: a PDF over about 1 GB is authenticated as a record without the certificate page, and any file up to about 10 GB can be fingerprinted to look up its record by hash.