What we do and don't claim
Exactly what an Audrie record establishes, and which questions remain yours to answer.
Audrie's answer is narrow on purpose. A system that claimed to tell you everything about a document would be telling you nothing reliable about any of it. What follows is the boundary, stated precisely, so you know what you are relying on.
The division of labour
| Audrie establishes | Your judgement establishes |
|---|---|
| This exact file is unchanged since it was authenticated | What the document says, and whether it is accurate or complete |
| Who authenticated it, and that their identity was verified before they could | Whether that person had authority to commit their organisation to its contents |
| When, to the second, confirmed by a public ledger Audrie does not operate | What certification your profession requires you to give |
| That the authenticator's own certification is genuine and cannot be forged or moved | Whether the authentication has legal effect in your jurisdiction |
| Whether the record is still valid today, and the reason if it is not | Whether the document is the right document for your purpose |
The left column is cryptographic. It does not depend on trusting Audrie, and you can check it yourself. The right column needs a person who understands the transaction. Audrie does not attempt it, and any service claiming to should be treated with suspicion.
What Audrie asserts
The file is unaltered. A document with this fingerprint was authenticated at this time, and the file you are holding is byte-for-byte that document. Any modification, however small, produces a different fingerprint and will not match.
The authenticator is a verified person. Identity verification is completed before anyone can authenticate anything. Every certificate also records how that identity was established, either verified independently through Audrie's identity provider, or attested by the authenticator's employer, so a verifier always knows which without having to ask.
They approved it deliberately. Each authentication is confirmed with a passkey on the authenticator's own device, at that moment. It cannot be done by someone holding a stolen password.
Organisational role was checked. Where a document is authenticated under an organisation's key, the authenticator was an active member of that organisation at that moment, holding a role that permits authenticating on its behalf.
The time is not ours to move. The timestamp is assigned by the Hedera network, not by Audrie, and it cannot be altered afterwards by us or anyone else.
The record's current status is honest. A verification reflects whether the record is still valid right now, including revocation and the reason for it, rather than repeating what was true when it was signed.
You can check all of it without us. Every record is committed to a public ledger Audrie does not operate, and every authenticated document carries the pointer to its entry inside it.
Certified copies
Where your profession allows you to certify documents, the certificate carries your own statement, in your name: that this is a true and complete copy of the original, and that it has not been altered.
You have always been the one making that certification. What Audrie adds is permanence. Your statement is cryptographically bound to your verified identity and to that one exact file, so nobody can produce a document bearing your certification, and nobody can lift your certification off this document and attach it to another. Both were straightforward with a scan of a letterhead.
What your professional rules require of you is a matter for those rules. Audrie makes whatever you certify unforgeable and permanently checkable.
Where Audrie's answer stops
Stated plainly, because knowing the limits is what makes the rest dependable.
Contents. Audrie never reads your document and forms no view on whether it is accurate, complete, lawful, or sensible.
Provenance. Audrie records the authentication of the file it was given. It does not know whether that file is an original instrument, a copy, or a draft.
Intent and comprehension. Audrie records that an authentication happened. It does not establish that the authenticator read the document, understood it, or agreed with it.
Authority to bind. Membership of an organisation is not a power of attorney. Audrie confirms role and membership; whether someone could commit their organisation to a particular obligation is a legal question about that organisation.
Legal effect. Whether an electronic signature or authentication has legal force depends on your jurisdiction and the nature of the transaction. Australia, the European Union and the United States each treat this differently, and so do many other places.
The Hedera network. Audrie commits records to a public ledger operated by a third party. We do not control it and cannot guarantee its availability. What we can guarantee is that our records do not depend on Audrie continuing to exist.
The terms
The full contractual position is in Audrie's terms and conditions, which govern in the event of any inconsistency with this page.
Next
- Why Audrie exists covers the problem this is built to solve.
- Verifying a document covers what a check tells you.