How do I verify a certificate of authenticity or a diploma?
Verifying a certificate or diploma has two halves. The first is whether the certificate PDF was edited after it was issued. That is what a tamper check answers: a changed name, grade or date usually leaves structural traces that surface as Modified.
Half one: the file
- Modified — the file was changed after it was created. Treat it as unreliable and ask for a fresh copy from the issuer.
- Intact — no structural evidence of editing. It does not say the certificate was ever awarded.
- Inconclusive — the file’s origin can’t vouch for it, for example because it was produced in consumer software that anyone could use to create a certificate from scratch. A scanned certificate is never returned as Intact. Ask for the original digital file.
Half two: the record
Whether the issuing body actually awarded the certificate cannot be answered by any file check. That lives in the registrar’s or awarding body’s records. HTPBE? does not check issuer records.
- Use the issuer’s own verification portal or registry, where one exists.
- Contact the registrar or awarding body directly, using contact details you found yourself, not the ones printed on the document.
- Ask the holder to request the certificate from the issuer so it reaches you directly.
Putting them together
Use HTPBE? to rule out file tampering, and the issuer’s own portal to confirm the record. An Intact file with no record at the issuer is not a valid certificate, and a record at the issuer with an edited file means the copy you hold cannot be relied on. See fake certificate detection →
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3 answers
Basics & Scope
No. HTPBE? verifies one thing only: whether the file was edited or forged after it was issued. It does not confirm identity, does not check a document against the issuer’s records and does not judge whether the content is true.
HTPBE? (Has This PDF Been Edited?) detects whether a PDF was modified after it was created. Upload a file of up to 10 MB and get a verdict — Intact, Modified or Inconclusive — with the findings behind it.
How Detection Works
No. You don’t need a reference copy. Structural analysis reads the evidence already inside the file you were sent, so HTPBE? can return a verdict on a document you have never seen before and from a sender you can’t reach.