What does certificate validation establish?
Adobe's guidance, updated 5 November 2025, describes reviewing a PDF signature validation status and signer certificate details. Validation concerns the signer certificate and signed content. A handwritten-looking mark or a printed name alone cannot supply that result.
Commissioning Docs is independent and is not affiliated with Adobe. This is a document intake control, not a determination of legal enforceability or an instruction to trust an unfamiliar certificate. Follow the organization's approved validation policy; do not weaken trust settings to clear a warning.
Sources: Adobe: Validate digital signatures, updated 5 November 2025
Which observations should the register preserve?
Review the original received PDF in the approved validation tool. Record the actual status, including an unknown or unverifiable result. Keep any separate approval workflow reference beside it. A successful cryptographic check cannot decide whether the signer had project authority or whether the test passed.
| Field | Evidence | Review action |
|---|---|---|
| Received file | Controlled location, revision and receipt reference | Keep the original file |
| Signature appearance | Visible mark and stated role | Do not label an image digitally validated |
| Validation | Actual status, tool and review time | Retain warnings without rewriting them |
| Signed revision | Version covered by the signature and reported later changes | Ask the authorized document owner about discrepancies |
| Approval | Project role and acceptance reference | Keep technical acceptance separate |
What if the same-looking PDFs have different evidence?
Illustrative example. Two fictional generator test reports display the same typed approval name. One received file has a certificate signature whose status the approved tool reports as valid. The second is an image-only scan with no certificate signature reported. Record these as different evidence states even if their printed pages look alike.
The scan may still be an accepted record under the actual project process. Ask the document owner for that process and any required supporting evidence. Do not invent a certificate, call the scan fraudulent, or replace the original with a newly signed version of your own.
How should an unresolved warning be closed?
Assign the warning to the authorized document or security owner and retain the explanation with the exact file. If a corrected or reissued PDF arrives, preserve the previous record and link the replacement. A fresh signature status does not erase the need to review changed test content.
The commissioning professional approves procedures and results. Engineering sign-off is performed only by the registered engineer on the job. This register records evidence status and does not confer either authority.
Common questions
What else should the bid team know?
Does a signature picture prove certificate validation?
No. Record the actual certificate-signature status from the approved tool.
Does a valid signature mean the test passed?
No. Technical acceptance and the signer's project authority remain separate checks.
Should an unknown certificate be trusted to finish intake?
Do not change trust settings merely to remove a warning. Route it through the approved review process.