The seal
Every certificate has its own seal, drawn from the work itself. The rings are pressed, not printed; the print at the centre is written in the work’s certificate number and file hash.
Look closer.
From arm’s length it is a fingerprint. Up close, every ridge reads the certificate. Like the microprinting on a banknote, it is there to be checked.
What it’s made of
The blindstamp
Two outer rings pressed into the paper without ink, carrying TRACEHUMANITY and REGISTRY OF HUMAN-MADE WORK, as a notary or print workshop would emboss a sheet.
The hash ring
The SHA-256 fingerprint of the original file: its 64 hexadecimal digits become 64 embossed strokes, each as long as its digit. No two certificates share a ring.
The print
A fingerprint whose single spiral ridge is a line of microtext: the certificate number, the full file hash, the level and the year, repeated to the centre. Its shape is seeded from the hash, so every certificate’s print is different.
Levels and revocation
Certified works (L2 to L5) print in ink. Self-declared L1 records print in grey with DECLARED in the ridge. A revoked certificate’s seal is marked REVOKED everywhere it appears, within the hour.
Check it yourself
A seal is drawn by a fixed, deterministic method from the public record: certificate number, file hash, level, issue date and revocation status. The same certificate always produces the same seal.
To check one, hash the file (SHA-256) and look it up in the verifier. The seal on the record should carry the same hash in its ring and in its print. The signature behind it can be checked against our published keys.
Embed your seal
Works certified at L2 or higher can show their seal anywhere. Copy a ready-made snippet from your Certificates page, or use the generic one below with your certificate number. The image is served at https://tracehumanity.com/seal/TH-….svg and always reflects the current record, including revocation.
<a href="https://tracehumanity.com/verify?id=YOUR-CERT-NUMBER" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
<img src="https://tracehumanity.com/seal/YOUR-CERT-NUMBER.svg"
alt="TraceHumanity seal for certificate YOUR-CERT-NUMBER"
width="120" height="120" loading="lazy" />
</a>[](https://tracehumanity.com/verify?id=YOUR-CERT-NUMBER)Pages that still embed the earlier Certified Human badge image keep working; we recommend switching to the seal, which is unique to each work.
Using it well
Link it to the verification page.
The seal only means something when clicking it takes a viewer to the public verification of the specific work it belongs to. The embed code does this for you.
One seal per work.
Each seal carries one work’s hash and number. Use it beside that work, not as a site-wide stamp.
Don’t alter it.
No recolouring, cropping or redrawing. If you need something else, ask us through the contact form.
Minimum size 96 px.
Below that the microtext and hash ring can’t be read; the seal still links to the record.