For: Everyone
Concepts: Document, Agreement and CSV
Certums has three worlds: Certification (issue documents with a verifiable code), Signing (collect signatures with evidentiary value) and Contracts (track your active agreements). Understanding the difference between a Document and an Agreement is the key to using the platform well.
What is a Document?
A Document is an individual certification your institution issues: a diploma, a proof, a certificate. When issued, Certums assigns it a unique CSV (Secure Verification Code).
It does not require anyone to sign it: the institution vouches for it. Anyone can publicly verify it is authentic and unaltered using its CSV or QR code.
What is an Agreement?
An Agreement is a signing «envelope». It contains one or more documents, a list of participants and a signing flow (in order, or all at once). It is used to collect electronic signatures with evidence: who signed, when, with what consent and identity.
The key difference: a Document is an individual certification the institution issues; an Agreement is a signing process between people. The same document can first be issued and then included in an agreement to be signed.
What is the CSV?
The CSV (Secure Verification Code) is the unique code that accompanies every issued document, printed alongside its QR. With it, anyone publicly checks the document status (valid, expired, revoked), who issued it and its date, without needing an account.