Three questions before inspection
- Provenance: who is said to have issued it, and can that connection be established?
- Integrity: has the content changed since the relevant issue or signing event?
- Relevance: does this evidence support the specific decision you need to make?
A file's appearance can be convincing while its provenance is unresolved. Conversely, a low-quality scan can represent a genuine original. Keep “unverifiable from this copy” separate from “forged.” The first describes an evidence limitation; the second is a claim about what happened.
Match the evidence to the claim
| Claim | Useful next question | Common weak substitute |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | How is this evidence connected to the presenter? | A matching typed name |
| Qualification | Can the claimed awarding body confirm the record through an official channel? | A decorative seal |
| Transaction | Does the original system of record support the event? | A standalone screenshot |
| Permission | Is it current, applicable and attributable to the stated authority? | An old template that looks familiar |
Ask for evidence without collecting everything
Define what would resolve the uncertainty before requesting another file. Asking for every available document can create unnecessary privacy exposure without answering the original question. Prefer the smallest appropriate evidence request and a secure channel defined by your organization.
For identity-document research, PRADO provides a public reference library containing examples of travel and identity documents. Use the precise document entry as a reference rather than treating a generic country page as proof of a submitted document. Council of the EU: PRADO document reference library
Templates and testing
A document template is useful for exercising layout, field order or OCR reading paths. For those tasks, use an original abstract test sheet with a permanent fictional label. Do not download a government-document replica simply because it has convenient boxes for a name and number.