Certificate trust

Verify the live record behind a certificate.

A QR code connects the keepsake PDF to current registry status, signed metadata, and a privacy-safe verification record.

Look up a certificate

Enter an ID such as VHR-GR20-2026-8K42P9, or paste the complete short verification URL.

What the QR confirms

A current record, not just a copied image.

Canonical identity

The certificate ID and /v/ route resolve to one registry record.

Current status

Valid, revoked, reissued, superseded, and privacy-hidden states remain distinguishable.

PDF integrity

A SHA-256 fingerprint lets an exact PDF be compared with the issued record.

Signed metadata

The registry verifies certificate-critical metadata against its recorded signing key.

Boundary of verification

What verification does and does not mean

A valid page confirms that Verified Hikes issued the displayed evidence-reviewed record and that its signed metadata remains consistent. It does not certify legal identity, safety, permits, immigration status, fitness, route conditions, or official trail-authority recognition unless the record explicitly shows an approved Partner Confirmed or Authority Confirmed level.

Revocation does not erase history. Reissue creates a replacement record rather than silently rewriting the original. A privacy-hidden state can protect presentation without publishing the evidence behind the decision.

Safe public response

Only the fields needed to check the certificate.

This example illustrates the public metadata boundary. It is not a real certificate response.

{
  "certificateId": "VHR-GR20-2026-8K42P9",
  "status": "valid",
  "trail": "GR20",
  "verificationLevel": "GPS Evidence Reviewed",
  "issuedAt": "2026-07-10",
  "pdfFingerprint": "30de783f...bdcb",
  "signatureValid": true
}

Certificate ID format

VHR-TRAILCODE-YEAR-SHORTID

Examples include VHR-EBC-2026-8K42P9 and VHR-GR20-2026-4M7Q2A. GR20 always uses the complete GR20 code.

Report a suspicious certificate

Report a mismatched ID, unexpected domain, altered PDF, incorrect trail, privacy issue, or misleading officialness claim privately. Do not collect or publish the hiker's evidence.

Contact registry support