Legal
What a record proves
Version 1 · effective date: 25 October 2026
What a registration is
A registration means that ClearedBadge accepted a fingerprint (SHA-256) and stored it under a record ID, together with the time ClearedBadge's server accepted it.
- For a Standard file registration, our server computed the fingerprint from the file.
- For a Private registration, your device computed it, and our server only received it.
- For a JSON event, our server computed it after putting the event in a fixed order (RFC 8785).
What a match shows
A match means that the content you supplied produces the same SHA-256 fingerprint as the one recorded under that record ID.
- JSON events are compared after RFC 8785: spacing and key order do not matter, but every value does.
- Files are compared byte for byte.
In plain words: the content you supplied matches the recorded SHA-256 fingerprint.
What a match relies on. The comparison is made against the fingerprint and the time in ClearedBadge's own registry.
- For a record that is not anchored, you rely on ClearedBadge having kept that registry intact.
- Only a confirmed Arweave anchor can also be checked against a public copy, without relying on our database (see "Registration is not anchoring" below).
What a match does not show
- that the content is true, correct, complete, authorised or approved;
- who created, owns or sent it. That holds for a person and for an AI agent alike. A sign-in controls access only, and is not part of a record;
- that anyone received or read it;
- that it has legal validity, or any particular evidential value. Whether a record can serve as evidence is for you, and for whoever assesses it.
What a mismatch shows
A mismatch shows only that the content you supplied does not produce the recorded fingerprint. That can have ordinary causes:
- another version;
- a re-saved or converted file;
- a different spelling or value in an event;
- the wrong record ID.
A mismatch is not, on its own, evidence of manipulation. "Not found" or "unavailable" is not a mismatch: nothing was compared.
The recorded time
The recorded time is the time ClearedBadge's server accepted the record, by its own clock. It is not an independent or qualified time stamp, and it does not show when the content itself was created.
Registration is not anchoring
Anchoring is a separate step: publishing a small record on Arweave, a public network. ClearedBadge reports these statuses:
| Status | What it means |
|---|---|
| not anchored | the record exists only in ClearedBadge's registry. The reason is shown, for example submission paused, which is the status of every new record today. |
| submitted | the transaction was sent to Arweave and is not yet confirmed |
| confirmed | ClearedBadge's anchor service saw at least 20 block confirmations, and the data it read back from Arweave has the expected SHA-256. This threshold is ClearedBadge's own rule, not a guarantee of finality from Arweave; there is no separate "final" status. Anyone can check the transaction on Arweave themselves. |
| failed | the anchor service recorded this anchoring attempt as failed; no confirmation is reported for it |
A confirmed anchor shows that the published data existed no later than the time of its Arweave block.
Not a qualified trust service
ClearedBadge is not a qualified trust service provider under the EU eIDAS Regulation (Regulation (EU) No 910/2014, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2024/1183), and its records are not qualified electronic time stamps.
- Under Article 41(1), an electronic time stamp is not denied legal effect, or admissibility as evidence, solely because it is electronic or not qualified.
- Under Article 41(2), only a qualified electronic time stamp enjoys a presumption that its date, its time and the integrity of its data are accurate.
Keep the original
ClearedBadge stores the cryptographic fingerprint and limited registration metadata, not the original content. Without the original content, a record cannot be verified, and the content cannot be reconstructed from the record.
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