When you verify a certificate, you'll see one of three results:
- Authentic. The certificate is genuine and the document is exactly as it was when sealed.
- Altered. The certificate is a real Signet certificate, but the document has changed since it was sealed, even by a single character.
- Not genuine. The certificate wasn't issued by Signet. It may be forged.
These distinctions matter: "Altered" tells you the proof is real but the file was tampered with, while "Not genuine" tells you the proof itself is fake.