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An ACORD 25 is the standard one-page Certificate of Liability Insurance used in the United States. An insurance agent or broker issues it to show, on a given date, which liability policies a business holds: the insurer, the policy number, the policy period and the limits. It is a summary of the policies. It is not a policy, and it does not change one. A general contractor usually receives one from each subcontractor before work starts, and again at every renewal.

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Who issues it and who receives it

The insured does not fill the form in. If you have been asked for an ACORD 25, ask your agent or broker to issue one; the form itself belongs to ACORD, the insurance industry’s standards body.

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What each section shows

The coverage table. One row per policy type. Each row carries the insurer letter, the policy number, the effective and expiry dates, and the limits. ADDL INSD and SUBR WVD. Two narrow columns beside each row. A Y says the policy includes additional insured status, or a waiver of subrogation, for the certificate holder. See what that Y is worth below. Description of operations. Free text. This is where a project name, an additional insured statement or a reference to an endorsement is usually written. An ACORD 101 can be attached if it does not fit. Cancellation. States that notice of cancellation will be delivered as the policy provides. It does not promise the certificate holder a notice period. If your contract requires notice to you, that takes an endorsement too.

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What an ACORD 25 does not prove

The form says this about itself, in the box at the top: it is issued for information only, it confers no rights on the certificate holder, and it does not amend, extend or alter the coverage the policies provide. It then adds a specific warning about endorsements. If the certificate holder is to be an additional insured, the policy must contain additional insured provisions or be endorsed, and a statement on the certificate does not give the holder rights in place of that endorsement. So a certificate can tell you what the agent says the policy contains. Only the policy, and the endorsement forms attached to it, can make you an additional insured or waive subrogation. See Additional insured endorsements.

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What changed in the 2025/12 edition

ACORD replaced the long-standing 2016/03 edition with ACORD 25 (2025/12). The edition date is printed in the bottom-left corner of the form. The layout is the same; the change is in the paragraph above the coverage table.
  • The 2016/03 edition ended that paragraph by saying the limits shown may have been reduced by paid claims.
  • The 2025/12 edition keeps that sentence and adds another: the limits shown include the amounts the certificate holder requested, and may not reflect policy limits above those amounts.
  • Both sentences are marked as not applicable in Wyoming.
What this means when you read one:
  1. A limit on the certificate may be the limit you asked for, not the policy’s full limit. If your contract requires 1,000,000andthecertificateshows1,000,000 and the certificate shows 1,000,000, the policy may carry more. The certificate still answers the question your contract asks: is the limit at least the minimum?
  2. An aggregate may already be partly used. That was true before. A 2,000,000generalaggregatethathaspaidclaimsthisyearhaslessthan2,000,000 general aggregate that has paid claims this year has less than 2,000,000 left, and the certificate will not say how much.
ACORD has described the new sentence as a clarification of existing practice that agents may use, not something they must do, and the Big “I” continues to advise agents to show actual policy limits. Certificates on the 2016/03 edition are still in circulation. Sources: the 2025/12 form as listed by the New York Department of Financial Services, and the Big “I” on the wording change and ACORD’s explanation of it.

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How a current certificate still falls short

A certificate with every date in the future can still fail the contract it was sent for:
  • The each-occurrence limit is below the minimum the subcontract sets.
  • The aggregate is not stated, so there is nothing to measure.
  • Additional insured shows Y, but no endorsement form is on file.
  • The waiver of subrogation the contract requires is not shown.
  • The policy does not take effect until next month.
  • The certificate was issued more than a year ago, so it cannot vouch for the policy in force today.
Checking the expiry date catches none of these.

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ACORD 25 or ACORD 28?

The ACORD 25 covers liability insurance. Property insurance is evidenced on a different form, the ACORD 28 (Evidence of Commercial Property Insurance). Builder’s risk usually arrives on a property form or as a separate certificate, not on the ACORD 25.

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Checking an ACORD 25 in WatchMyCover

WatchMyCover reads the certificate PDF into a form, a person checks each value, and fixed rules then compare every limit, date and endorsement against the requirement template you assigned to that subcontractor. Each failure names the line that failed and both figures.