Short answer
To verify a certificate of insurance, have the subcontractor’s agent send it to you, or look up the agency named on it and call the number you find. Ask whether the agency issued the certificate and whether it matches the policy today. Then check that the insurer may write insurance in your state, look up workers’ compensation coverage where your state publishes it, and ask for the endorsement pages.
Reading is not verifying
Reading a certificate is checking what the page says: the names, dates, limits and boxes. Verifying is checking that the page is true. That means the agency named on it issued it as it now reads, and the insurer and the policy are what it says they are. An altered certificate can read perfectly well.
The ACORD 25, the Certificate of Liability Insurance form, says at its top that it is issued as a matter of information only. The same notice says it confers no rights on the certificate holder. So every check that counts is made away from the page. For the form box by box, see What is an ACORD 25?
Six steps that verify a certificate
Get it from the agent, or confirm it with the agent
Ask the subcontractor to have their agent or broker email the certificate to you. The agency is named in the PRODUCER box. A certificate forwarded by the subcontractor is not suspect for that reason. It is unconfirmed until the agency says it is theirs.Find the agency yourself and call the number you found
Do not use the phone number or email address printed on the certificate. If the page was altered, those may have been too. Search for the agency by name, or look it up in your state insurance department’s license search where it publishes one (California’s is Check a License). Ask whether it issued this certificate on the date shown and whether it matches the policies today. Read out the insured’s name, each policy number, the limits and the dates.Match the names and the policy numbers
The INSURED box should carry the exact legal name on your subcontract and the subcontractor’s W-9. A certificate for a sister company or an old LLC says nothing about the business you hired. Every policy number should reappear on the endorsement pages you are sent.Check the insurer
Each insurer is listed with its NAIC number. Ask the agent whether it is admitted in your state or is an eligible surplus lines insurer. The state insurance department’s website will confirm whether it is admitted. A surplus lines insurer is not admitted, and that alone is not a red flag. The NAIC says the surplus lines broker is responsible for confirming eligibility and that guaranty fund coverage is not available. If the insurer is neither kind, ask your broker about it. Then look up the insurer’s Financial Strength Rating in AM Best’s rating search, by company name or NAIC number. Compare it with any minimum your contract sets.Look up workers’ compensation where the state publishes it
Several states publish which insurer covers an employer. Search the subcontractor’s legal name and compare the insurer and the dates with the certificate. Four are listed below.Ask for the endorsement pages
A Y in the ADDL INSD (additional insured) or SUBR WVD (waiver of subrogation) column is a statement by whoever filled in the form. The form says that such a statement does not confer rights in place of the endorsement. An endorsement is a page attached to the policy that changes its terms. Ask the agent for the endorsement pages and check that the policy number on each matches the certificate. Separate guides cover the additional insured forms and the waiver of subrogation.
State workers’ compensation lookups
Each lookup below is offered by or through a state agency or a rating bureau. None of them covers general liability, auto or umbrella.
| State | Lookup | What it shows | What to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | Workers’ Compensation Coverage Inquiry, from the rating bureau WCIRB | The insurer that wrote an employer’s policy on a given date in the last five years | The site says it is not proof of coverage. A cancellation reported in the last 30 days may not show |
| Florida | Proof of Coverage database, Division of Workers’ Compensation | Coverage on record for an employer | A state rule accepts a screen print as evidence of a subcontractor’s policy, and does not accept a certificate without written documentation from the producer or carrier |
| New York | Does Employer Have Coverage?, Workers’ Compensation Board | Policies by employer name, from 2002 to date | It matches the start of the name exactly as typed, so use the legal name |
| Texas | Workers’ compensation insurance coverage verification, Department of Insurance | Links to the lookup for employers covered by a licensed insurance carrier, and to lists of certified self-insurers and registered non-subscribers | The Department says coverage is not required of private employers in most cases, so no record may mean a lawful non-subscriber |
A match supports the certificate. A mismatch, or no record, is a reason to call the agent. Other states differ, so ask your broker what yours offers.
Red flags on the certificate
None of these proves a forgery. Each is a reason to make the call in step 2 before work starts.
Signs the page may have been altered
- Fonts or type sizes differ between fields, or a policy number looks altered
- White-out, crossed-out entries, crooked or unclear lines, or handwriting added to a typed certificate
- The insurer’s name or the agency’s name is misspelled
- The agency cannot be found anywhere except on the certificate
- The certificate came from the subcontractor and nobody has confirmed it with the agent
Signs of a gap, whatever the cause
- The insured’s name is not the exact legal name on your subcontract and W-9
- The certificate shows an earlier policy period, or was issued more than a year ago
- A required coverage is missing, a limit is below the requirement, or a policy expires before the work ends
- ADDL INSD or SUBR WVD is blank where required, or marked Y with no endorsement page on file
- The insurer has no rating, or is neither admitted nor an eligible surplus lines insurer in your state
- The workers’ compensation row says an owner or officer is excluded, and the subcontractor arrives with a crew (see ghost policies)
- Your name or address in the CERTIFICATE HOLDER box is wrong
The free certificate checker compares the coverages, limits, dates and endorsement boxes on one certificate with a standard set of requirements. It gives the reason for each item that falls short. It cannot tell you whether the page is genuine.
How altered certificates are made
A certificate is a filled-in form, and every field can be retyped. An insurer’s guidance and two public announcements of criminal charges describe simple alterations, some of them only alleged so far:
- An expiration date is changed so the coverage looks current.
- A limit is whited out and replaced, or a name is written in.
- A policy number or an address is borrowed from another company.
- Coverage is shown that never existed.
- A licensed agent’s signature is forged.
The announcements, from the Nassau County District Attorney in New York in September 2026 and the California Department of Insurance in January 2024, reported charges, not convictions. The California investigation began with an insurance broker’s complaint. Alterations like these leave the page saying something the agency’s records do not. That is why a phone call can catch what a careful reading cannot.
What verifying still cannot show
When every step passes, three things are still out of view.
| Still unknown | Why | Where the answer is |
|---|---|---|
| Exclusions on the policy | The ACORD 25 has no place to list them. It says only that the insurance is subject to the policies’ terms, exclusions and conditions | The policy’s schedule of forms and endorsements, from the agent |
| A cancellation after the issue date | The certificate describes the day it was issued. Its cancellation box promises only notice in accordance with the policy provisions | The agent, on the day you ask |
| Whether the limits shown are the full limits | The 2025/12 edition of the form says the limits shown include amounts the certificate holder requested and may not reflect policy limits above them | The policy declarations, from the agent |
How far to go for a given subcontractor is a question for your insurance broker and your construction attorney. This guide describes United States practice and is general information, not insurance or legal advice.
A gap is not proof of fraud
A failed check does not make a certificate a forgery. Ordinary causes include:
- A renewal was bound and the new certificate has not been issued yet.
- The subcontractor changed insurers mid-year and the new policy has different endorsements.
- The business became a new LLC and the policy still names the old entity.
- The policy was canceled for nonpayment after the certificate was issued.
So tell the subcontractor exactly what is missing and ask that their agent send it. If the agency says it did not issue the certificate, keep the document and a note of the call. Take both to your broker and your attorney before the subcontractor starts work. The law on false certificates varies by state. New Jersey’s insurance department, for example, said in 2016 that preparing, presenting or demanding a certificate with false or misleading information violates the state’s insurance fraud law.
Key takeaways
- Reading checks what the page says. Verifying checks it against the agency, the insurer and the policy.
- Call the agency on a number you found yourself.
- A Y in a box is a statement. Ask for the endorsement page and match its policy number.
- A verified certificate still cannot show exclusions, a later cancellation, or limits above the amount requested.
Common questions
Can I call the insurance company directly to verify a certificate?
You can call either the insurer or the agency. Use contact details you found yourself, not the ones printed on the certificate. The agency named in the PRODUCER box is the one said to have issued the certificate, so it can say whether the document is theirs. Have the insured’s name, the policy numbers, the limits and the dates ready.
Is it illegal to alter a certificate of insurance?
That depends on the state and is a question for an attorney. As one example, New Jersey has a Certificates of Insurance Act. Its insurance department said in 2016 that the Act makes preparing, presenting or demanding a certificate with false or misleading information a violation of the state’s insurance fraud law. The department put the civil and administrative penalties at up to $5,000 for a first violation. In the California case announced in January 2024, the charges were forgery and unauthorized use of personal identifying information.
How often should a certificate be verified again?
At each renewal at least: the earlier certificate says nothing about the new policy period. A certificate describes the day it was issued, so on a long job it is reasonable to ask the agent again partway through. Florida’s rule on subcontractor workers’ compensation, for example, requires new evidence when work continues past the policy expiration date on the certificate. How often beyond that is a question for your broker.
Sources
- ACORD 25 (2025/12), Certificate of Liability Insurance (as listed by the New York Department of Financial Services)
- Surplus lines (NAIC)
- Coverage information: what the California lookup is and is not (WCIRB)
- Florida Administrative Code Rule 69L-6.032, evidence that subcontractors have workers’ compensation insurance (Cornell Legal Information Institute)
- Arrests in labor fraud crackdown, 4 September 2026 (Nassau County District Attorney)
- Press release of 17 January 2024 on fraudulent certificates of insurance (California Department of Insurance)
- How to spot a fake certificate of insurance (Great American Insurance Group, loss control)
- Spotting and stopping fake certificates of insurance (MEM, a workers’ compensation insurer)