Who This Documentation Is For
This documentation serves multiple audiences with different needs. This page helps you find the sections most relevant to your role.
Reading paths by role
Lawyers and legal professionals
You need to understand the precise scope and limitations of certification, how liability is bounded, how personal data is handled, and what the certificate wording means in practice.
Business outcomes:
- Clear reliance boundaries that reduce liability risk.
- Defensible evidence packages for disputes and transactions.
- Faster diligence reviews with standardized documentation.
Start here:
- What Certification Does and Does Not Mean — The boundaries of what certification asserts
- For Lawyers — Certification scope in legal terms, liability and risk allocation, GDPR and data handling, certificate wording, and handling conflicting certifications
Key concern: TrackForge certifies process fidelity, not legal ownership. The scope page and certification scope for lawyers make this distinction explicit.
Catalogue owners and rights holders
You need to understand what you will receive, how to read your certificate, and how to verify it independently.
Business outcomes:
- Higher confidence in payouts and claims.
- Faster licensing and partner onboarding.
- Stronger audit and acquisition readiness.
Start here:
- What is Golden Record Certification? — How the system works end-to-end
- For Catalogue Owners — Deliverables, reading your certificate, independent verification, the proof bundle, and re-certification
Key concern: The deliverables page details exactly what you receive. The verification page explains how to confirm your certification independently, without relying on TrackForge.
Engineers and technical auditors
You need API documentation, data format specifications, and cryptographic details to integrate with or audit the certification system.
Business outcomes:
- Faster integration with verifiable APIs and schemas.
- Reduced audit effort through reproducible proofs.
- Clear security boundaries for compliance reviews.
Start here:
- Methodology — The full technical methodology from enrichment through anchoring
- Technical Reference — Verification API, canonical JSON schema, Merkle proof format, OpenTimestamps integration, and data security
Key concern: The canonical JSON schema and Merkle proof format define the exact data structures. The verification API documents programmatic access.
Everyone
Regardless of your role, we recommend reading the Overview section first (you are here), then the Methodology for the full process description. The Glossary defines all technical terms used throughout.
Quick reference: "I want to..."
| I want to... | Read this |
|---|---|
| Understand what certification is | What is Golden Record Certification? |
| Know what certification does and does not prove | What Certification Does and Does Not Mean |
| Assess legal risk of relying on a certification | Certification Scope and Liability & Risk |
| Understand GDPR implications | Data Handling & GDPR |
| Know what I receive as a catalogue owner | Deliverables |
| Read and interpret my certificate | Reading Your Certificate |
| Verify a certification independently | Verification |
| Understand when re-certification is needed | Re-certification |
| Integrate with the verification API | Verification API |
| Audit the cryptographic process | Hashing, Merkle Tree, Blockchain Anchoring |
| Understand a specific term | Glossary |
| Present a certification in legal proceedings | Certificate Wording and Proof Bundle |
| Handle conflicting certifications | Conflicting Certifications |