Before you issue documents, it helps to understand the four ideas that every IVQA verification relies on.
1. The public ID#
Every issued document, certificate, diploma or badge receives a public ID, for example IVQA-DOC-2026-EXAMPLE1. The prefix tells the type:
| Prefix | Type |
|---|---|
IVQA-DOC- | Document (student documents, employee documents, institution and company documents) |
IVQA-CER- | Certificate |
IVQA-DIP- | Diploma |
IVQA-BDG- | Badge |
People also have identifiers: a Student UID (STU…) or an Employee UID (EMP…), generated by IVQA and never typed by hand. A person's UID opens their own verification page listing their registry status.
2. The QR code#
The QR code printed on a document encodes the address of its verification page on check.ivqa.org, for example https://check.ivqa.org/verification/document/IVQA-DOC-2026-EXAMPLE1?sig=…. The sig part is a signature generated by IVQA: when it is present and correct, the verification page shows a Signed QR: OK mark, which tells the verifier that the link was produced by IVQA and not typed or altered.
The QR code does not contain the document's content or personal data. It only points to IVQA.
3. The public verification page#
Scanning the code opens a page anyone can read without an account. It shows the document type, the issuing organization, the holder, the public ID, the issue date and — most importantly — the current status.
- QR code
- Public verification URL on check.ivqa.org
- IVQA verification service
- Credential / document lookup
- Current status
- Public verification result
Because the page reads the current state every time, what a verifier sees today can differ from what the document looked like when it was printed. See Public verification page.
4. Statuses#
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| VALID | The credential is recognized and currently valid. |
| EXPIRED | The validity end date has passed. |
| NOT YET VALID | The document has an effective date in the future. |
| REVOKED | Your organization revoked the credential. The page shows only the revoked banner and the reason. |
| NOT FOUND | No published credential matches the code — including documents that are still drafts. |
Statuses are explained in detail in Verification status.
What this means for you as an issuer#
- Complete your organization profile first: its name appears on every verification page.
- Validate a person before issuing documents to them.
- Keep the Status & Revocations page in mind: revoking a credential is immediate and public.
- A printed document never has to be recalled to change what verifiers see.