Verify a Virovet Diagnostik certificate

Start with your original PDF

A digital certificate is issued as a sealed PDF. Keep the original file within reach: the electronic seal lives in the file, not on a printout or a photograph.

Clients and animal owners

Keep the original PDF on your phone or in your email, even if you also carry a printout. Check the destination’s document requirements before travelling.

Customs and border veterinarians

Check the PDF seal, then use the portal for authorities to compare the certificate with the laboratory record and review the available versions.

Veterinarians and clinics

Check the seal before relying on a certificate or passing it on. For a record-level check, direct the competent authority to the portal for authorities.

Why this certificate is digital

A stamp or an ink signature can be copied. An electronic seal lets you check the issuer and detect changes to the sealed document. The original PDF can be forwarded and checked wherever you are, without sending a paper original.

A stamped paper certificate

A stamp and signature can be copied with ordinary office equipment.
Changes cannot be checked against an embedded electronic seal.
The paper alone does not show whether a newer version exists.

A sealed digital certificate

The embedded seal identifies the issuer.
A signature-aware PDF reader can check document integrity.
An approved authority can compare it with the laboratory record.

What the electronic seal tells you

A seal is applied by an organisation rather than a person. Virovet Diagnostik uses an advanced electronic seal with a qualified certificate. Validation checks the certificate, its trust chain and the integrity of the sealed PDF.

Who issued it: Check the organisation in the sealing certificate, not just the visible stamp. The visible stamp is not itself proof of authenticity.
Whether it has changed: The validation report shows whether the sealed document’s integrity is intact. Read any warnings and the details of changes reported by your reader.

A valid seal does not tell you whether a newer certificate exists or whether a destination authority will accept the document. Confirm current records and travel requirements separately.

Two checks, two different questions

The seal check is open to anyone with the original PDF. The record check requires approved access to the portal for authorities.

1. Is the PDF genuine and unaltered?

Use a PDF reader that validates electronic signatures, such as Adobe Acrobat Reader. A browser preview may not validate the seal.

Open the original PDF in Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Open the signatures panel and view the signature properties. The labels and location vary by version and language.
Review the validation status, the sealing certificate and its organisation details. Confirm that the sealing organisation is Viro Vet Diagnostik GmbH.
Read any integrity, certificate or trust warnings before relying on the file. If the result is unclear, confirm the record or contact the laboratory.

Valid seal and matching issuer: The validation supports the origin and integrity of that sealed version. Check the record separately if you need to confirm that it is current.
Invalid, changed or unknown: Do not rely on the file until the warning is resolved. A warning may concern changes, a damaged file or the reader’s trust settings; it does not by itself prove forgery. If the seal shows as unknown or untrusted, enable or update EU Trusted Lists in your PDF reader’s trust settings.

2. Does it match the laboratory record?

The portal for authorities is for official government use. Customs officers and border veterinarians can request access, which is granted after manual review. Approved users can look up a certificate using its Reference ID and the animal’s Chip ID, compare the data and review available documents.

Portal for authorities

Corrections and versions

A sealed PDF proves the origin and integrity of a particular version. It cannot tell you whether that version has since been replaced. If a certificate has been corrected, confirm which version to use through the portal or contact the laboratory.

How corrections are handled

Report a suspected forgery

If the seal cannot be validated, the details do not match the record, or anything about a certificate looks wrong, tell us. Officials with portal access can request manual verification from the certificate record. Anyone else can use the contact page.

Contact Virovet Diagnostik

Quick answers

What about the stamp and signature?: They may still appear on the certificate. Check the electronic seal in the original PDF as well as any requirements set by the receiving authority.
Can I print it?: Yes, but a printout carries no verifiable electronic seal. Keep the original PDF available and check whether the receiving authority requires paper, the digital file or both.
I only have a paper copy. What should I do?: Ask whoever provided the certificate for the original PDF. An approved authority can also use the Reference ID and Chip ID to look up the record in the portal.
Do I need an account to verify the seal?: No. You can check the embedded seal in a signature-aware PDF reader without a Virovet account. Only the authorities portal requires approved access.
The reader shows a warning. What now?: Read the validation details. A warning can concern document changes, a certificate or the reader’s trust configuration. Confirm the record or contact the laboratory before relying on the file.

Unsure about a certificate?

Ask before relying on it. Send your question through the contact page.