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Certification Report

The Part 161 Certification Report turns a citation check into a signable, timestamped record of your independent review. It runs the same verification engine as the Citation Verifier, then packages the results into a document you can print and sign.

The framing is deliberate and consistent throughout: Second Seat reports; your signature certifies. The report evidences the review you performed — it does not make you compliant, and it does not address whether a case is still good law (that remains Shepard's / KeyCite territory).

Where to find it​

  • Web: app.secondseat.ai/certify, and the Certification Report item in the chat sidebar footer (next to Citation Verifier). There's also a link from the top bar of the /verify page.
  • iOS: the Generate a certification report button on the Part 161 info screen, reached from the Part 161 button on the Chats home.

How to generate one​

  1. Open the Part 161 Certification Report screen.
  2. Choose a Jurisdiction — it defaults to New York (Part 161 is a New York rule, so out-of-state authorities are flagged by default). You can change it.
  3. Paste the text of your draft or filed paper into the box.
  4. Submit. Second Seat verifies the citations and builds the report.
  5. Review the flagged citations, then click Download signed report (PDF) (on iOS, Share signed report (PDF)). Print it and sign.

What the report contains​

Metadata header

  • Report ID
  • Generated timestamp (UTC)
  • Document SHA-256 — a "version lock" hash of the exact text you submitted. Change a single character and the hash changes, binding the certification to that precise document.
  • Document length (character count)
  • Declared jurisdiction
  • Tool name and version

Body

  • Summary counts — Verified / Review / Not found, plus a short risk-assessment line.
  • The full per-citation verdict list — the same rows as the Citation Verifier, including the Unpublished badge. See How to read the results.
  • A scope and disclaimer block.

In the exported PDF

The downloadable PDF is the canonical, signable artifact. It carries the document hash, the timestamp, and the verdict list, and it ends with a blank attorney signature block for you to sign.

Using it well​

  • Generate the report against the final text you intend to file. Because the report is hash-locked to those exact bytes, editing the document afterward means the certification no longer matches — regenerate it.
  • The report records what the verifier found; resolving the flags is still your job. A yellow "quote unsupported" or "out of jurisdiction" flag is a prompt to read the source, not a defect in the report.
  • Keep the signed PDF with your case file as your record of the review.