Asking someone to confirm a record

Only the organisation that was there can confirm a record: not you, and not certo. You name who to ask, and certo writes to them, chases them and records what they say.

Before your first request

• A verified mobile number. certo writes to anyone on your behalf only from an account with a verified mobile. Add it under Contact details and enter the code we text you.
• Verification included. Your own passport year, or an employer's or university's sponsorship, has to be running. If your year has ended, renew it to ask again.

What you can ask about

Jobs, education and certifications. Open the record on Work & education and choose Ask them.

In the dialog, What to ask about lists the facts on the line, such as the dates, the job title and the work city. Tick the ones you want confirmed. Your own description and what you achieved are never asked.

Who to ask

Who to ask is an e-mail address. A team address works best, such as hr@ or payroll@ at the company's own domain.

For an internship, choose My supervisor under Who are you asking? Any supervisor you worked for can confirm it, from a work address or a personal one.

Two optional fields help a large employer find you:

• Employee or payroll number, shown to HR only while they answer.
• Show my date of birth to their HR, so they can find the right record. It appears only on the page HR answers on, never in the e-mail or on your passport, and each time it is shown it is listed under Share & Access.

You cannot send a request to your own address.

Why this address?

certo checks the address as you type it.

• An address certo knows as the company's own: nothing more to do.
• A personal mailbox or another domain: certo still sends it at once, and asks you for a short line under Why this address? Only certo's reviewer reads it; the company never does. A person at certo checks the answer before it counts. Someone answering from a personal mailbox also confirms their mobile by text.

Sent at once, then reminders

Send the request sends it straight away. If nobody answers, certo sends up to two reminders, five days apart. If there is still no answer, the request closes and your passport says nobody replied. It never just looks pending.

A record has one open request at a time. The record's panel shows where it is: when it was sent, the reminders, the next one and when it closes.

What the person answering sees

A page with the facts you asked about. They tick only what their own records show and leave the rest, and name the team that answers, never themselves. The page has no cookies and no analytics.

They can also answer that they are not the right person, that they cannot find a matching record, or that their organisation does not answer these requests. Read what each answer means.

Changing your mind

There is no button to withdraw a request on its own. Removing the record withdraws its open request: no more reminders, and a late answer is not recorded.