Establish Trust with a Root Certificate in Adobe – Proof Help Center
To resolve Adobe warnings or missing green checkmarks on Proof-notarized documents caused by untrusted root certificates, users must manually install the Proof or IdenTrust root certificate file (proof-root-ca-r1.crt) into Adobe Reader or Acrobat to establish a trust relationship, enabling Adobe to verify the digital certificate and display the green checkmark for valid notarizations.
The short answer: If Adobe is showing a warning or missing the green checkmark on a Proof-notarized document, you need to manually install a root certificate file in Adobe Reader or Acrobat. This one-time setup tells Adobe to trust certificates issued by Proof or IdenTrust.
If your document is missing the green checkmark in Adobe or you're receiving an error message (such as "At least one signature has problems"), this does not mean the integrity of tamper sealing by Proof is compromised. It simply means the document was notarized by a notary without a Proof Digital Certificate. The steps below should resolve the issue.
Once completed, you can verify the digital certificate for a notarized document.
How It Works
Adobe has a stringent requirement called the Adobe Approved Trusted List (AATL), which allows Certificate Authority vendors and partners to become trusted by default. Proof used IdenTrust, which is part of AATL; however, certificates issued to individual notaries are not necessarily included in the AATL program.
Documents completed on the Proof platform use a root certificate from either Proof.com or IdenTrust. For a relying party (e.g., county clerk, courthouse, state agency) to confirm that a root certificate is valid, they must first install a file in their Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat desktop software. This file creates a trust relationship between Adobe and the root certificate, allowing Adobe to display the green checkmark when the digital certificate is valid.
Adobe Reader and Acrobat require a one-time trusting of root certificates on the computer used to view the files. This can be accomplished by installing the files provided in the Attachments section below.
Establish Trust with Adobe
Follow both processes below to establish trust with Adobe for documents completed on the Proof platform.
Proof Digital Certificate
- 1.Download the proof-root-ca-r1.crt file at the bottom of this article.
- 2.Open Adobe preferences.
- 3.Click Signatures.
- 4.Click More under the Identities & Trusted Certificates section.
- 5.Click Trusted Certificates.
- 6.Click Import.
- 7.Click Browse.
- 8.Find and select the proof-root-ca-r1.crt file from your local drive and click Open.
- 9.Select the Proof Root CA 1 contact under Contacts.
- 10.Select the Proof Root CA 1 certificate under Certificates.
- 11.Click Trust.
- 12.Check the box next to Use this certificate as a trusted root.
- 13.Click OK.
- 14.Click Import.
IdenTrust Root Certificate
- 1.Download the igcdeviceca2fullchain_0.p7b file at the bottom of this article.
- 2.Open Adobe Preferences.
- 3.Click Signatures.
- 4.Click More under the Identities & Trusted Certificates section.
- 5.Click Trusted Certificates.
- 6.Click Import.
- 7.Click Browse.
- 8.Find and select the file igcdeviceca2fullchain_0.p7b from your local drive and click Open.
- 9.Select the first IdenTrust Global Common Root CA 1 contact under Contacts.
- 10.Select the IdenTrust Global Common Root CA 1 certificate under Certificates.
- 11.Click Trust.
- 12.Check the box next to Use this certificate as a trusted root.
- 13.Click OK.
- 14.Repeat steps 6–9 for the second IdenTrust Global Common Root CA 1 contact.
- 15.Click Import.
Once both processes are completed, you can verify the digital certificate for a notarized document.
Summary Checklist
- Downloaded the correct root certificate file(s) from the Attachments section.
- Opened Adobe preferences and navigated to Signatures → Identities & Trusted Certificates.
- Imported the certificate file and selected the correct contact and certificate.
- Checked "Use this certificate as a trusted root" and clicked OK and Import to confirm.
If you are still unsure, the support team is happy to help. Submit a support request or chat with them from any page in the app.
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