Certificate of authenticity for art: what it must say

What a certificate of authenticity for art is

A certificate of authenticity for art is a written record that ties one physical artwork to the person who made it and describes it precisely enough that a later owner can check the piece against the paper. It goes to the buyer with the work. Artists issue them for originals and for prints; galleries and dealers issue them for work they sell on behalf of artists.

This page covers two states that set out what the paperwork for prints must say: California and New York. Where no such law applies to the sale, what goes on the certificate is a matter of good practice. California's fine print law calls a certificate of authenticity a written or printed description of the multiple, and New York's Arts and Cultural Affairs Law defines it as a written statement by an art merchant confirming, approving or attesting to the authorship of a work. Both states turn the details on the certificate into promises the seller can be held to.

Rules vary by state, and cities can add their own consumer rules. This page is general information, not legal advice. If you sell editions through a gallery or at high prices, ask a lawyer in your state to review your certificate.

What to put on a certificate of authenticity

The table lists the fields a complete certificate carries. The first group applies to every artwork. The second group matters for prints, photographs and casts, because those are the items California and New York regulate.

Add an identifying mark that links paper and artwork: a photo of the piece printed on the certificate, a matching number written on the back of the work, or both. A certificate that could describe any print in the edition proves little.

California's fine print law (Civil Code 1740 to 1745)

California's Sale of Fine Prints title covers a fine art multiple, defined as any fine print, photograph (positive or negative), sculpture cast, collage, or similar art object produced in more than one copy. It applies when a multiple is offered or sold for one hundred dollars ($100) or more, exclusive of any frame. The duties fall on an art dealer, meaning a person in the business of dealing, exclusively or nonexclusively, in the fine art multiples. If you sell your own editions, read that definition before you assume it does not apply to you.

The dealer must give the buyer a certificate of authenticity at his or her request, or in any event prior to a sale or consignment. When a dealer sells through a catalogue or advertisement that uses the notice set out in the statute, and the information arrives with the print, that notice says the buyer is entitled to a refund if they return the print within 30 days of receiving it, for reasons related to that information.

New York's rules for multiples (Arts and Cultural Affairs Law Article 15)

New York's Article 15 covers visual art multiples that are sold, offered for sale, consigned or possessed with intent to sell in, into or from this state. Section 11.01 defines multiples as prints, photographs, positive or negative, sculpture and similar art objects produced in more than one copy and sold for an amount in excess of one hundred dollars exclusive of any frame, or for sculpture an amount in excess of fifteen hundred dollars. The duties fall on an art merchant, a person in the business of dealing, exclusively or non-exclusively, in works of fine art or multiples. The merchant must not sell or consign a multiple unless a written instrument is furnished to the purchaser or consignee, at his request, or in any event prior to a sale or consignment.

A merchant who sells multiples regularly at a place of business in New York must also post a sign which, in a legible format, contains the information that the law requires. Separately, Article 13 says a certificate from an art merchant to a buyer of such work who is not an art merchant creates an express warranty for the material facts stated as of the date of such sale or exchange.

Certificate of authenticity template

Copy the wording below into your own layout and fill in each line. Delete the lines that do not apply to an original. Keep the final sentence: it is the wording California requires, and it reads well on any certificate. Example values are shown in brackets.

• Certificate of authenticity
• Artist: [your full name]
• Title: [title of the work]
• Medium: [for example archival pigment print on cotton rag paper]
• Image size and sheet size: [for example image and sheet in inches]
• Year produced: [year]
• Signed: [signed and numbered in pencil by the artist, lower right]
• Reproduction: [this print is a reproduction of an original painting in acrylic], or [this print is an original print, not a reproduction]
• Edition: [limited edition; this is number x of a stated maximum], plus [number of artist's proofs], or [open edition]
• Printed by: [name of the printer or studio]
• Identifier: [photo of the work and the matching number written on its back]
• “This is to certify that all information and the statements contained herein are true and correct.”
• Artist signature and date

Print the certificate on heavy paper, sign it by hand, and keep a copy. A certificate that reuses a template but leaves the edition or reproduction lines blank gives a buyer less than the California and New York statutes require for multiples they cover.

How to issue certificates for an edition

These steps keep the paper and the prints consistent, which is what the state laws above check.

1. Fix the edition before you sell

   Decide the edition size and the number of proofs before the first sale and write them down. California says the certificate details shall create express warranties as to the information provided, so the numbers you state are numbers you must keep to.

2. Number each print and its certificate

   Write the same number on the back of the print and on its certificate. Keep a log of which number went to which buyer and on what date.

3. Say what the print is

   State the process and whether the print reproduces a painting or drawing. California asks for a statement when a print is a photomechanical or photographic type of reproduction of an image made in another medium.

4. Deliver it on time

   Give the certificate before or with the sale. In California it is due at his or her request, or in any event prior to a sale or consignment.

5. Keep copies

   Keep a copy of every certificate, the edition log and the printer's invoice. If a buyer or a later owner asks, you can show the edition was never exceeded.

Originals, open editions and lower-priced prints

An original painting or drawing is a single work, so the multiples rules above do not apply to it. A certificate is still useful: it records title, medium, size and year, and it helps the work keep its value when it is resold.

Open editions are prints with no stated limit. Do not call them limited, and do not number them as if they were. If you write a number on an open edition print, write it as a print number and say on the certificate that the edition is open.

Prints priced below one hundred dollars ($100) or more, exclusive of any frame fall outside California's title, and New York's definition covers prints and photographs sold for an amount in excess of one hundred dollars exclusive of any frame. You can still use the same certificate at every price, so that every buyer gets the same description and no edition has two kinds of paperwork.

Where Nation fits

Questions about certificates of authenticity for art