What is an ACORD 25 and what does it actually prove?
The ACORD 25 is the standard Certificate of Liability Insurance, a one-page summary showing which policies were in force on the day it was issued, who the carriers are, and what the limits were. It proves that coverage existed at that moment and nothing more. The form says so on its own face: it confers no rights on the person holding it, and it does not amend, extend or alter the policy it describes.
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The detail
ACORD 25 is titled "Certificate of Liability Insurance" and is the standard form used across the United States to evidence general liability, automobile, umbrella and workers compensation coverage on a single page.
The form carries a disclaimer stating that the certificate is issued as a matter of information only, confers no rights upon the certificate holder, and does not affirmatively or negatively amend, extend or alter the coverage afforded by the policies listed.
Where the certificate holder is to be an additional insured, the form directs that the policies must be endorsed: the certificate itself cannot confer that status.
ACORD publishes separate forms for property evidence, including the ACORD 27 and ACORD 28, which are not interchangeable with the ACORD 25.
What this means for you
- If a contract requires additional insured status, ask your broker for the endorsement, not just the certificate. The certificate is the receipt; the endorsement is the coverage.
- Check the dates before you send it. A certificate is evidence as of its issue date, so one printed before your renewal proves nothing about the policy running today.
- Read the description of operations box. It is where a broker states which endorsements apply and to which job, and it is the box most often left blank on a certificate that then fails a contract review.
- If the certificate names limits your policy does not carry, that is not a paperwork error to be corrected quietly. It means somebody has been told you have coverage you do not have.
Related questions
- Who issues the ACORD 25: my insurer or my broker?
Your broker or agent issues it, from the policy information they hold. It is normally same-day for that reason, and there is no charge for it. If your broker takes days to produce one, that is a service problem rather than an insurance one, and it is the most common reason a business starts shopping for a new broker.
- The certificate holder wants to be notified if my policy cancels. Does the form do that?
Less than most people assume. Older certificates carried language promising the insurer would endeavor to give notice of cancellation, and that language was pared back precisely because it created an expectation the insurer had not agreed to. If a contract genuinely requires notice of cancellation to a third party, that is an endorsement to the policy, and it needs to be requested as one.
- Can I fill one out myself?
No, and doing so is a serious problem rather than a shortcut. A certificate is a representation about a policy, made by the party authorized to describe it. Altering or self-issuing one misrepresents coverage to somebody relying on it, which is fraud if a claim follows. If the certificate you have is wrong, the fix is a corrected certificate from the broker, which takes minutes.
- What is the difference between an ACORD 25 and an ACORD 28?
The 25 evidences liability coverage: general liability, auto, umbrella and workers compensation. The 28 is an evidence of commercial property insurance, used when a lender or landlord needs to see property coverage and its mortgagee or loss payee interests. Being sent the wrong one is common when a landlord asks generically for "a certificate", and it is worth asking which they need before it is issued twice.
- What is an ACORD 25?
An ACORD 25 is the Certificate of Liability Insurance, the one page form the whole American insurance industry uses to show what liability policies a business carries. ACORD is the standards body that publishes the form, and 25 is its number in their catalog. It lists the insured, the carriers, the policy numbers, the dates and the limits for general liability, auto, umbrella and workers compensation, and it says on its own face that it confers no rights on the holder.
- How do I get an ACORD 25 certificate?
Ask your agent, and tell them who is asking for it and what the contract requires. The agent issues it from the agency’s system off your live policy data, normally the same business day and at no charge. You cannot fill one in yourself, because the form is a statement by the party authorized to describe the policy, and a self-completed one is a misrepresentation if anybody relies on it. If your agent cannot turn one around in a day, that is the most common reason an account changes hands.
- Why you cannot make your own
Need this handled?
Reading about it and having it handled are different jobs, and the second one is ours. We place the accounts other brokers decline — claims history, a cancellation, an unusual operation, a business nobody wants to underwrite twice — and we will tell you when the policy you already have is the right one. Tell us the situation and a licensed human replies the same business day.
Written by the licensed brokers at Boring Insurance. Last updated 2026-08-21. See all guides.