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Certificates · ACORD 25
How to read ACORD 25
The Certificate of Liability Insurance is the form behind almost every “send me your COI” request. Here is what every box means — and where the form quietly tells you not to rely on it.
At a Glance
- Form
- ACORD 25
- Evidences
- GL · Auto · Umbrella · WC
- Watch
- ADDL INSD / SUBR WVD
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Overview
The certificate everyone means when they say “COI”
ACORD 25 is the workhorse of commercial insurance paperwork. It gathers a business's liability coverages — general liability, auto, umbrella, and workers' compensation — onto a single page so a landlord, contractor, or client can see at a glance that coverage exists. It is also the form that most often gets misread, because the layout looks like a coverage summary when it is really an evidence document. The annotated diagram below maps each numbered marker to a region of the form; the explanation beside it tells you what that region means, what to verify, and what it does not prove.
Annotated form
ACORD 25, box by box
A schematic recreation of the form — not the copyrighted PDF. Match each numbered marker on the diagram to the explanation below it, then to the real certificate in front of you.
Callout 1: Title, date, and the information-only disclaimer
The band across the top names the form (Certificate of Liability Insurance), shows the issue date, and carries the disclaimer that controls everything below it: the certificate is issued as a matter of information only and confers no rights on the holder, and it does not amend, extend, or alter the coverage in the policy. A secondary notice adds that if the holder is an additional insured, the policy must be endorsed, and that a certificate does not confer rights in lieu of an endorsement. Read this first — it is the reason a certificate can be accurate and still not protect you.Callout 2: Producer (and producer contact)
The producer is the agent or broker who arranged the coverage — and, as a best practice, the party that should issue the certificate. A certificate coming directly from the insured rather than the producer is a common forgery red flag. The contact box gives you a name, phone, and email to confirm the certificate is genuine and current.Callout 3: Insured
This is the named insured that actually purchased the coverage. Verify it matches the exact legal name and address of the party you are contracting with. A certificate in the name of an affiliate, a DBA, or an individual owner rather than the contracting entity is a frequent gap — the coverage may be real, but it may not be the right party's coverage.Callout 4: Insurers affording coverage (A–F) and NAIC numbers
Each carrier is assigned a letter (A through F) and an NAIC number; those letters are then used in the coverage grid to show which insurer writes which line. The certificate does not display financial strength, so check each carrier's A.M. Best rating separately — many contracts require A- / VII or better.Callout 5: Coverages header, certificate number, and the eroded-limits disclaimer
The narrow strip above the grid carries the certificate number and revision number and repeats a critical warning: limits shown may have been reduced by paid claims. A $2,000,000 aggregate on the certificate may already be partly or fully exhausted. The only way to confirm how much of an aggregate remains is a current loss run — the certificate cannot tell you.Callout 6: The coverage grid — GL, Auto, Umbrella, and WC/EL rows
The heart of the form. Each row shows a line of coverage with an insurer letter, policy number, and effective/expiration dates. The general liability row shows occurrence vs claims-made and how the general aggregate applies (per policy, project, or location — per project or per location is more favorable to a holder). The commercial auto row shows any auto / owned / hired / non-owned. Two columns matter most for contracts: ADDL INSD and SUBR WVD. An X there claims additional insured or waiver of subrogation status — but it is a claim, not proof. Ask for the endorsement (for example CG 20 10 / CG 20 37 for additional insured, CG 24 04 for waiver).Callout 7: The limits column
Running down the right side are the limits: each occurrence, damage to rented premises, medical expense, personal & advertising injury, general aggregate, and products-completed operations aggregate for GL; combined single limit or split bodily-injury/property-damage for auto; each occurrence and aggregate for umbrella; and workers' compensation with employers-liability limits (E.L. each accident, disease-each employee, disease-policy limit). Compare these line by line to what your contract requires — a certificate that is one limit short is a common reason a job is held up.Callout 8: Description of Operations / Locations / Vehicles (ACORD 101)
This free-text area — which overflows onto the ACORD 101 — is where the specific contract wording lives: the job or site, contract numbers, additional-insured language, and primary & non-contributory notes. If your contract requires specific wording, this is where you confirm it appears — and where a vague or missing description often triggers a reissue.Callout 9: Certificate holder
The certificate holder is simply the party receiving the evidence. Being listed here does not make the holder an insured and grants no rights on its own. To actually have rights under the policy, the holder must be added as an additional insured by endorsement — which is why the certificate holder box and the additional-insured column are two different things.Callout 10: Cancellation and authorized representative
The cancellation box on current forms says notice will be delivered in accordance with the policy provisions. Older editions promised only to endeavor to mail notice while disclaiming any obligation — and courts have held that a certificate is not a contract between the holder and insurer, so any real notice right must come from a policy endorsement. The authorized representative's signature shows who issued the certificate.
ACORD 25 FAQs
Common ACORD 25 questions
- ACORD 25, the Certificate of Liability Insurance, is the standard certificate used to evidence liability coverages on a single page: commercial general liability, automobile liability, umbrella/excess liability, and workers' compensation & employers liability. When someone asks for a "COI," this is almost always the form they mean.
- ADDL INSD indicates a claim that the certificate holder is an additional insured on that line of coverage, and SUBR WVD indicates a claim that subrogation has been waived. An X in either column is only an assertion. Additional insured status and waiver of subrogation are created by policy endorsements (for example CG 20 10 / CG 20 37 and CG 24 04), so you should request a copy of the actual endorsement rather than relying on the box.
- Not necessarily. The coverages section warns that limits shown may have been reduced by paid claims. An aggregate limit in particular can already be partly or fully eroded by claims paid earlier in the policy period. A current loss run is the only way to confirm how much of an aggregate remains.
- The certificate holder box only records who received the evidence. Rights under another party's policy come exclusively from being added as an additional insured by endorsement. That is why the certificate holder box and the additional insured column are separate — being one does not make you the other.
- No. Modern ACORD 25 says cancellation notice will be provided in accordance with the policy provisions, and the certificate itself does not create a duty to notify the holder. If you need guaranteed notice of cancellation, it must be added to the policy by endorsement.
Sources
Authoritative references
- ACORD — Forms FAQ (certificates of insurance)
- IRMI — Certificate of Insurance (definition)
- IRMI — Additional Insured (definition)
- IRMI — Waiver of Subrogation (definition)
This guide is an educational explanation of the ACORD 25 form reviewed against the references below. It is not legal advice, a statement of coverage, or a substitute for reading your actual policy and endorsements. ACORD form layouts and editions change over time. Last reviewed . Requirements and policy terms change — always confirm current rules with the relevant agency and verify coverage against the actual policy and a licensed agent.
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