Face to Face

Verification and Privacy

Proof without publishing private notary files

Face to Face Notary can create a verification receipt for a completed remote online notary session. The receipt is designed to help confirm that a final notarized PDF matches the record created for that session, while keeping client documents and personal details private.

Request a Quote How the Check Works
Example OP_RETURN payload Face to Face|RON1|record:26|sha256:0ac475b98330cf1f988fe2a7bbcd393c74e9431070783594bfb6c156200ceece

Final PDF Fingerprint

The final notarized PDF is hashed with SHA-256. The hash acts like a fingerprint: changing even one byte in the PDF creates a different hash.

Private Files Stay Private

Client documents, names, emails, phone numbers, signatures, seals, recording links, and meeting links are not written into the public OP_RETURN payload.

Public Anchor

The public BSV record contains the Face to Face protocol label, an internal record id, and the SHA-256 hash used for later comparison.

How Verification Works

Similar to checking a downloaded file

If you have ever downloaded software and compared it to a published SHA256SUMS file, the idea is similar. Face to Face hashes the final notarized PDF and stores the hash in the session receipt. If a copy of the PDF is later uploaded to the verification page, the app hashes that uploaded file in memory and compares the result to the receipt hash.

A matching hash means the uploaded PDF matches the final PDF fingerprint recorded for that Face to Face session. A mismatch means the uploaded PDF is not byte-for-byte the same file.

  1. Session completed The notary completes the RON session and final PDF review.
  2. Final PDF hashed The final notarized PDF receives a SHA-256 fingerprint.
  3. Receipt created The receipt shows the verification ID, final PDF hash, and blockchain anchor status.
  4. Optional BSV anchor The public OP_RETURN can anchor the Face to Face payload for a timestamped reference.

Public Payload

What appears on-chain

The readable Face to Face OP_RETURN payload follows this format: 

Face to Face|RON1|record:<record_id>|sha256:<final_pdf_sha256_hash>

RON1 means Remote Online Notary protocol version 1. The version label keeps this first format clear if a future version is added later.

Privacy note

A hash cannot be used to reconstruct the original PDF. It is a one-way fingerprint for comparison, not a copy of the document. The final PDF itself is not placed on-chain.

What Is Not Public

Private notary data is kept out of the public payload

Not placed in OP_RETURN

  • Client name, email, phone number, or address
  • Client document contents
  • Signature images or notary seal images
  • Google Meet links or recording links
  • Internal notes or journal details

Used for verification

  • Face to Face protocol name
  • RON protocol version
  • Internal notary record id
  • Final PDF SHA-256 hash
  • Optional BSV transaction id

Ready to Start?

Request an Ohio notary quote

Share the appointment details, document type, and whether you need mobile or remote online notary planning. Face to Face Notary will review the request and follow up.

Face to Face Notary Request a Quote rachael@kittytreats.org