thawte Notaries and members of the thawte Web of Trust (WOT) need to follow clear guidelines and rules to ensure a high level of assurance for the information in these certificates. The following guidelines are intended to assist you with the process of issuing points to people you are vouching for. As always, if you are uncertain about how to proceed, or if you have any questions, please feel free to contact weboftrust@thawte.com.

Please make sure that you have read and fully understand these steps before assuring the identity of someone else.

• Read through the thawte Web of Trust (WOT) Rules and make sure that you and the applicant understand them before you make the identity assertion

• The thawte Web of Trust is ONLY based on FACE-TO-FACE identity verification. You need to meet with the applicant in person and check their identity documentation. Be sure to check their photo identity as well as their personal information details

• Although the rules stipulate that only one form of photo identity needs to be presented for an assertion to take place, the more the merrier. Acceptable forms of photo identity are nationally recognized photo identities which are issued by the government or the state. These include passports, drivers licenses (if they are photo ID's), identity cards etc. Each country is different, and identity documents may differ from country to country

• At least one of the forms of identity presented needs to contain the identification number used in the applicant's account in the Personal Certificate system

• The applicant's name in the thawte database must correspond to his or her name as it is in his or her identity documentation. Applicants must include their first and last names, although they may leave out their middle names if they so wish. We do not accept the use of an initial in the place of the first name. No prefixes or suffixes will be accepted and no work details, telephone numbers or addresses can be added to their Certificate, only their name

• If any of an applicant's details in the thawte database do not match his or her identity documentation, please contact weboftrust@thawte.com to have his or her details changed, before you may assure his or her identity successfully

• To make an assertion go to the following URL and fill in the applicant's thawte User ID: http://www.thawte.com/cgi/personal/wot/assert.exe [Please note that you may only enter a thawte User ID if an assertion is requested by an individual, viewing this private information for any other purpose including but not restricted to testing, constitutes a breach of privacy which violates our rules.]

• When you click 'next', the form that appears will contain the applicant's details. Please check that they match the details on their ID. You must print this form out, both you and the applicant must sign it, and you must keep the form and a photocopy of the applicant's ID document for 5 years

• If you meet with the applicant without access to a computer, then prior to your meeting, go to /cgi/personal/wot/assert.exe and click on the link at the bottom of the page. This will bring up a blank form, which you can print out and take to your meeting and complete there by hand. You can then make the online assertion at home. MAKE SURE you compare the applicant’s credentials to the details in the thawte database to ensure proper validation!