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How to verify a coding bootcamp certificate is real

Anyone can claim a bootcamp certificate; almost no one can check one in minutes. Here is how to tell whether a coding bootcamp certificate is real, the limits of PDFs and screenshots, and how a public, wallet-free on-chain proof page settles the question for good.

For Employers, recruiters, and graduates

A coding bootcamp certificate is easy to claim and, historically, hard to check. Employers email the school and wait days; recruiters take the PDF on faith; graduates get passed over while verification drags. This guide shows how to verify a coding bootcamp certificate is real in minutes, what a PDF can and cannot prove, and how an on-chain proof page removes the guesswork.

Where this runs: the proof pages in this guide are part of Stellaroid Earn, an early-access pilot live on Stellar testnet, free to try, no wallet needed to read a proof.

Why a PDF or a screenshot cannot prove a certificate is real

The usual proof of a bootcamp credential is a PDF, an image, or a line on a profile. None of them are verifiable on their own:

  • A PDF can be copied, edited in minutes, or generated from a template, the file itself carries no signature most people can meaningfully check.
  • A screenshot proves even less; it is trivial to fabricate and impossible to trace back to the issuer.
  • There is usually no authoritative source to check against, so verification falls back on emailing the school and waiting for a reply.
  • Third-party background checks add cost and days, and still depend on someone answering that email.
The core problem is not that people lie often, it is that honest credentials are slow and expensive to confirm. That friction is exactly what an on-chain proof removes.

What makes a credential verifiable on-chain

Stellaroid Earn takes a different approach. The issuing school or bootcamp anchors the certificate's SHA-256 hash on Stellar and binds it to the graduate's wallet using the register_certificate function. Duplicate hashes are rejected on-chain, so the same certificate cannot be registered twice. From then on the credential carries a status anyone can read:

  • Issued, registered on-chain, but not yet verified.
  • Verified, an approved issuer or the admin confirmed it with verify_certificate.
  • Suspended, temporarily paused by the issuer or admin.
  • Revoked, invalidated, but kept visible on-chain for auditability.
  • Expired, past its validity window and no longer eligible for verification-based actions.

Because the record and its events live on-chain, verification is public and read-only. You do not need a wallet, an account, or the graduate's permission to look. A wallet is only needed to issue, verify, or pay.

Whether you are an employer screening a candidate, a recruiter confirming a claim, or a graduate checking your own proof, the five-step checklist at the end of this guide walks the whole verification in under a minute, get the hash or proof link, open the public proof page, read the status, check the issuer, and audit the record on stellar.expert.

Match the hash. If a graduate sends you the original PDF, compute its SHA-256 hash with any standard tool and confirm it matches the hash on the proof page. A match means that exact file was the one anchored on-chain; a mismatch means the document was altered.

Red flags that a bootcamp certificate might be fake or unverifiable

  • The only proof offered is a PDF or screenshot with no link to a verifiable record.
  • A proof page exists, but the status is anything other than Verified.
  • The credential was issued by a Pending or Suspended issuer rather than an Approved one.
  • The hash on the proof page does not match the hash of the file you were sent.
  • Searching the hash returns no on-chain record at all.

Beyond verification: verify, then pay

Most credential tools stop at "Is it real?". Stellaroid Earn binds verification to payment in a single on-chain flow: once a credential is verified, an employer calls link_payment to send XLM through the native Stellar Asset Contract straight to the graduate's verified wallet, with testnet settlement typically under five seconds and fees a fraction of a cent. Verification is not just a badge here, it is the gate that unlocks getting paid.

Honest status: Stellaroid Earn is an early-access pilot running live on Stellar testnet, not a mainnet or production financial product. The verification model and public proof pages work today, so employers and graduates can try the model now, join the pilot to put your own credentials through it.

Step-by-step checklist

  1. 1

    Get the certificate's hash or proof link

    Ask the graduate or the issuing bootcamp for the credential's public proof link, or its 64-character SHA-256 hash. On Stellaroid Earn the proof link points to a page under /proof, and the hash is what was anchored on-chain.

  2. 2

    Open the public proof page

    Open the proof link, or paste the 64-character hash at stellaroid.tech/proof. No wallet, login, or account is required to read a proof, verification is public and read-only.

  3. 3

    Read the credential status

    Confirm the status badge reads Verified. A credential can be issued, verified, suspended, revoked, or expired; only Verified means an approved issuer or the admin completed on-chain verification.

  4. 4

    Check the issuer's trust status

    Look at the issued-by line and its issuer badge. An Approved issuer was vetted and approved on-chain by the admin; a Pending or Suspended issuer was not, so treat those credentials with caution.

  5. 5

    Audit the record on stellar.expert

    Use the View on-chain events link to open the contract on stellar.expert and confirm the cert_ver verification event plus the record's owner and issuer wallets. Nothing on-chain can be edited after the fact.

Frequently asked questions

How can I verify a coding bootcamp certificate is real?
Open its public proof page (or paste the 64-character SHA-256 hash at stellaroid.tech/proof), confirm the status badge reads Verified, check that it was issued by an Approved issuer, and audit the on-chain record on stellar.expert. No wallet or login is needed to read a proof.
Is a bootcamp certificate legitimate if it is only a PDF?
A PDF or screenshot proves nothing on its own, it can be copied, edited, or fabricated, and there is rarely an authoritative source to check it against. A credential is verifiable when its SHA-256 hash is anchored on-chain to the issuer and the graduate's wallet, so anyone can confirm it independently.
Do I need a wallet or account to check a certificate?
No. On Stellaroid Earn, verification is public and read-only: anyone can open a proof page and confirm a credential without connecting a wallet or logging in. A wallet is only needed to issue, verify, or pay on-chain.
What does Verified mean on a proof page?
It means an approved issuer or the admin wallet submitted a verify_certificate transaction for that certificate hash, the contract set the status to Verified, and it emitted a cert_ver event that anyone can audit on stellar.expert.
How do I spot a fake certificate?
Be skeptical of a PDF with no verifiable source, a proof page whose status is not Verified, a credential from a Pending or Suspended issuer, or a file whose hash does not match the one on the proof page. A genuine on-chain credential shows a Verified status, an Approved issuer, and a matching hash you can audit on stellar.expert.
Is Stellaroid Earn a production credential system?
Not yet, it is an early-access pilot running live on Stellar testnet, not a mainnet or production financial product. The verification flow and public proof pages are fully functional on testnet, so employers and graduates can try the model today.

See it work on a live testnet proof

Stellaroid Earn is in early access on Stellar testnet. Open a public proof page or run the flow yourself.

Verify candidate credentialsOpen a proof page