Put your verified identity inside every piece of content you create
Verified identity — embedded in content, not just metadata
A CAWG (Content Authenticity Working Group) Identity Assertion is a certificate that embeds a verified organizational or individual identity claim inside a C2PA content manifest. Where a C2PA Certificate signs and protects the manifest itself, a CAWG Certificate answers the deeper question: who is asserting this content’s provenance?
The CAWG standard defines how this identity claim is structured, validated, and included in the C2PA manifest — so any C2PA-aware viewer or platform can display and verify the creator’s identity alongside the provenance record.
Key benefits
Verified creator identity in the manifest
Your SSL-validated organizational or personal name is embedded in the C2PA manifest — not just in editable metadata
Works with C2PA
CAWG Certificates are embedded inside C2PA-signed manifests — the two standards complement each other
Editorial attribution
News organizations, journalists, and creators establish verifiable authorship at the cryptographic level
Brand authentication in content
Organizations prove content is genuinely from them — not a fake or manipulated version
Open standard
CAWG is developed within the Content Authenticity Initiative ecosystem alongside C2PA
Issued by an authorized CA
SSL is authorized to issue CAWG Certificate certificates
Who is it for?
News organizations & wire services
Establish verifiable editorial identity at the publication level for all distributed content
Individual journalists & photographers
Assert personal attribution that travels with the work permanently
Brands & enterprises
Prove that content was created by or authorized by the named organization
AI content platforms
Disclose the creating entity alongside AI generation disclosure
Content aggregators & distributors
Add verified distributor identity at each step of the content chain
For maximum content trust, use both
Not sure which to start with? If you’re new to content credentials, start with the C2PA Certificate — it’s the foundational component. Add a CAWG Certificate when identity attribution is important for your use case.
Request CAWG Certificate access
Our team will confirm your organization’s eligibility, validation requirements, and integration options.
Compliance & standards
CAWG Certificate specification
SSL issues certificates per the CAWG standard — assertions are recognized in C2PA-aware tools
C2PA Specification (v2.x)
CAWG Certificates are embedded within C2PA manifests — the two standards are designed to work together
EU AI Act
AI content disclosure — CAWG certificates can accompany AI generation disclosure in a single manifest
Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI)
SSL is a CAI member participating in the development of both C2PA and CAWG standards
Not necessarily — a C2PA Certificate alone is sufficient for signing and protecting a manifest. A CAWG Certificate adds verified creator identity to the manifest. If verified individual or organizational attribution matters for your use case, add a CAWG Certificate.
Yes — CAWG Certificates can be issued for individual creators as well as organizations. SSL validates the individual's identity before issuance.
The assertion includes the validated name of the individual or organization, as verified by SSL. The exact fields depend on the CAWG specification version and validation level.
A CAWG Certificate is embedded inside a C2PA manifest — it is technically dependent on C2PA infrastructure. You will need a C2PA Certificate to sign the manifest that contains the CAWG Certificate.
Put your verified identity in every piece of content you publish
Related products
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Sign the content manifest that contains your CAWG certificate
VMC — Verified Mark Certificate
Brand authentication in email alongside content distribution
IV S/MIME
Verified journalist personal identity in editorial email
