To fill out an ACORD 25 correctly, copy every number, name, and date straight from your policy declarations page, match the limits and endorsements your contract requires, and name the specific endorsement forms (such as CG 20 10 for additional insured status) in the Description of Operations box so the certificate holder can verify them. The form itself is one page, but each field connects to a specific piece of your actual policy, and a mismatch anywhere on it will send the certificate back for revision.
Before working through the fields, read the all-caps block at the top. It states that the certificate “is issued as a matter of information only and confers no rights upon the certificate holder” and “does not affirmatively or negatively amend, extend or alter the coverage afforded by the policies below.”1NYC.gov. ACORD Certificate of Liability Insurance Sample The ACORD 25 is a snapshot of coverage, not a contract. The underlying policy always controls, which is why accuracy on the certificate matters so much: overstating a limit or claiming an endorsement you don’t actually have creates a gap that surfaces at claim time.
Producer and Insured Blocks
The top-left block identifies the producer, meaning the insurance agency or brokerage that arranged your coverage. Enter the firm’s full legal name, street address, phone, fax, and email so the certificate holder knows who to call with questions or revision requests.2ACORD Corporation. ACORD 25 (2014/01)
The insured block takes your business’s full legal name and mailing address, and these have to match the declarations page exactly. Even a small variation like “LLC” versus “L.L.C.” gives a compliance reviewer a reason to reject the form. DBAs, affiliated entities, and subsidiaries that need to appear on the certificate belong in the Description of Operations box further down, not crammed into the insured field.
Insurers and NAIC Numbers
The “Insurers Affording Coverage” section lists up to six carriers, each assigned a letter A through F. That letter is the key that ties each insurer to a specific coverage line in the grid below. If your general liability sits with one carrier and auto with another, each gets its own letter.
Next to each insurer’s name is a field for the NAIC number, the identifier assigned by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.2ACORD Corporation. ACORD 25 (2014/01) The number lets the certificate holder confirm the carrier is licensed and financially sound in their state. You can pull it from your declarations page or look it up on the NAIC site.
General Liability Row
Two checkboxes start the general liability row: “Occurrence” and “Claims-Made.” Most commercial policies are occurrence-based, meaning coverage applies to incidents that happen during the policy period no matter when the claim is filed. Claims-made policies only respond to claims actually reported while the policy is active, and they require a retroactive date, which sets the earliest date of loss the policy will cover. Check the box that matches your policy, not the one that sounds more familiar.
Six limit fields follow, and every figure must come from your declarations page as a whole dollar amount:
- Each Occurrence: the most the policy pays for a single covered event. Contracts commonly require $1,000,000.
- Damage to Rented Premises: property damage to premises you rent, sometimes called fire legal liability.
- Medical Expenses: a sublimit, often $5,000 or $10,000, for minor third-party injuries regardless of fault.
- Personal and Advertising Injury: claims like libel, slander, or copyright infringement in advertising.
- General Aggregate: the total the policy pays across all claims during the policy period. A $2,000,000 aggregate is a common contractual floor.
- Products-Completed Operations Aggregate: a separate aggregate for claims arising from your finished work or sold products.2ACORD Corporation. ACORD 25 (2014/01)
Do not round, estimate, or substitute the limits your contract requires if your actual policy limits are different. If the policy limits fall short of what the contract demands, that’s a conversation with your broker, not something to paper over on the certificate.
Automobile Liability Row
The auto row starts with checkboxes for the scope of coverage: any auto, all owned autos, hired autos, scheduled autos, or non-owned autos. Check whichever boxes match the policy.
The primary limit field is the Combined Single Limit per accident, which bundles bodily injury and property damage into a single number. Contracts often require $1,000,000. If your policy splits limits into separate bodily-injury-per-person, bodily-injury-per-accident, and property-damage figures, enter those in the corresponding fields instead. Follow your declarations page rather than converting between formats.
Umbrella and Excess Liability Row
Umbrella and excess policies sit above your primary general liability and auto, kicking in once those underlying limits are exhausted. Check whether the coverage is umbrella (which can broaden coverage) or excess (which strictly follows the underlying policy). Enter the per-occurrence limit and the aggregate, commonly in $1,000,000 or $5,000,000 increments.
Also note the retention or self-insured retention amount. That’s the deductible you pay on claims that fall within the umbrella’s broader coverage but outside the underlying policy’s scope.
Workers’ Compensation and Employers’ Liability
The workers’ comp row works differently from the liability rows above it. Instead of entering a dollar limit for the workers’ comp coverage itself, verify that the “Per Statute” box is checked, confirming the policy meets the benefit levels required by the state where your employees work. “Other” checked instead of “Per Statute” signals a nonstandard arrangement that will prompt questions.
Three employers’ liability limits fill in below:
- E.L. Each Accident: the limit for a single workplace injury.
- E.L. Disease – Each Employee: the per-employee limit for occupational disease.
- E.L. Disease – Policy Limit: the aggregate cap for all disease claims during the policy period.
Common configurations are $500,000 across all three or $1,000,000 across all three, though some contracts demand higher. A checkbox asks whether any proprietors, partners, or executive officers are excluded from workers’ comp. If yes, name who is excluded in the Description of Operations section.
Description of Operations, Locations, and Vehicles
This free-text box near the bottom is where the certificate stops being generic. At minimum, identify the project name, job site address, or contract number that prompted the request.
More importantly, this is where you document the endorsements the certificate holder actually cares about. If the contract requires the certificate holder to be named as an additional insured, name the endorsement form by number. CG 20 10 extends additional insured status for ongoing operations; CG 20 37 covers the certificate holder for completed operations. Including form numbers and edition dates lets the certificate holder confirm the right endorsements are actually attached to the policy, rather than relying on a checkbox in the grid above.
Per-project aggregate endorsements and waiver of subrogation endorsements belong here too. Specificity cuts down follow-up requests. Vague entries like “as required by contract” give the compliance reviewer nothing to verify and almost always trigger a revision.
Certificate Holder, Additional Insured, and Subrogation Waiver
The certificate holder field takes the full legal name and mailing address of whoever requested the certificate, typically a landlord, general contractor, project owner, or client. If the name on the certificate doesn’t match the name on the additional insured endorsement attached to the policy, coverage may not actually extend to them, so verify spelling and legal form carefully.
In the coverage grid, two narrow columns let you mark “Y” or “N” for Additional Insured and Subrogation Waived status on each policy line. “Y” for additional insured means the policy carries an endorsement adding the certificate holder as a covered party for claims arising from your work. “Y” for subrogation waived means the insurer has agreed not to pursue recovery against the certificate holder after paying a claim. Both require actual endorsements on the policy. Marking “Y” without the endorsement in place is a misrepresentation that will come apart at claim time.
Cancellation Notice
The cancellation section has generated more confusion than any other part of the form. Older versions said the insurer “will endeavor to mail” a set number of days’ notice, typically 30, to the certificate holder before canceling the policy. The current form simplifies the language, but the practical point hasn’t changed: the certificate itself doesn’t obligate the insurer to notify anyone other than the named insured. Guaranteed advance notice to the certificate holder has to come from an actual policy endorsement.
When a contract specifies a cancellation notice period, note it in the Description of Operations box and confirm the matching endorsement is on the policy. Without that endorsement, any expectation of 30-day notice is unenforceable no matter what the certificate says.
Authorized Representative Signature
The bottom-right corner holds the authorized representative signature and date. The signature has to come from someone with authority to represent the issuing agency, usually a licensed agent, broker, or an authorized customer service representative. Electronic signatures are widely accepted and standard in most agency management systems.
The signature attests that the person completing the form reviewed the data and that it’s accurate as of the date shown. It does not turn the certificate into a contract; the disclaimer at the top still controls. Certificates submitted unsigned, or with only a typed name, get rejected by most compliance departments because no accountable party is standing behind the data.
Delivering the Certificate and Tracking Renewals
Once signed, the certificate goes to the certificate holder by whatever method they specify. Email to a designated address is still common, but a growing number of companies require upload to third-party compliance platforms such as Avetta or ISNetworld. Those platforms run automated checks against your contract’s insurance requirements and flag shortfalls, from insufficient limits to missing endorsement references.
Standard certificates that require no policy changes can usually be issued within a few hours. If the request involves adding an additional insured or adjusting limits, allow 24 to 48 hours for the broker to process the endorsement with the carrier first. Many insurers also let policyholders download a basic certificate directly from an online portal.
Keep a digital copy of every certificate you issue. Certificates expire with the underlying policies, and you’ll need to send updated versions at renewal. Build certificate reissuance into your annual renewal workflow so new forms go out as soon as the new policy term starts.
When ACORD 25 Isn’t the Right Form
The ACORD 25 covers liability insurance only, meaning third-party claims like bodily injury or property damage you cause someone else. Proof of property insurance on a building you own or equipment you lease goes on an ACORD 27 (Evidence of Property Insurance) or ACORD 28 (Evidence of Commercial Property Insurance). Professional liability and errors-and-omissions coverage sit outside the ACORD 25’s scope and ride on separate certificate forms. If a contract demands multiple coverage types, expect to submit more than one certificate.