TL;DR: GVK authorises the companies that install waterproofing in Swedish wet rooms. The hard part for an authorisation body is not issuing the certificate, it is what happens when the authorisation ends. Paper and PDFs keep circulating. The digital GVK certificate does not. In GVK’s own words the certificate disappears immediately once a company is no longer authorised, and anyone trying to verify it is told the certificate has been removed. The purpose is stated just as plainly: to stop companies from falsely claiming they are authorised and trading on GVK’s good reputation.
GVK, Svensk Våtrumskontroll, is a Swedish foundation made up of organisations and companies working to deal with water damage in Swedish wet rooms. It writes the industry rules, carries out inspections and authorises the companies that do the work. On 19 April 2023 GVK introduced the digital certificate for its authorisation under the heading “Är du TRUE?”, meaning are you TRUE.
Taking it back. Issuing is the easy half, ending is the hard one. A printed sheet and a PDF in a folder go on existing long after the authorisation has lapsed, and they look exactly as valid the day after as the day before. The body that issued them has no control at all over the copy already in circulation.
GVK solved it by moving the proof itself. The digital version lives with the issuer rather than with the recipient, which is why it can be withdrawn from there.
It disappears immediately. GVK writes it plainly: “When a company for any reason is no longer authorised, the certificate disappears immediately.” Anyone who then tries to verify it is shown the message that the certificate has been removed.
That is two things at once. The certificate stops showing anything, and the person checking gets a clear reason why. A blank response would have left the buyer unsure whether the certificate or the connection was at fault. The message does not.
Because an authorisation is worth exactly as much as it is hard to fake. GVK names the purpose without softening it: “This stops companies from falsely claiming to be authorised and thereby trading on GVK’s good reputation.”
A good reputation is built slowly by every company that does the work properly, and it is worn down by every company showing a certificate it no longer holds. A certificate that can be withdrawn makes that kind of borrowing impossible.
That the check takes seconds and gives an answer that holds today. GVK writes that it is easy for the buyer to verify that the certificate is genuine and valid. Genuine and valid are two different things. A forged certificate was never true. A withdrawn one was true and is not any more. A PDF passes neither test. The digital certificate passes both.
The person who hires a company to waterproof their bathroom carries the cost when the work is done badly, and often finds out long afterwards. That person is who the check exists for.
By clicking the verification button on the certificate or scanning the QR code on the document. Both routes lead to the same answer held by the issuer, and the person checking needs neither a phone call to GVK nor a login. If the authorisation has been withdrawn, that is the answer they get.
When a company becomes GVK authorised, its named contact receives a link to the certificate. It is also available on Min sida, the company pages on gvk.se, together with suggestions for using the certificate in the company’s own marketing.
Anywhere the company is already visible. GVK lists the places itself: “The digital certificate is impossible to forge and easy to share on platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram, as well as on the company’s own website and in an email signature. It can also be printed as a PDF or on paper.”
GVK also says why that breadth is worth something: the wide range of uses increases the value of the certificate. Proof that only sits in a binder does nothing for the company that earned it.
Because the withdrawal is what makes it worth showing. Proof nobody can take back is proof anyone can hold, including the companies that should not, and then it says nothing about any particular company. When GVK can withdraw the certificate the moment the authorisation ends, every certificate that still verifies belongs to a company that still meets the requirements. The company doing the work properly gains from the others dropping off the list.
GVK published its own description on 19 April 2023 under the heading “Är du TRUE?”. The GVK quotes on this page are translated from it: GVK on the digital True certificate for GVK authorisation. Another Swedish authorisation body did the same for its member companies: Golvbranschen. More on how certifying bodies work with proof that can be checked: certifying bodies.
It disappears immediately. GVK writes that the certificate disappears as soon as a company is for any reason no longer authorised, and anyone trying to verify it is told the certificate has been removed.
By clicking the verification button on the certificate or scanning the QR code on the document. The answer comes from the issuer and reflects the position at the moment of the check.
To stop companies from falsely claiming to be authorised and thereby trading on GVK’s good reputation. That is GVK’s own wording.
The named contact receives a link to the certificate when the company becomes authorised. It is also available on Min sida, the company pages on gvk.se.
Yes. It can be printed as a PDF or on paper. It can also be shared on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram, on the company’s own website and in an email signature.
Save time, increase traffic and insights and build trust, by upgrading to blockchain secured diplomas and course certificates, which are loved by recipients and always verifiably authentic.
Book a demoNot sure where to start? Let us help!
Trusted by leading organisations worldwide
