ACORD is the industry body that standardizes insurance forms in the US. Because nearly every agency management system produces the same forms, a certificate from a Florida roofer and one from an Oregon landscaper have identical field layouts — which is exactly what makes automated reading of certificates practical at all.
| Form | Official name | Evidences | You will use it for |
|---|---|---|---|
| ACORD 25 | Certificate of Liability Insurance | General liability, automobile, umbrella/excess, workers' compensation and employers liability | Essentially all vendor and subcontractor compliance |
| ACORD 27 | Evidence of Property Insurance | Property coverage on a specific location, with mortgagee/loss payee interests | Lender requests, leases, financed equipment |
| ACORD 28 | Evidence of Commercial Property Insurance | Commercial property coverage in more detail, including perils and deductibles | Commercial leases and larger property interests |
| ACORD 855 / others | Various state and purpose-specific certificates | Trade or state-mandated evidence, e.g. certain contractor filings | Occasional, jurisdiction-specific requests |
When a vendor sends the wrong form
It happens more than you would expect, usually because a request said only "send me your insurance". If you receive an ACORD 27 or 28 when you asked for liability evidence, you have proof that a building is insured and no proof that the vendor can pay for injuring someone in it. Send it back and ask specifically for the ACORD 25 with endorsements.
What the ACORD 25 will never tell you
- Which endorsement forms are attached to the policy — there is no field for form numbers.
- Whether the policy has an exclusion that guts the coverage you care about, such as a residential or roofing exclusion.
- The deductible or self-insured retention behind the limits.
- Whether the aggregate limit has already been eroded by prior claims this policy year.
- Whether the policy was cancelled the week after the certificate was issued.
Those five blind spots are why serious requirement lists ask for endorsement pages alongside the certificate, and why high-value relationships get a written confirmation from the producer rather than relying on the PDF alone.
Once you know the form, the question becomes what to verify on it.
The 12-point COI check