NOTARIFY AND CERTIFIED EMAIL: TWO DIFFERENT AND COMPLEMENTARY TOOLS FOR DOCUMENT CERTAINTY
NOTARIFY AND CERTIFIED EMAIL: TWO DIFFERENT AND COMPLEMENTARY TOOLS FOR DOCUMENT CERTAINTY
Certified email and blockchain notarization address different needs. When used together, they can strengthen a company’s document-management process.
Italian certified email, known as PEC, provides evidence of the sending and delivery of an electronic communication. Notarify, on the other hand, allows a document to be associated with cryptographic proof of integrity and a time-related record that can be verified over time.
Understanding the distinction makes it easier to use each tool where it delivers the greatest value.
WHAT PEC ACTUALLY CERTIFIES
PEC, or Posta Elettronica Certificata, is governed in Italy by Presidential Decree 68/2005 and Article 48 of the Italian Digital Administration Code.
Its purpose is specific: it gives legal value to the transmission process of an electronic message. Acceptance receipts and delivery receipts document that a message was sent from a specific PEC mailbox, received by another PEC mailbox and delivered at a specific time.
For this reason, PEC is a key tool for official communications, notices, formal requests, legal correspondence, corporate documentation and other workflows where Italian law or practice requires evidence of transmission.
THE STRUCTURAL LIMITS OF PEC
IT IS A NATIONAL SYSTEM
PEC is an Italian system.
At EU level, the eIDAS framework regulates electronic registered delivery services, including qualified electronic registered delivery services. The European framework is evolving towards greater interoperability, but Italian PEC does not automatically correspond to a qualified European registered delivery service that can be treated identically in every cross-border context.
The amended eIDAS framework encourages interoperability among qualified electronic registered delivery services across the EU.
IT CERTIFIES TRANSMISSION, BUT DOES NOT BY ITSELF CREATE PERMANENT PUBLIC PROOF OF CONTENT INTEGRITY
PEC provides evidence of the sending and delivery process of an electronic communication.
However, evidence that a message was transmitted is not necessarily the same as independent, permanent and publicly verifiable proof that a particular file has remained unchanged over time.
In a dispute, other elements may also become relevant: the original file, metadata, delivery receipts, the applicable preservation system and the way the document was handled after delivery.
IT REQUIRES PROPER PRESERVATION
PEC receipts, messages and attachments must be properly managed and retained over time.
In an organised corporate environment, this may require appropriate digital-preservation systems and clear internal procedures. The legal relevance of a communication may depend not only on its original transmission, but also on the ability to retrieve, preserve and present the associated evidence correctly.
VERIFICATION DEPENDS ON THE CERTIFIED EMAIL SYSTEM
PEC operates through authorised providers and receipts generated within the certified-email system.
That is not a weakness by itself; it is exactly what PEC was designed to do. However, it is different from an independent cryptographic verification mechanism that can confirm the integrity of a file over time.
PEC AND ATTACHMENTS: TWO DIFFERENT LEVELS OF EVIDENCE
One of the most important distinctions is between proof of message transmission and proof of attachment integrity.
PEC can prove that a communication was sent and delivered. However, where a dispute concerns the authenticity, origin or integrity of an attachment, additional technical or documentary evidence may be needed.
In other words, PEC effectively documents the path of the communication. It does not automatically replace an independent cryptographic proof mechanism that can verify, years later, that a file exactly matches a specific version and has not been modified.
WHAT NOTARIFY ADDS
Notarify records the cryptographic fingerprint of a document, known as a hash, on public blockchains.
A hash is a unique identifier generated from the content of a file. Even a minimal modification to the document will change its hash. This makes it possible to verify whether a document matches the version associated with the relevant record.
Blockchain notarization can create technical evidence relating to a document’s existence and integrity in connection with a specific time-related record.
In Italy, Article 8-ter of Decree-Law 135/2018 provides that storing an electronic document through distributed-ledger technologies produces the legal effects of electronic time validation under Article 41 of the eIDAS Regulation.
Notarify can be used with any file format, including contracts, PDFs, images, reports, business plans, technical drawings, photographs, project files and email attachments.
NOTARIFY INSIDE YOUR EMAIL: EVERY COMMUNICATION CAN BE PROTECTED, INCLUDING ATTACHMENTS
Notarify can be integrated into email workflows and associate blockchain notarization with a sent communication, including the email body and attachments, depending on the service and configuration used.
This adds a different type of protection from PEC: the ability to verify over time that a document corresponds to a particular cryptographic fingerprint.
In practical terms, PEC demonstrates that a communication was sent and delivered. Notarify helps demonstrate the integrity of what was transmitted.
It is important to be clear: Notarify is not an accredited PEC provider and does not replace PEC where Italian law expressly requires certified email.
PEC AND NOTARIFY: BETTER TOGETHER
The strongest approach is not to choose between PEC and Notarify, but to use them as complementary tools.
Use PEC when you need to send an official communication and require evidence of sending and delivery under Italian law.
Use Notarify when you want to associate documents with cryptographic proof of integrity, a verifiable time-related record and stronger long-term control over the content itself.
Together, the two tools can create a more complete documentary framework.
PEC documents the route of the communication.
Notarify documents the integrity of the content.
PEC is particularly important in regulated, corporate, legal and administrative workflows in Italy.
Notarify can add an additional verification layer for contracts, attachments, technical files, reports, confidential documents, internal processes and materials shared internationally.
Through plug-and-play API integrations, blockchain notarization can be integrated into existing document workflows without requiring teams to radically change the tools they already use.
WHAT NOTARIFY GUARANTEES — AND WHAT IT DOES NOT
Notarify supports document-integrity verification, association with a time-related record and the creation of cryptographic evidence that can be checked over time.
It does not certify delivery of a communication in the way PEC does.
It does not replace PEC where PEC is legally required.
It does not certify the substantive truthfulness of a document’s contents.
It does not guarantee the outcome of litigation.
The evidentiary value of any document will always be assessed by the competent authority according to the applicable law, the facts of the specific case and the overall quality of the available documentation.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
DOES PEC ALSO CERTIFY ATTACHMENTS?
PEC certifies the sending and delivery process of a communication and retains evidence of the elements transmitted within that workflow.
However, where it is necessary to demonstrate over time that an attachment exactly corresponds to a particular version and has not been altered, it may be useful to add technical proof of integrity, such as a document hash.
DOES NOTARIFY REPLACE PEC?
No. Notarify does not replace PEC and is not intended to do so.
PEC certifies the transmission and delivery process of a communication. Notarify helps certify the integrity of a document and its association with a verifiable time-related record.
Where PEC is required by law, PEC remains necessary.
DOES PEC GUARANTEE THAT AN ATTACHED DOCUMENT HAS NOT BEEN MODIFIED?
PEC provides evidence of sending and delivery. To independently verify that a file matches a specific version and has not been altered, additional document-integrity verification tools may be required.
Notarify uses a document hash to support that type of verification.
CAN I USE NOTARIFY FOR COMMUNICATIONS WITH LEGAL RELEVANCE ABROAD?
Cryptographic verification of a hash on public blockchains can be carried out independently of the country where the verifier is located.
However, the legal value of evidence will always depend on applicable law, contractual context, the competent jurisdiction and the specific facts of the case.
SOURCES AND REFERENCES
Italian Presidential Decree 68/2005 — Certified Electronic Mail framework.
Italian Digital Administration Code, Legislative Decree 82/2005, Article 48.
Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 — eIDAS, including electronic registered delivery services and electronic time validation.
Regulation (EU) 2024/1183 — European Digital Identity Framework and the updated eIDAS framework.