# Prepublication Verification Signoff

Confirm that high-risk facts, quotations, figures, claims, identities, media, and instructions received the required evidence checks before release.

## Usage note

Complete this signoff on the frozen release candidate after claim-level verification. It records that required checks occurred; it does not transfer responsibility away from authors, experts, editors, or publishers.

## How to use this template

1. Confirm the asset's risk tier, verification standard, responsible reviewers, and frozen candidate.
2. Reconcile each high-risk claim and media element with its current evidence record.
3. Check that headlines, summaries, visuals, links, and qualifiers preserve verified meaning.
4. Resolve or explicitly escalate every exception before recording an approval decision.
5. Verify the live release and assign monitoring for changing evidence or corrective action.

## Blank template

### Asset and verification standard

- **Asset title, route, and release version:** [Enter]
- **Publisher and publication deadline:** [Enter]
- **Risk tier and rationale:** [Enter]
- **Intended audience and consequence:** [Describe]
- **Required source standard:** [Define]
- **Required specialists:** [List]
- **Fact-check owner:** [Name]
- **Content freeze time:** [Date, time zone]

### Material verification

- [ ] Every high-risk claim has a completed evidence or fact-check record.
- [ ] Names, roles, identities, dates, places, and contact details are confirmed.
- [ ] Figures, units, denominators, calculations, and comparison periods were checked.
- [ ] Quotations match recordings or primary records and preserve context.
- [ ] Scientific, product, legal, financial, or safety implications reached qualified reviewers.
- [ ] Images, captions, credits, consent, and provenance refer to the approved files.
- [ ] Instructions were tested in the stated product, version, or environment.
- [ ] Headlines, summaries, metadata, charts, and social copy do not overstate evidence.

### Exception record

Duplicate for every unresolved or waived item.

- **Issue and content location:** [Enter]
- **Why standard verification is incomplete:** [Explain]
- **Reader risk:** [Describe]
- **Proposed action:** [Qualify / Remove / Delay / Accept exception / Escalate]
- **Compensating control:** [Describe]
- **Authorized approver:** [Name/role]
- **Follow-up owner and due date:** [Enter]
- **Status:** [Open / Resolved / Accepted]

### Signoff and release

- **Verified release version:** [Enter]
- **Open blocking issues:** [List or None]
- **Fact-checker decision:** [Approve / Return / Conditional]
- **Specialist decisions:** [Names, scopes, dates]
- **Managing editor approval:** [Name/date/version]
- **Live URL and verification time:** [Enter]
- **Changing claims to monitor:** [List]
- **Correction contact and process:** [Enter]