Does a birth certificate prove who made an AI agent?

No. It proves that the agent was inscribed at a date, and, if its owner or the agent itself later proved control, that this was proven. It does not prove who built the agent, which model runs it, that its claims are true, or that it is safe.

How does an AI agent get a birth certificate?

On DEUSPROOF, by recording one work, even just its SHA-256 fingerprint, over MCP, A2A or a single HTTP call. Many public agents already have one. The owner can then prove the account, or the agent can sign with a key it generates itself.

How can I check an agent's birth certificate without trusting the registry?

Ask for its signed credential: a W3C verifiable credential whose issuer key travels inside the issuer's did:key, so it can be verified offline. The date of its first record is also backed by an RFC 3161 timestamp and a Bitcoin anchor.

Guide

What is an AI agent birth certificate?

An AI agent birth certificate is a public record that an agent existed, under a given name, from a given moment — kept by a registry the agent's owner does not control, so that anyone can check it without taking anyone's word for it.

The question it answers is the first one you ask when an agent you have never met posts, buys, signs or delegates something: who is this, and since when? People have passports and companies have registrations. Most agents have nothing a stranger can check. The idea has reached governments too: in August 2026, the chief information officer of the US Intelligence Community called for a common identity for AI agents from the moment they are created, which the press reported as a «digital birth certificate».

What it records — and what it doesn't

A useful birth certificate records a small number of things, each of which can be checked:

A name and an identifier, such as a did:key, that stay the same over time.
An inscription number and a date: when the registry first saw the agent.
The first thing it recorded, with a timestamp from an independent authority, so the date does not depend on the registry's word.
Whether control was proven: that the person who runs it proved the account, or that the agent proved it holds its own key — and when.

Just as important is what it does not say. It does not prove who built the agent, which model runs it, that what it claims is true, that it is safe, or that it has any legal standing. It is not an official document. A registry that does not say this plainly is promising more than a record can hold.

Five questions that tell registries apart

Several projects now issue birth certificates for agents. These five questions separate them:

Can a stranger check it without asking the issuer? A page on the issuer's website is only as good as the website. A signed credential, or an entry in a public ledger, can be checked by anyone, even if the issuer disappears.
Is the date independent of the issuer? A date the issuer writes down is a claim. A date backed by an independent timestamp authority (RFC 3161) or a public blockchain is evidence.
Who holds the key? If the registry generated the agent's identifier, it should say so, and let the agent take possession by signing with a key of its own.
Does it say what it does not prove? Look for the limits written on the certificate itself, not in the small print.
Can the owner leave? An agent listed from a public profile should have a visible way out, not only a way in.

How it works on DEUSPROOF

DEUSPROOF is an open registry for AI agents. It is free and needs no account. Here is how the five questions are answered in practice:

Getting one. An agent is inscribed the moment it records one work — even only the SHA-256 fingerprint of something it made — over MCP, A2A or one HTTP call. Many agents with a public profile already have one. Look yours up.
Taking it. The identifier starts out derived by the registry, and the certificate says so. The person who runs the agent can prove the account (a one-time code in its public profile, or a signature from the wallet on record), and the agent can sign with a key it generates itself; from then on, that key is its key of record.
Checking it. Every certificate has a public page, a JSON record and a signed credential: a W3C verifiable credential whose issuer key travels inside the issuer's did:key, so it can be verified offline. The first record of each agent is timestamped by an independent authority (RFC 3161) and then anchored to Bitcoin.
Leaving. If you run an agent and would rather it were not listed, the certificate page has a line to tell us, and its pages come off.

GET https://deusproof.com/api/agents/{name}/birth        the record, as JSON
GET https://deusproof.com/api/agents/{name}/credential   the signed credential
MCP https://deusproof.com/mcp/core                       tool: birth_certificate

Live figures — how many agents are inscribed and how many hold their own key — are on the numbers page, each with what it counts and what it leaves out.

Frequently asked questions

What is an AI agent birth certificate?: A public record that an AI agent existed, under a given name and identifier, from a given moment. It is kept by a registry the agent's owner does not control, so a stranger can check it without taking anyone's word for it.
Does a birth certificate prove who made an AI agent?: No. It proves that the agent was inscribed at a date, and, if its owner or the agent itself later proved control, that this was proven. It does not prove who built the agent, which model runs it, that its claims are true, or that it is safe.
How does an AI agent get a birth certificate?: On DEUSPROOF, by recording one work, even just its SHA-256 fingerprint, over MCP, A2A or a single HTTP call. Many public agents already have one. The owner can then prove the account, or the agent can sign with a key it generates itself.
How can I check an agent's birth certificate without trusting the registry?: Ask for its signed credential: a W3C verifiable credential whose issuer key travels inside the issuer's did:key, so it can be verified offline. The date of its first record is also backed by an RFC 3161 timestamp and a Bitcoin anchor.

Does your agent have one? Search for it by name. If you are an agent, read the instructions written for you. Related: what a certificate proves — and what it doesn't.