How to verify a ProvenFlight logbook export
Every printed ledger carries a short export ID. Here is what that ID proves, what it never shows, and how anyone holding the document looks it up.
Airline interviews come down to one question about your logbook: can you defend the number on the page? A clean logbook gets you most of the way there. What closes the gap is handing someone a document they can check themselves. Every ProvenFlight ledger PDF carries a short export ID, so a recruiter, a reviewer, or you can confirm the file is a real ProvenFlight document without anyone opening the logbook itself.
What gets printed
The cover and each page include a line in this shape: Export PF-XXXX-XX · verify at ProvenFlight.com/verify. The ID uses a character set that survives being read aloud or retyped from paper. The URL is the public lookup page, not a login.
You get an export ID every time you generate a logbook ledger PDF. Bring the printed copy, the file, or both. If someone asks where a total came from, the cover already states the conversion method, and the ID lets them confirm the document itself.
If you are holding the PDF
Open ProvenFlight.com/verify, enter the ID from the cover or any page, and look up the record. You can paste the whole cover line; the page will pick out the ID.
A matching record confirms:
- That ProvenFlight issued this ID.
- The generation date.
- The name stamped on the document.
- Military or civilian view, layout, and conversion convention.
- The date range and flight count in that export.
- Whether the pilot digitally signed it at generation.
- A SHA-256 hash of the exact PDF that was issued.
The page never shows flights, hours, routes, or source documents. Holding an export ID is not access to the logbook.
Confirming the file, not just the printout
If you have the PDF rather than a paper copy, hash it and compare the result with the SHA-256 on the verify page:
- macOS or Linux:
shasum -a 256 file.pdf - Windows:
certutil -hashfile file.pdf SHA256
A matching hash means this is the exact file ProvenFlight issued. A printout cannot be hashed; the record still confirms the ID, generation date, and stamped name on each page.
If the lookup finds no record
The page reports a missing ID the same way whether the code was mistyped, the document was not generated by ProvenFlight, or the generating account is no longer open. Verification records are deleted with the account. That is intentional: a closed account does not leave a public trail of name, date range, or flight count.
What this does not replace
An export ID checks the generated ledger. It does not replace ARMS, CAFRS, or other source records, and it does not change airline or FAA instructions. Use it next to the methodology printed on the cover and the totals bridge that explains military-to-civilian differences.
ProvenFlight does not submit applications, sign FAA forms, or attest that a reviewer's preferred conversion matches yours. The ID proves the document's origin and fingerprint. Defending the numbers is still the pilot's job, now with a page the other person can open independently.
How to use it in an interview package
- Generate a current logbook PDF after the logbook is reviewed.
- Keep the file and a printed copy with the export ID visible on every page.
- Include the official career summary and a totals bridge so differences are already itemized.
- If a reviewer wants to confirm the PDF, point them to ProvenFlight.com/verify and the ID on the cover.
See the export formats page for how the ledger is built, and the transition checklist for the rest of the interview package.