Tõestatuse

Tõestatuse is an Estonian term meaning attestation or verification. It refers to the act of confirming the truth or authenticity of a statement or document, and to the document that records such confirmation. Derived from the verb tõestama (to attest, prove), it is commonly used in legal and administrative language.

In legal contexts, tõestatuse denotes the procedural act or result whereby a competent authority certifies that a copy is a true copy, that a translation is accurate, or that a document bears proper authenticity. It is often produced by notaries, public officials, or other authorized bodies. It is distinct from tõend, which means evidence that may be offered in court, and from sertifikaat, which is a certificate in the sense of a credential or cryptographic certificate.

In practice, forms or applications may require tõestatuse to be included when submitting documents to authorities, for example to verify copies or translations. While common in formal administrative writing, the term is less common in everyday speech and tends to appear in official texts and legal templates.

The concept aligns with wider notions of verification and authentication in Estonian law and public administration, and it interacts with related terms such as tõestus, tõend, and tõestatavus (verifiability).