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24 October 2026 · Updated at 07:47 GMT FR EN ES Member area Log in
Certification

Submit a case

Describe the work, choose the acts, upload the documents and pay the deposit: submitting a case step by step.

Updated : October 28, 2026· 3 min read

A well-submitted case is half-processed

Study of Hands (recto); Sketch of a Hand (verso), Pierre Lenfant (1700s)
Study of Hands (recto); Sketch of a Hand (verso), Pierre Lenfant (1700s)

Submission is the only step that depends entirely on you. It is done online, in six screens, with automatic saving: you can interrupt it and resume at any time.

At the end of submission, you receive an acknowledgement of receipt and a case number. Admissibility is examined within the following five working days.

Before you begin, prepare the documents listed on the “file to provide” pages of each certificate.

  • Description
  • Acts
  • Documents
  • Payment

Submission in figures

6screens
20 MBper document
30%deposit
5 daysfor admissibility

The six submission screens

  1. 1. The work

    Select a registered work or create a new one.

  2. 2. The acts

    Tick the certificates, titles or licences requested.

  3. 3. The applicant

    Confirm your capacity: owner, representative, heir.

  4. 4. The documents

    Upload identity, ownership, photographs, history.

  5. 5. The quote

    Consult the indicative quote and the planned analyses.

  6. 6. Payment

    Pay the 30% deposit and sign the declaration on honour.

Acts that can be combined

Combining acts
Main actCan be requested with
Certificate of authenticityConservation report, digital certification
Provenance certificateTitle of ownership, sales approval
Import and export licenceConservation report
Sales approvalAuthenticity and provenance required beforehand
Mercury (Budha), from a Mandi Astrology Series, Sanju (c. 1810)
Mercury (Budha), from a Mandi Astrology Series, Sanju (c. 1810)
Side Drawer for Cabinet, André-Charles Boulle (c. 1690)
Side Drawer for Cabinet, André-Charles Boulle (c. 1690)
Seal Color Box (1662–1722)
Seal Color Box (1662–1722)

Automatic saving

Group case or single case

Covered Hot Water Pot, Feodor Ivanovich Rückert (1887–96)

Single case

One work, one act
  • Simple path
  • A single payment
  • A single expert

For the majority of cases.

The Triumph of Mordecai, Lucas van Leyden (1515)

Group case

Several works or several acts
  • A global quote
  • Separate experts by specialty
  • 5% discount from 5 works

For galleries and collections.

Acts requested at submission in 2024

Authenticity8,420
Provenance2,180
Digital1,247
Conservation640

Source: OIMAP Observatory.

After submission

  1. Acknowledgement of receipt

    Case number and summary sent.

  2. Processing

    First automatic check.

  3. Admissibility

    Admissibility decision.

  4. Expert appointed

    Notification.

Case study: a group case

Three acts for one work

Situation

A collector requests, for a painting, authenticity, a conservation report and a digital certification.

Actions
  1. He ticks the three acts on the second screen.
  2. The quote shows the price of each and the planned analyses.
  3. He pays the 30% deposit on the whole.
Outcome

One case, three staggered issuances, one main expert.

What happens at validation

On the final click, the case is frozen in its submitted version: a time-stamped copy is entered in the Registry and handed to you as a summary. Any later change will be traced as an addition.

The Desk immediately checks that the identity document is legible, that payment is received and that the work is not the subject of a BIOP alert. Any anomaly is reported to you within minutes.

Twilight in the Wilderness, Frederic Edwin Church (1860)
Twilight in the Wilderness, Frederic Edwin Church (1860)
Seal Color Box (1662–1722)
Seal Color Box (1662–1722)
Portrait of Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne the Younger, Elisabeth Louise Vigée-LeBrun (1774)
Portrait of Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne the Younger, Elisabeth Louise Vigée-LeBrun (1774)

Before validating

A tip from the Desk

Plaque (1500s–1600s)
« Take ten more minutes at submission and you will save three weeks at the end. »
Secretary-General's Office, OIMAP

Vocabulary of submission

Acknowledgement of receipt
Document confirming the submission of the case.
Indicative quote
Estimate of the cost, confirmed at admissibility.
Group case
Submission of several works or acts in a single go.
Declaration on honour
Applicant's undertaking as to the accuracy of the information.

Frequently asked questions

Can I modify a submitted case?

Until the expert is appointed, yes; afterwards, only additions are accepted.

What if my payment fails?

The case remains a draft and nothing is charged.

Can I pay by bank transfer?

Yes, the case starts on receipt of the transfer.

How do I add a forgotten document?

From the follow-up page, using the “Add a document” button.

Useful documents

Desk assistance

The Grotto of Posillipo, Hubert Robert (c. 1769)
The Grotto of Posillipo, Hubert Robert (c. 1769)
Certification DepartmentParis — Headquarters+33 1 00 00 00 00certification@oimap.exampleMonday to Friday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Follow your case

Winding Yarn (Interior of a Nantucket Kitchen), Eastman Johnson (1872)

Is your case submitted? Follow its progress.

Follow a case
Image credits (16)
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