Terms & Privacy

Terms of service

1. The service

PenWitness reviews books and manuscripts for evidence of human authorship and issues official PenWitness Seals of Human Authorship for books it verifies. Every review combines analysis by multiple AI-detection tools, covering the whole work and its individual sections, with the author's writing-process evidence and the independent judgment of at least two qualified reviewers. A third reviewer resolves any disagreement.

2. What a seal certifies

A seal states that the evidence PenWitness reviewed supports human authorship of the specific book and version named on the seal, under the PenWitness standard. It does not certify factual accuracy, originality, freedom from plagiarism, copyright ownership, or acceptance by any publisher, school, contest, or other organization.

No government agency or accrediting body oversees human-authorship certification. PenWitness seals are official PenWitness certifications issued under PenWitness's own published standard.

3. Your responsibilities

By submitting a book, you confirm that you are its author or are authorized to submit it, that the information and evidence you provide are truthful and complete, and that you have disclosed any editing, collaboration, and writing tools used. Spell check, grammar check, formatting, and accessibility tools that do not write or substantially rewrite your prose are permitted when disclosed. AI-generated text, AI paraphrasing, and AI rewriting of substantive prose are not eligible for a seal.

4. Review fees

The review fee is $15 per 100 pages, charged by the page at 15¢ per page. PenWitness confirms the final page count and fee with you in writing before payment.

The fee is owed only if your book is verified. If your book is verified, payment is due before your verification email and custom seal are delivered. If your book is not verified, you pay nothing. Fees are paid through a secure payment link that PenWitness emails to you. PenWitness never asks for card numbers by email or through its forms.

5. Review time

Reviews take 7 business days on average, counted from when your complete materials are received. This is an average, not a guaranteed deadline. A review may take longer when reviewers need more evidence from you.

6. Decisions and appeals

PenWitness decides whether the evidence supports human authorship. No single detector score approves or rejects a book. If your book is not verified, no seal is issued and no fee is owed. You may appeal a decision by emailing admin@penwitness.org; appeals are decided by a reviewer who took no part in the original decision.

7. Use of your official seal

Your official seal is issued for one book. It carries the verification date stamped into the seal, that book's exact title in quotation marks, and an authorized signature, and it is matched by the book's PenWitness record. You may display it with the certified book, including on its cover or copyright page, on your website, in store listings, and in promotion of that book.

You may not alter the seal, apply it to any other book, edition, or work, or use it to suggest that PenWitness certified anything else. The seal covers the exact version that was reviewed; a changed text requires a new review. Seal images shown on the PenWitness website are samples and are not official seals.

8. Withdrawal of a seal

If PenWitness learns that evidence for a verified book was false, or that required disclosures were withheld, PenWitness may withdraw the seal and update the book's record.

9. The nature of the review

AI-detection tools produce statistical signals, and reviewers exercise professional judgment. PenWitness documents the evidence and reasoning behind each decision, but no review method can establish authorship with absolute certainty.

Records and refunds

Detailed verification records

Anyone may request the detailed verification record for a book by identifying it by title and author, or by ISBN. The fee is a flat $25 per book, due at the time of the request. After you submit a request, PenWitness emails you a secure payment link, and the record search begins once payment is received.

What a record contains

When the book is in PenWitness records, we send its record to the email address you provide: the book's title, author, reviewed edition, and verification date, with a summary of the detector results and reviewer findings. Records never include manuscripts, drafts, or private notes.

Refunds

If the requested book is not in PenWitness records, the full $25 is refunded to your original payment method. A book missing from our records has not been certified by PenWitness; that alone does not mean AI was used to write it.

Privacy

What we collect

For book reviews: the book's title, author name, ISBN, page count, your email address, your manuscript file, your notes, and any evidence you send us. For record requests: the book's identifying details and your email address. Payments are processed by our payment provider; PenWitness does not receive or store full card numbers.

How we use it

To conduct your review, communicate with you, collect fees, issue your seal, maintain verification records, and answer record requests. We do not sell your information, and we never publish your manuscript.

When a form is submitted, its details are emailed to the PenWitness administrator through Google Workspace. Manuscripts remain in private storage; notification emails contain a protected download link instead of an attachment.

Who can access your manuscript

PenWitness and the reviewers assigned to your book. Your manuscript text is also processed by the AI-detection services used in your analysis, for that purpose. Our hosting and payment providers handle data only as needed to operate the service.

What becomes part of a record

If your book is verified, its verification details and a summary of the review findings become available through detailed verification record requests, as described above. Your manuscript, drafts, and private notes are not.

Storage

Manuscripts are kept in private storage that is not reachable through public links.

Your choices

Email admin@penwitness.org to correct your information or to ask us to delete your manuscript and submission details. PenWitness keeps verification records for verified books so that their seals can continue to be confirmed.