certificate

Certificate

A formal document used to record a fact and used as proof of the fact, such as stock certificates, that evidence ownership of stock in a corporation.

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certificate

Evidence of ownership of a bond or shares of stock. A certificate contains detailed information relating to the issuer and the owner, including the issuer's name, particulars of the issue, the number of shares or the principal amount of the bonds, and the name and address of the owner. The back of a certificate may contain further details about the issue along with a provision for transferring ownership. Also called stock certificate. See also book-entry security.