# Common Claim

A **common claim** is the statement the ENS authority approves. It identifies
one name, one record, its exact value, and the verification method. Every method
uses the same claim structure.

For example, Alice can approve the association between `alice.eth`'s `url`
record and `https://example.com/profile`. The claim identifies that exact URL,
even if the method checks publication by the website's origin.

## What It Contains

| Fields                          | What they identify                                  |
| ------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------- |
| `name`, `node`                  | The normalized ENS name and its namehash            |
| `recordType`, `recordKey`       | The record being verified                           |
| `valueHash`                     | A hash of the exact record value                    |
| `authorityVersion`, `authority` | The authority rules and account approving the claim |
| `method`, `target`              | The verification method and the resource it checks  |
| `issuedAt`, `validUntil`        | When the claim was issued and when it expires       |

The verifier derives the name, record, authority, and target from current inputs
and compares them with the claim. The signed timestamps are checked against the
allowed validity period. A field is not trusted just because it appears in a proof.

## What Is Signed

The authority signs the claim using [EIP-712](https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-712),
a format for signing structured data. The claim is converted into a **digest**,
a fixed-size hash used for signature verification.

The signed statement is independent of its JSON or CBOR representation. Changing
JSON spacing or field order does not change the statement. Changing a claim
field changes the digest and requires new approval.

The initial signature profile accepts ordinary and compact EOA signatures, and
smart-account approval through ERC-1271. Delegated EIP-7702 accounts also use
ERC-1271. Counterfactual signatures that require deployment or preparation are
deferred. See [Signatures](/implementers/signatures) for the supported formats.

The authority signature provides the ENS side of verification. The selected
method must still check its required evidence, whether that establishes target
control or an accepted issuer's attestation.

## Changes and Expiry

A proof must match the record and authority being checked and must not have
expired. Copying a proof to another ENS name or record does not make it valid there.

The current design permits an unexpired proof to work again if the required
state is restored. For example, changing a record and later restoring its exact
value can make the previous proof usable again. The same applies if a former
owner regains the name and every other check passes. Temporary removal is not
permanent revocation.

A proof's storage location is not part of the claim. Moving the same proof does
not require signing again, provided the selected method allows the new location
and its target-evidence requirements are still met.

## Implementer Guide

See [Common Claim](/implementers/common-claim) for fields and value encoding,
and [Claim Digest](/implementers/claim-digest) for the exact EIP-712 calculation.