Tamper-Evident Labels

Tamper evident vs tamper proof labels

People search for tamper proof labels and tamper proof asset tags, but no label can physically stop a determined person from peeling it. What a good security label does is make the attempt obvious and permanent. That is what tamper evident means: once someone tries to remove the label, the evidence stays behind.

That evidence is what an auditor, a warranty desk, or a leasing company needs. A label that peels off clean and goes back on unnoticed reports a clean record that is false.

One audit team learned this on 12,000 federal assets. Their cheap VOID stickers could be removed cleanly and reapplied, and several thousand were within six months. We replaced them with Stronger-tier tamper-evident construction, which leaves an irreversible VOID pattern on both the asset and the recovered sticker. The full story is in our Hall of Shame.

Two constructions: VOID residue and destructible

We make tamper evident labels in two destruct chemistries. Both react at the moment someone tries to remove them. The difference is what is left afterward: a readable pattern on two surfaces, or a label that no longer exists in one piece. Pick the one that matches the question you need answered.

• VOID residue: when someone peels the label, a checkerboard VOID pattern appears on the asset and on the label itself. The evidence exists in both places.
• Destructible: the label breaks into small fragments on removal, so it cannot be reapplied or moved. The no-residue version leaves nothing on the surface.

Where security labels are used

VOID residue is the usual choice for IT asset audits, because the message stays on both the asset and the label and the auditor can confirm the original label was on the original asset. Destructible is preferred for warranty seals, where the only question is whether the device was opened.

On laptops, a common pattern is a standard asset tag on the lid plus a tamper-evident seal on the bottom-case screw line, which flags both theft and unauthorized teardown. A federal agency that standardized on Stronger-tier tamper-evident asset tags across three buildings saw its asset discrepancy rate drop from 4.2 percent to 0.3 percent.

For a deeper side-by-side, read Tamper-Evident vs Void-If-Removed Labels. If you only need a warranty seal with a pre-printed VOID-IF-REMOVED message, see void-if-removed labels.

• IT asset audits
• Warranty seals
• Leased equipment
• Pharmaceutical chain of custody

Custom tamper evident stickers

Both constructions can be custom printed with barcodes, QR codes, and serial numbers. Numbering runs sequentially or follows your own list, so each security label ties to one record in your asset system. Label stock comes in white, silver, gold, and holographic.

Void-if-removed labels can carry your company name in the VOID message itself. For a branded look, security stickers put full-color custom artwork on tamper-evident construction, and holographic versions are available on request as a visual authenticity check that is hard to copy. For cabinets, totes, and shipping cases, numbered security seals carry a sequential serial that is never duplicated, printed in human-readable form and as a Code 128 barcode.

Which tier to choose

Tamper-evident material is available at every tier. Strong is 2-mil polyester for smooth indoor surfaces, rated 2 years outdoors. Stronger, our recommendation for most tamper-evident programs, is laminated vinyl with full-color print under a clear overlaminate, rated 2 to 5 years outdoors. Strongest is offered as a tamper-evident or no-residue destructible variant for punishing conditions.

Run your environment and surface through the spec builder, then order samples and try to peel one off yourself. How a security label fails is easiest to judge in your own hands, on your own surface.