diff --git a/docs/verify.md b/docs/verify.md
index 9b60b2c5..d6916a35 100644
--- a/docs/verify.md
+++ b/docs/verify.md
@@ -18,7 +18,19 @@ folder `release/simple-run/`. The terms (segment, boundary, chain entry, anchor)
 ## 1. Consistency check, without a GPU
 
 Needs Python 3.12 or newer, `git`, `openssl`, `sha256sum` and network access. On macOS,
-`sha256sum` comes with `brew install coreutils` (as `gsha256sum`). Download `release/simple-run/`
+`sha256sum` comes with `brew install coreutils` (as `gsha256sum`).
+
+### Windows
+
+On Windows, install Python 3.12 or newer, Git for Windows, and ensure OpenSSL is available. The verifier uses the `certifi` CA bundle when the platform does not provide one of the standard system CA-bundle paths.
+
+From PowerShell, download `release/simple-run/` and run the same verification command shown below. If OpenSSL is installed with Git for Windows but is not on `PATH`, add the Git OpenSSL directory to `PATH` for the current PowerShell session:
+
+```powershell
+$env:Path = "C:\Program Files\Git\mingw64\bin;$env:Path"
+```
+
+The normal verification process checks the DigiCert and FreeTSA timestamps. Do not use `--no-timestamps` unless you intentionally want to skip timestamp verification. Download `release/simple-run/`
 without the `ckpt-*.pt` files, then from that folder:
 
 ```bash
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 493f2f08..67862f6c 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ description = "Train a small language model on English Wikipedia so that anyone
 readme = "README.md"
 requires-python = ">=3.12"
 # Pinned with hashes in requirements/preparation.lock, which CI installs.
-dependencies = ["torch>=2.10.0,<3.0", "numpy>=2.4,<3.0", "tokenizers==0.23.2"]
+dependencies = ["torch>=2.10.0,<3.0", "numpy>=2.4,<3.0", "tokenizers==0.23.2", "certifi>=2026.2.2"]
 
 [project.optional-dependencies]
 gguf = ["gguf"]
diff --git a/simple/ovl.py b/simple/ovl.py
index 005c76e7..74447a36 100644
--- a/simple/ovl.py
+++ b/simple/ovl.py
@@ -374,6 +374,8 @@ def run_phases(data, model, opt, on_boundary, start=None):
 
 def read_chain(run):
     path = Path(run) / "chain.jsonl"
+    if not path.is_file():
+        sys.exit(f"{path} not found")
     chain = []
     for n, line in enumerate(path.read_text().splitlines(), 1):
         try:
diff --git a/simple/stamp.py b/simple/stamp.py
index 4965c20d..a9950c02 100644
--- a/simple/stamp.py
+++ b/simple/stamp.py
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 import threading
 import time
 import urllib.request
+import certifi
 
 TSA = {"freetsa": "https://freetsa.org/tsr", "digicert": "http://timestamp.digicert.com"}
 FREETSA_CERTS = ("https://freetsa.org/files/cacert.pem", "https://freetsa.org/files/tsa.crt")
@@ -75,10 +76,13 @@ def stamp_async(run, entry):
 
 
 def system_ca():
-    """The system CA bundle that holds DigiCert's root: Linux, then macOS."""
-    return next((p for p in ("/etc/ssl/certs/ca-certificates.crt", "/etc/pki/tls/certs/ca-bundle.crt",
-                             "/etc/ssl/cert.pem") if Path(p).exists()), None)
-
+    """Return a CA bundle that can verify the DigiCert timestamp."""
+    paths = (
+        "/etc/ssl/certs/ca-certificates.crt",
+        "/etc/pki/tls/certs/ca-bundle.crt",
+        "/etc/ssl/cert.pem",
+    )
+    return next((p for p in paths if Path(p).is_file()), certifi.where())
 
 def freetsa_certs(d):
     ca, tsa = (Path(d) / "cacert.pem", Path(d) / "tsa.crt")
diff --git a/tests/simple/test_ovl.py b/tests/simple/test_ovl.py
index c2e4f9c5..dc9479fb 100644
--- a/tests/simple/test_ovl.py
+++ b/tests/simple/test_ovl.py
@@ -91,6 +91,10 @@ def test_empty_chain_file_is_reported(self):
         with self.assertRaisesRegex(SystemExit, "chain.jsonl has no chain entries"):
             ovl.read_chain(self.run)
 
+    def test_chain_path_that_is_directory_is_reported(self):
+        (self.run / "chain.jsonl").mkdir()
+        with self.assertRaisesRegex(SystemExit, r"chain\.jsonl not found"):
+            ovl.read_chain(self.run)
     def test_cut_off_last_line_is_reported_with_its_line_number(self):
         write_chain(self.run, self.chain[:2])
         with (self.run / "chain.jsonl").open("a") as f:
diff --git a/tests/simple/test_ovl_anchor.py b/tests/simple/test_ovl_anchor.py
index 9538d2b7..0b27af8d 100644
--- a/tests/simple/test_ovl_anchor.py
+++ b/tests/simple/test_ovl_anchor.py
@@ -147,6 +147,11 @@ def test_anchor_result_is_recorded(self):
         self.assertTrue(record["checks"][0]["match"])
         self.assertEqual(record["result"], "PASS")
 
+class SystemCaTests(unittest.TestCase):
+    def test_falls_back_to_certifi_when_system_bundle_is_missing(self):
+        with mock.patch.object(ovl.stamp.Path, "is_file", return_value=False):
+            with mock.patch.object(ovl.stamp.certifi, "where", return_value="/certifi/cacert.pem"):
+                self.assertEqual(ovl.stamp.system_ca(), "/certifi/cacert.pem")
 
 class AnchorTimestamps(unittest.TestCase):
     """A rewritten anchor.json still matches a rewritten chain; only its timestamps catch that."""