It’s 2026. All responsible art businesses know the importance of undertaking due diligence prior to a transaction. But what exactly does the term ‘due diligence’ mean in a market which is facing fast-moving regulations, advancing technologies and shifting ideas of transparency?

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A brief history of the term

Historically, due diligence in art was informal and largely trust-based but has meant the careful checks a buyer, seller, or intermediary does before completing a transaction. 

Dealers and collectors once relied on personal relationships, reputation, and word-of-mouth to assess the provenance, condition and authenticity of a work, prior to sale.

Transactions were often private, and legal oversight was limited, so risk management was more about personal judgment than formal processes, and authentication of art works relied on subjective expertise and material analysis. 

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What it encompasses today:

Over the past two decades, due diligence has shifted from informal checks to structured, legally mandated processes, which encompass not just the provenance and authenticity of an artwork, but also financial transparency, sanctions screening, beneficial ownership verification, and digital record-keeping.

Major legal precedents, around authenticity, pricing and condition, have also consolidated the standards of research and assurances buyers and sellers can expect and offer going into a sale.

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Why it matters?

Escalating enforcement, growing cross-border risks, indirect exposure to risk (through the use of intermediaries, trusts and offshore entities) can all create real risk of liability.

There may be more at stake in getting due diligence ‘right’ legally and financially in recent years, but the goal is much the same as it ever was: to protect the legal, financial, and reputational interests of all parties involved and to ensure the artwork is legitimate.

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