A quick indication of likely conformance is if the boat has full lifelines and furniture inside. It must also have auxiliary power. This assists clubs that might allow a boat to race more informal races. These Unofficial Handicaps can never be used in a serious race. If the Notice of Race says that ORC Cat 4 equipment is required, the Unofficial Handicap is not acceptable.
Unofficial certificates have the word written on the certificate, usually in several places.
The J105 situation is complicated by the many variations seen. The base handicap of 81 assumes a 150 percent genoa, the jumbo 110 square meter spinnaker, and the deep keel. If the application is not properly filled out, as is common, we assume the above configuration which is the worst case. The shoal draft model gets 9 seconds on both handicaps. Also remember that these handicaps assume that the boat has working roller furling as per the class rules.