  Gravitational waveforms for compact binary coalescences (CBCs) have been
invaluable for detections by the LIGO-Virgo collaboration. They are obtained by
a combination of semi-analytical models and numerical simulations. So far
systematic errors arising from these procedures appear to be less than
statistical ones. However, the significantly enhanced sensitivity of the new
detectors that will become operational in the near future will require
waveforms to be much more accurate. This task would be facilitated if one has a
variety of cross-checks to \emph{evaluate} accuracy, particularly in the
regions of parameter space where numerical simulations are sparse. Currently
errors are estimated by comparing the candidate waveforms with the numerical
relativity (NR) ones, which are taken to be exact. The goal of this paper is to
propose a qualitatively different tool. We show that full non-linear general
relativity (GR) imposes an infinite number of sharp constraints on the CBC
waveforms. These can provide clear-cut measures to evaluate the accuracy of
candidate waveforms against exact GR, help find systematic errors, and also
provide external checks on NR simulations themselves.
