Need quick clarification on paypal (activemerchant) - cmd=_notify-validate

hi,

im lookin over an old rails2 app using activemerchant using IPN.
comparing
the old app with a new app and the the current situation it seems that
paypal wants to get their IPN’s verfieid before sending a
“Complete”-status. however, im getting the “Complete” status already on
the
first IPN.
not sure if im doing something wrong… if someone could help me out and
shed some light on this…
thx