The needed Hensel lemma says that if and satisfy and , then lifts uniquely to a root of in with the prescribed residue. At every affine point of the smooth curve , one partial derivative of its Weierstrass equation is nonzero. Fixing the other coordinate and applying Hensel's lemma lifts that point to ; lifts itself. Thus reduction is surjective.
Use the local parameters
so and . Substitution in a general integral Weierstrass equation gives
For fixed , the difference between the two sides, viewed as a polynomial in , is congruent to modulo and has derivative congruent to one. Hensel's lemma gives a unique , and therefore a unique point in the kernel of reduction of an elliptic curve. Together with , this identifies that kernel with the parameters .