Resources

Guidance on issuing and verifying certificates

Practical, sourced guidance for the institutions that grant certificates, the organisations that verify them and the graduates who hold them.

Two certificates issued with Emitcert: a professional certificate with a blue side panel and a formal diploma with a guilloché border, a crest and a gold Magna cum laude seal.
Certificates issued in Emitcert from two of its designs. The institution and names are fictional.

A certificate carries weight only to the extent that its recipient's claims can be confirmed. These guides address both sides of that exchange: how a school, academy or training centre issues certificates that remain verifiable for years, and how an employer, an admissions office or a graduate confirms one today.

Each guide cites the legislation, standards and official services on which it relies, so that every statement can be traced to its source.

Issuing certificates

For school directors, registrars and training coordinators: how to issue verifiable certificates, what each certificate should state, and how long to retain the records that support it.

Verification and fraud

For HR departments, admissions offices and other relying parties: how to confirm that a diploma is genuine, how forgeries are produced, and what a digital signature does and does not establish.

Digital credentials and where they go

For graduates and the offices that support them: what a verifiable credential is, how it differs from a PDF certificate, and how to present one to employers.