How to add a certificate to LinkedIn, and make it checkable

Where a certificate goes on your profile

LinkedIn has a profile section called Licenses & certifications, listed among the recommended sections. According to LinkedIn Help, you add it from your profile: select Me, then View Profile, then Add profile section, choose the section, enter the required information in the window that opens, and save.

LinkedIn Help's current pages do not list the form's fields one by one, and the form can change. Whatever it asks for, three rules keep the entry trustworthy:

• Copy the certificate's title exactly as it is printed, including any distinction. If yours carries one, our guide to Latin honours explains what each means.
• Name the issuing organisation as the certificate names it, so a recruiter can match the two.
• Add the verification link and the certificate's code wherever the form gives you room for them. The link is what turns an entry into something a reader can check.

The "Add to Profile" button, and what it no longer does

Schools and certification providers with a LinkedIn Page can create an Add to Profile button for free and without approval, according to LinkedIn Help. The button now uses a static address: LinkedIn states that links are no longer customised for a specific certificate or degree and no longer autofill, so members must enter the details on their profile themselves. Older customised buttons still work but lead to the same form without the details filled in.

So if your school sends you an Add to Profile link, expect to type the details yourself, using the certificate in front of you.

Showing the document itself: the Featured section

You can also show the certificate as a document or an image in the Featured section of your profile. LinkedIn Help says Featured can hold media you upload, such as images, documents, presentations and videos, as well as links to external websites.

• Supported files include PDF, PowerPoint, Word, JPG, PNG and GIF (only the first frame of a GIF is shown), up to 100 MB and 300 pages.
• Documents cannot be uploaded from mobile devices, so use a computer for a PDF.
• Pinning an existing Licenses & certifications or Education entry into Featured is a separate feature, available only to Premium Business, Sales Navigator and Recruiter subscribers. Uploading the file itself is not.

If you feature the PDF, feature the verification link too: a link to an external website is exactly what Featured accepts.

Why the link matters more than the picture

A recruiter who sees a certificate on a profile has no way to know whether the image was edited. A verification link that opens the issuer's own page, showing your name, the award, the date and whether it still stands, answers that question in one click. Our guide on how to verify a diploma describes what a careful recruiter will check.

Every certificate issued with Emitcert comes with that link, a printable PDF and an Open Badges 3.0 credential, so you can share whichever a platform accepts. Our comparison of PDF certificates and verifiable credentials explains the difference.

A checklist before you save

1. The title matches the certificate word for word.
2. The issuer is named as on the certificate.
3. The dates match; an expiry date is filled in only if the certificate has one.
4. The verification link opens the issuer's page and shows your name.
5. If you uploaded the PDF to Featured, it is the same certificate the link verifies.