        HELP
        /
        CERTIFICATES AND EMAILS
        /
        UPLOAD A CERTIFICATE TEMPLATE
      

Upload a certificate template

A certificate template is a Word (.docx) file with placeholder text, uploaded once for a client. When a participant passes a course or bundle that has the template attached, the platform fills in the placeholders and hands them a PDF. This walks through uploading one and marking it up.

        5 MIN READ
        UPDATED 4 AUG 2026
        DASHBOARD → CLIENTS → CERTIFICATES
      

BEFORE YOU START

You need at least one client. Certificate templates belong to the client, not to any single course, so the same template can back several courses and bundles for that client. The upload must be a plain Word document — .docx only, not a scan or a PDF export.

Create the certificate record

Templates live on the client's edit page, on their own tab, separate from the client's other settings.

1

Open Clients, choose the client, and switch to the Certificates tab on their edit page.

2

Under Add Certificate, give it a Name. This is only a label for your own list of templates — participants never see it. Leave it empty and it defaults to "Certificate of Completion".

3

Set the Date Format — a PHP date pattern used to render the {{completion_date}} placeholder. Type your own or click a sample: d.m.Y, d/m/Y, Y-m-d, or one of the written-out styles offered.

4

Choose the Word Template (.docx) file and select Create Certificate.

screenshot — client edit page, Certificates tab, Add Certificate form

The Certificates tab, with an existing template card collapsed above the add form.

Mark up the document

Inside the .docx file itself, type the placeholder tags as plain text wherever you want the value to appear — in a text box, a table cell, wherever your layout puts them. They are replaced automatically when a certificate is generated.

{{first_name}} / {{last_name}} The participant's name.

{{email}} The participant's email address.

{{course_name}} Course title, for a course certificate.

{{bundle_name}} / {{bundle_description}} Bundle name and description, for a bundle certificate.

{{completion_date}} Date of completion, formatted per this template's Date Format.

{{expiry_date}} Completion date plus the course's Validity (days). Blank if no validity is set.

{{score}} / {{max_score}} / {{pass_score}} Points achieved, points available, and Required Points to Pass.

{{client_name}} The client's name.

{{certificate_name}} This certificate's Name field.

The full list is also shown on the Certificates tab itself, next to each placeholder a button that copies the tag to your clipboard.

GOOD TO KNOW

Not sure where to start? The Certificates tab links to a downloadable example certificate template — a working .docx with placeholders already laid out, safe to copy and adapt.

Attach it to a course or bundle

Uploading a template doesn't hand it out on its own. Open the course's Certification tab, or the bundle's certificate tab, and pick this template from the dropdown — only templates belonging to that course or bundle's client appear in the list. Courses and bundles are the two places a certificate template can be assigned.

A COMMON MISTAKE

Uploading a second file with the same name as an existing template for this client is rejected outright — rename the file before trying again. It's a safeguard against silently overwriting one client's template with another file of the same name.

If something isn't working

"Only .docx files are accepted as certificate templates"

The file you chose isn't a Word document, or was saved under a different extension. Save it as .docx and upload again.

"A template named '…' already exists for this client"

Another template for this client already uses that filename. Rename your file and try the upload again.

The certificate dropdown in a course or bundle is empty

This client has no certificates yet. Upload one here, then reopen the Certification tab.

The generated certificate shows the raw tag instead of a value

The placeholder was typed with a typo, extra space, or single braces. Copy it from the reference table on the Certificates tab rather than retyping it.

What next

A template on its own doesn't do anything until a course or bundle finishes generating one for a real participant.

How certificates are generated

Add a client, then attach a certificate from Create a course

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