# Certificates
### Overview
Offering certificates for course completion allows a company to formally recognize and motivate its employees or learners by celebrating their efforts and accomplishments. These certificates serve as tangible proof of professional development and acquired skills, contributing to career advancement and boosting morale. Moreover, in industries with stringent compliance requirements, certificates act as crucial documentation, ensuring that employees have completed mandatory training programs and helping the company adhere to regulatory standards. Overall, providing certificates is a strategic way for a company to invest in its workforce, enhance employee engagement, and meet industry-specific obligations.
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### **Certificate Administration**
From the **Certificates** tab, you can efficiently manage all certificate templates and create new ones.
For information on creating a certificate, click [here](https://guides.mangoapps.com/lms-guide/learn-admin/certificates/create-a-certificate).
#### Filtering
Users can utilize filter options in the Certificates tab to distinguish between active and deactivated certificate templates. The system also provides the ability to view edits made to certificate templates that are in draft.
#### **Edit**
Domain and learn module admins have the authority to edit custom certificate templates. However, for out-of-the-box system certificate templates, it is necessary to duplicate them before making any edits.
#### **Draft**
Certificate template designs can be saved online in a draft state until they are ready. Changes made in draft status do not impact certificates that have already been issued. Once published, design changes become effective for new learners completing the course.
#### **Clone & Edit**
Any certificate template, whether system or custom, can be duplicated. The duplicate must have a unique name.
#### **Activate/Deactivate**
Deactivating a certificate template removes it from the available options for course assignments. However, the deactivated certificate template will continue to remain assigned to the courses it was associated with before being deactivated.
#### Delete
**Deleting a certificate template is a permanent action and cannot be undone.** A certificate template cannot be deleted if it is currently assigned to one or more courses. To delete, the certificate template must first be unassigned from the courses through the edit course info action, after which the admin can proceed with the deletion.
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### **Assign a Certificate to a Course/Curriculum**
Certificates can be linked to any type of course, whether Self-Paced or ILT, as well as to a curriculum. Users have the option to assign values to additional certificate fields, provided they are enabled. By default, these fields are optional and can include information such as the validity period of the certificate, a certification description, and the certificate signing authority. It's important to note that currently, only one certifying authority can be designated.
For information on adding a certificate to a course, click [here](https://guides.mangoapps.com/lms-guide/learn-admin/creating-course-experience#certification).
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### **Keep Learners in the Loop**
To cater to the diverse preferences of learners regarding certificate delivery methods and to offer administrators valuable insights into certificate management within the learning module, MangoApps provides the following streamlined processes:
#### **Automated Certificate Distribution via Private Message**
Upon successful completion of a course or curriculum, learners will automatically receive a private message from the 'Learn Helper' system user within the learning module of your domain. This message will include the certificate, which users can conveniently view and download. Additionally, the certificates will be accessible on their profiles for both personal and public viewing.
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#### **Email Notification for Certificate Delivery**
For users with email notifications enabled for private messages, a notification will be sent via email. The email contains a private link requiring user authentication for downloading the certificate. This ensures the security and privacy of the certificate delivery process.
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#### **Admins' Access to Certificates**
Administrators can effortlessly manage and view certificates awarded to learners by navigating to **Courses > View & Manage Learners > View Certificate**. Next to each learner, the **View Certificate** action is available. Domain admins and learning module admins can view and download certificates from this section.
#### **Instructor-Led Training (ILT) Certificates**
ILT certificates are distributed automatically when the instructor or admin marks the ILT course as complete. The associated certificate is sent via private message, allowing users to view and download it directly from the message.
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#### **Impact of Certificate Changes on Existing Learners**
Changes to certificate background/content, validity, or the certificate assigned to the course will **not** affect learners who have already received their certificates. Importantly, future edits will not impact learners who completed the course before the changes were implemented. Learners completing the course after the changes are published **will** receive the updated certificate.
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### Uploading External Certificates
Domain and Learn Admins can upload, edit, and delete **external certificates via the User Profile or the Admin Portal Learners tab**. Certificates uploaded by administrators are distinguished by a specific icon; hovering over it displays the name of the admin and the upload date. While learners retain the ability to edit or delete these entries, all modifications—whether performed by an admin or a user—are captured in the audit logs for full accountability.
To further support compliance tracking, an optional **Certificate Expiry Date** field is available during the upload process. This field includes inline validation to ensure the expiry occurs after the completion date and supports both past and future dates for historical tracking.
These dates are visible to learners as a "**Valid Until**" status, maintaining consistency with system-issued certificates. For reporting, an **Include External Course** toggle in the **Learners Completion** and **Activity** reports allows admins to view external records as distinct rows, complete with course descriptions, types, and expiry dates, alongside internal course data.
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