# Certificates

> How certificates are issued and checked.

Source: https://paatya.net/docs/courses/certificates

When a student finishes a course, Paatya gives them a certificate automatically. Anyone can check it is real online. This page explains how certificates are issued, what you can change on them, and how to check one.

## How a student earns a certificate

A student earns a certificate when they finish every **required**, published topic on a course. That includes passing any quizzes on those topics. See [How courses work](https://paatya.net/docs/courses/how-courses-work#what-students-need-to-finish-a-course).

- The certificate is issued the moment they finish. Nobody has to approve it.
- A student on [free access](https://paatya.net/docs/courses/free-courses) earns one only if the whole course is free. On a course with just a free preview, they earn it once you enroll them and they finish.
- Each student gets **one** certificate per course. If you add a topic later, a student who has already finished keeps their certificate.
- The student also gets a "Certificate issued" email. You can change its wording in [Email wording](https://paatya.net/docs/academy/emails).

There is nothing to switch on. Every course gives certificates.

## What's on a certificate

- The student's name
- The course title
- Your academy's name and logo
- The date it was issued
- The name, title and signature of whoever signs it
- A **credential ID**, such as `AA-2026-7Q4M2X`. It is unique to that certificate.

## Change who signs it

1. Go to **Settings → Branding**.
2. Scroll to **Certificates**.
3. Fill in:
   - **Signed by**: the person's name. If you leave it empty, each certificate is signed by the course's instructor, or just "Instructor" when the course names no instructor.
   - **Their title**, such as "Director".
   - **Credential prefix**: up to 6 letters or numbers at the start of each credential ID, such as `AA`.
   - **Signature**: upload an image of the signature. A PNG with a transparent background looks best.
4. Click **Save branding**.

![The Certificates panel in Settings → Branding](https://paatya.net/docs/img/courses-certificates-1.png)

> **Note:** Changes apply to new certificates. A certificate already issued keeps its credential ID.

For the rest of the branding settings, see [Branding](https://paatya.net/docs/academy/branding).

## What your students can do with a certificate

Students find their certificates on the **Certificates** page of their account. From there they can:

- **Download PDF**
- **Share on LinkedIn**
- **Copy verification link**, to send to an employer

See [Your students' experience](https://paatya.net/docs/student-experience/overview).

## Check that a certificate is real

Every certificate has a public verification page. Anyone can open it without an account. It is at your academy's address followed by `/verify/` and the credential ID, for example:

`https://yourname.paatya.net/verify/AA-2026-7Q4M2X`

The page shows who it was **Awarded to**, the **Course**, the date **Issued** and the **Credential ID**. If the ID is wrong, it says "No certificate with that reference".

## See who has a certificate

Open a student's page from **Students**. On the **Enrolled courses** tab, a finished course shows "Certificate issued" with the date and credential ID. See [A student's progress](https://paatya.net/docs/students/student-details).

> **Note:** You can't remove a student from a course they hold a certificate for. The enrollment is the record behind the certificate.

A certificate stays with the student even after their [access to the course ends](https://paatya.net/docs/enrollments/how-enrollment-works). It remains on their **Certificates** page, and they can still download and share it.

## Related

- [Branding](https://paatya.net/docs/academy/branding)
- [Track and remove enrollments](https://paatya.net/docs/enrollments/manage-enrollments)