How does someone check that a certificate I gave is real?
A certificate is only worth something if people can trust it. An employer, a professional body or a client may want to know that a certificate is real and still valid. bernard gives every certificate its own check page, so anyone holding it can find out in a few seconds, without contacting you.
The prompt
“Show me the check link for [learner’s name]’s certificate on [course], so I can send it to them.”
Signed in, Get my prompt fills in your site for you. Otherwise press Copy and fill in the [bracketed] parts. First time? Connect your AI to bernard once: Use your own AI (opens in a new tab).
The check link and the QR code
Every certificate bernard prints carries a check link and a QR code. The link
is on your own website address, for example
yourdomain.co.uk/_c/ followed by a long code that nobody can guess. If your
website has no domain of its own yet, the link uses your bernard web address.
Someone with the paper copy can scan the QR code with a phone camera, or type
the link.
The link is fixed when the certificate is issued. If you later move to a new domain, the old link keeps working for as long as bernard still serves your old domain.
What a checker sees
The check page shows:
- the name on the certificate,
- what it was for: the course, or the achievement you named,
- the date it was issued,
- your business name,
- whether it is valid, revoked or replaced,
- a Download PDF button, while it is valid.
It shows nothing else. It never shows the learner’s email address or anything from your contact records, and search engines are told not to list it. The page uses your website’s colours and fonts, with no adverts and nothing from anywhere else.
When you replace or cancel a certificate
The check page always tells the truth about today. When you cancel a certificate, its page says Revoked with the date, and its PDF can no longer be downloaded. When you replace one, for example to correct a name, the old page says it was replaced and links to the new certificate, which has its own check link (A certificate has the wrong name, or I need to cancel one).
How your learners get their certificate
When a learner finishes, their course page tells them their certificate is being prepared (Give learners a certificate when they finish my course). Once it has printed, usually within minutes, it appears on their My courses page under Your certificates, with a Download button. You can also ask bernard for the check link of any certificate and send it to your learner: the page has the Download PDF button too.
bernard also sends the learner an email called “Your certificate is ready” once it has printed. It comes from bernard on your behalf, names your business, attaches the PDF (a design too large to attach comes as a download link instead) and links to the certificate’s check page. Each certificate is emailed once. A cancelled or replaced certificate is never emailed, and a certificate you handed over in person is not emailed at all (Give someone a certificate for a workshop, an event or an award).
The check page shows what you stated on the certificate. It proves the certificate came from you and is still valid. It does not make a course accredited or approved by anyone else.
Questions people ask
- What does a person checking the certificate see?
- The name on the certificate, what it was for, the date it was issued, your business name, and whether it is valid, revoked or replaced. While it is valid they can also download the PDF. They never see the learner’s email address or anything else from your contact records.
- Can someone look a certificate up by its number?
- No. Certificate numbers run in order, so a search by number would let anyone list everyone you have certified. The check link uses a long address that cannot be guessed instead, and bernard never offers a search by number.
- Does the check page appear in Google?
- No. Each check page tells search engines not to list it. Only people who hold the certificate, or its link, can open it.
- My website is invitation-only. Can an employer still check a certificate?
- Yes. The check page opens for anyone who has the link, without a login, even on a website that only invited people can see. Nothing else on your website opens with it.
- Do I approve anything before a certificate can be checked?
- No. The check page exists from the moment a certificate is issued, and it always shows the certificate’s current state. What you approve is the certificate itself: on a course set to ‘I approve each one’, bernard issues nothing until you say yes.
- How does my learner get the PDF today?
- Once it is printed, usually within minutes, it appears on the learner’s My courses page with a Download button. You can also ask bernard for a learner’s check link and send it to them; the Download PDF button is on that page too. bernard also emails it to the learner with the PDF attached and the check link. If you handed a certificate over in person, no email goes.