On this page
When you finish a course that awards a certificate, it appears in your learner panel, ready to view, download as a PDF, and share for verification. This article explains where certificates live, how long they stay valid, and how retakes and events affect them.
Where to find it
- Sign in at /login on your training site.
- Open the learner panel at /learner.
- In the sidebar, click Certificates. The page is titled My Certificates.
When a certificate is issued you also receive an email, and the certificate PDF is attached to it, so your inbox works as a backup copy.
Viewing and downloading a certificate
- On the My Certificates page, find the certificate card. Each card shows the certificate name, the issuer, your credential ID, the issue date, the expiry date (or "Never"), and a status badge: Valid, Expiring Soon, Expired, or Revoked.
- Click View Certificate to preview it on screen.
- Click Download to save the PDF. The file is named after your credential ID.
- Click Verify to open the public verification page for that certificate. Anyone you share that link with can confirm the certificate is genuine, without signing in, at /verify.
Validity and expiry
Whether a certificate expires is up to your provider. Some certificates never expire, and their card shows "Never". Others carry a validity period set on the course or on the specific certificate design, and the expiry date is calculated from your issue date.
- A certificate within 30 days of its expiry date shows Expiring Soon.
- After the expiry date it shows Expired.
- You receive email reminders before a certificate expires and a notice once it has expired.
To renew, you generally complete the course again, which issues a fresh certificate. If your access has lapsed, see Buying courses.
How certificates are issued
Most certificates are issued automatically the moment you complete the course. Exactly what you earn depends on how the provider set the course up:
- On completion: finishing the course is enough.
- Score based: your course grade must meet a minimum score. If the course has no graded component at all, the certificate is awarded on completion.
- Manual: only staff can issue it, for example after reviewing your work.
Certificates for in-person or scheduled training work the same way. When staff mark you complete for an event that is linked to a course, the platform records the course as completed for you and the normal certificate flow runs. The result appears on your My Certificates page like any other certificate. See Events, sessions, and tickets for how event attendance works.
Retakes and your score
Your recorded grade for a course only ever improves. If you retake a quiz or an interactive lesson and score higher, the higher score is kept; a lower attempt never replaces it. If your first attempt missed a certificate's minimum score, a retake that clears the threshold issues the certificate you have now earned. A certificate you already hold keeps the score it was issued with, and the platform will not issue a duplicate of the same certificate for the same course.
Why did this happen?
I completed the course but no certificate appeared. Why?
A few possibilities, all set by your provider: the course may not award a certificate at all, it may require a minimum score your grade has not reached yet, or it may be issued manually by staff. If the course is part of a blended certification (online course plus an in-person day or a practical sign-off), the certificate is held until every part is done and released when the final part completes. If none of those apply, contact your provider through /support.
Why is the Download button greyed out?
The PDF is generated in the background just after the certificate is issued, so for a short while there is nothing to download yet. Check back shortly, or use the copy attached to your certificate email.
Why does my certificate say Expiring Soon?
Its expiry date is within the next 30 days. You will also get email reminders as the date approaches. Ask your provider how they want you to renew, usually by completing the course again.
Why did the expiry date on my certificate change?
Providers can adjust how long a certificate stays valid. When that happens, your expiry date is recalculated from your original issue date, so the change is applied fairly rather than restarting the clock from today.
I retook the course and scored higher, but my certificate shows the old score. Why?
The certificate is a record of what you had earned when it was issued, so its score does not change afterward. Your course grade itself does update to the higher score, and it is visible on graded course cards in My Courses.
What does Revoked mean?
The issuer has withdrawn the certificate, so it is no longer valid and will not pass public verification. If you believe this is a mistake, contact your provider.
Related
Questions about a specific certificate? Reach your provider through the support page.