Certificate Maker

Award, achievement, appreciation — they are not the same

All three say “well done”, but they are earned differently. An award goes to someone who placed in a contest that ranked entrants — a competition, a tournament, a science fair. A certificate of achievement has nothing to do with placing; it recognises conduct or a result worth praising on its own, such as perfect attendance, long service, or steady effort over a year. A certificate of appreciation runs the other way: the side that received help is the one saying thank you.

So the winner of a school writing contest gets an award, the student who never missed a day gets an achievement certificate, and the parent who ran the book sale gets appreciation. Use a letter of appointment when someone from outside takes a role for a set period, a certificate of office when someone inside the organisation is given a title, and a certificate of completion when a defined course of study has been finished. Choosing the kind in this tool swaps the wording to match.

The body text continues the sentence

There is no legally prescribed format for a certificate. Unlike a payslip, nothing is required by statute — the shape is pure convention, which is why every field here is free text. The convention worth knowing is that the recipient’s name sits above the body, and the body continues the sentence the name started: “Jane Doe … is hereby awarded first place in recognition of…”. That is why the supplied examples begin in lower case and with a verb.

1. Reference number — used by organisations that keep an issue register. Optional.
2. Heading — “Certificate of Achievement”, or the award’s own name.
3. Recipient — name, with the class, team or department above it.
4. Body — what was done and why it is being recognised.
5. Date — the day it is presented, not the day of the event.
6. Presented by — name, title, then organisation.

Long headings are handled automatically: “Certificate of Achievement” is set smaller than “Award” so that it stays inside the border, and the preview and the saved file shrink by exactly the same amount.

Seals, signatures and paper

Certificates in English usually carry a signature rather than a seal. Draw one in Signature Maker, save it as a transparent PNG, and upload it here — it is placed so that it overlaps the end of the presenter’s line, the way a signature falls across a printed name. A round or embossed seal works the same way; make one in Seal & Stamp Maker.

The image must be a PNG with a transparent background. A JPG cannot store transparency, so the white rectangle around the signature will cover the text underneath it. If you are printing onto pre-bordered certificate paper, set the border to None and print a test page on plain paper first to check the alignment.

Frequently asked questions

Can I make a batch for a whole class?

Yes. Use Save presenter to store the organisation, title, name and seal once. From the second certificate onwards you only change the recipient’s name and print or save again. Nothing is re-entered.

How do I get a PDF?

Press Print · Save as PDF and set the destination in the print dialog to “Save as PDF”. No extra software is needed. If you are sending it by email or chat, Save as image (PNG) is usually quicker.

Can I make it landscape?

Turn on Landscape. Remember to set the paper orientation in the print dialog to match. Completion and appreciation certificates are often landscape.

What size is the page?

A4. The PNG is rendered at 150 dpi (1240 × 1754 pixels portrait), which is enough for home and office printing. For a print shop, use the PDF route instead — it stays vector and the text remains sharp at any size.

Does the name or the signature image get uploaded?

No. The certificate is drawn and saved entirely inside your browser, so once the page has loaded you can disconnect from the internet and it still works. A signature or seal is something that should not be copied, which is why it is built this way. Saved presenter details stay in this browser only — clear your history or open the page on another device and they are gone.