Printing badges in certificate format

The badge issuer is the only one who can change or update the information on a certificate because only they can confirm that the criteria to earn the badge was fulfilled. If badge earners need information changed, they should contact the issuer.

Note: For best results, it is recommended printing in landscape mode.

For badge earners

Only the issuer can change the formatting and information displayed on the certificate.

  1. Sign in to your Canvas Badges account.
  2. From the Backpack menu, select one of your badges.
  3. From the badge detail page, select the ellipsis and then select Print certificate.
For badge earners
  1. The certificate displays the Open Badges metadata including the badge name, image, issuer name, recipient information, expiration and date of the award.
  2. Scanning the QR code will open a URL of the public badge award information.
For badge earners

5. If your badge was awarded through an issuer with a Canvas Credentials subscription, you may see multiple templates to choose from. If it wasn't, you'll only see the default certificate template.

For badge earners

6. Select Print

7. A new window will open containing your certificate. To print, right-click the image and select Print, or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+P (Mac users, Cmd+P).

For badge earners

8. The print page dialogue window will open. From here, you can adjust your settings and select your printer, or print to PDF.

For badge issuers

If your organization has purchased Canvas Credentials with a white label site, your brand colors will automatically be pulled into the pro issuers certificate formats.

  1. Sign in to your Canvas Badges/Credentials account.
  2. From the Issuers menu, select one of your issuers to view the issuer detail page.
  3. Select one of your issuer's badges and open the badge detail page.
  4. Find the badge award you wish to print by searching for the recipient.
  5. Select the ellipse associated with the recipient you wish to print a certificate for.
  6. Select Print certificate from the menu.
For badge issuers
  1. The certificate displays the Open Badges metadata including the badge name, image, issuer name, recipient information, expiration and date of the award.
  2. Issuers may use the default name or select Custom name to manually update a name for inclusion on the certificate.
  3. Scanning the QR code will open a URL of the public badge award information.
  4. Select Print.
For badge issuers

9. A new window will open with the certificate. Right-click the page, select Print to open your system's print dialogue box and choose a print destination.

Adding a recipient's name to a certificate

We're excited to offer issuers an easier way to add the recipient's name to certificates and improve certificate configuration. However, because Open Badges have strict standards that ensure the validity of badge awards, there are still some restrictions. We take the effort that issuers and recipients put into their badge achievements very seriously, and know these standards help prevent plagiarism and maintain a standard that allows badges to be used in both professional and educational settings.

  • Recipients will not be able to customize the certificate formatting. They must use the format provided by the issuer or organization.
  • Issuers can manually enter the recipient's preferred name when printing a certificate.
  • The recipient's ability to view their name on their certificate may vary depending on their individual settings.
  • If the recipient's name was not included in the badge at the time of the award, the certificate will use the name on the recipient's Canvas Badges/Credentials profile when the recipient prints their certificate.
Setting the default certificates

Organizations with a Canvas Credentials subscription can enable and disable certificate templates within their account by editing the issuer and/or badge information. This will control which templates the badge recipient can access when printing badges in certificate format.

To enable templates, select the badge you wish to enable the template for from the issuer's badge list. Select Edit badge, then navigate to the Print certificates tab. Click on each of the templates and either check or uncheck the Enable template box depending on whether or not you would like your recipients to utilize that layout when they print their certificates. You can also select a certificate as the default if the recipient elects not to choose any template.

If you do not wish for there to be a selection of any templates, just click through each option and uncheck the Enable templates box.