Certificate templates for every occasion
A certificate turns an achievement into something people can keep, print and share. This collection covers the moments organisations recognise most often: certificates of achievement, certificates of completion for courses and training, certificates of appreciation for volunteers and partners, employee of the month awards, sports and competition awards, diplomas, and colourful certificates for kids and classrooms.
Styles range from formal designs with guilloché borders, seals and ribbons to modern minimal layouts, bold geometric awards and playful designs for schools. Most templates are landscape at 2000 × 1414 (the A4 ratio, so they print cleanly), with portrait versions for diplomas and framed awards.
What to include on a certificate
Every template comes with the fields a certificate needs, already placed and styled:
- The recipient's name: the largest element on the page. Long names shrink automatically to fit the line, so "Alexandra Montgomery-Fitzwilliam" looks as tidy as "Ana Li".
- The title: "Certificate of Achievement", "Certificate of Completion", "Award of Excellence" or your own wording.
- What it is for: the course, programme, event or reason for the award.
- Date and issuer: when it was awarded and by which organisation.
- Signatures: one or two names and roles under signature lines.
- An ID or reference number if you need to look certificates up later.
How to make a certificate with SnapShark
- Choose a template above that matches the tone of the award, formal or fun.
- Fill in the form. Enter the recipient, title, date and signatures. The preview updates as you type.
- Download the certificate as an image ready to email, print or share on LinkedIn.
- Customise it (optional). Clone the template into your account to add your logo, change colours and fonts, or rearrange the layout in the editor. Your version is saved as your own template.
Create certificates in bulk
Designing one certificate is quick. Producing two hundred by hand, each with a different name, is where mistakes and late nights happen. SnapShark treats a certificate template as a generator:
- From a spreadsheet. Upload a CSV or Excel file with one row per recipient and get a finished certificate for every row, downloadable together.
- From your platform. Course platforms, event tools and HR systems can call the image generation API to issue a certificate the moment someone completes a course or attends an event.
- Consistent every time. The design stays locked while the names, dates and courses change, so every certificate looks like it came from the same place.
Read more about issuing certificates at scale on the certificates feature page, and see the pricing page for bulk and API limits.
Tips for certificates people want to share
- Keep the wording short. One line for the reason is enough; details belong in the email that delivers it.
- Use real signatures and names. A named signatory makes a certificate feel earned rather than automatic.
- Match the tone to the moment. A gold seal suits a diploma; a bright, illustrated design suits a reading challenge for kids.
- Make it shareable. Many people post certificates on LinkedIn, so a landscape image with clear text works best.
- Recognise people beyond certificates. Celebrate milestones with a work anniversary post or a promotion announcement.