Create Your First Credential

Overview

Clicking + Add Credential opens a right-side drawer — not a dialog. The drawer has a clear structure: WHO (recipient) first, then WHAT (credential details), then WHEN (dates). You can issue to one or more recipients in a single step.

Time required: 2–5 minutes

What you'll need:

• Recipient name (required)
• Credential title (required)
• Issue date (required, defaults to today)
• Recipient email (optional — needed if you want to send a notification)
• Category (optional — pre-fills the title and sets automation defaults)

Before You Start

Delete Sample Data (Recommended)

When you created your account, CertLister added sample credentials for testing. Delete these before creating real credentials:

1. Go to the Credentials page
2. Select all (checkbox at the top of the table)
3. Bulk action bar → Delete
4. Confirm

This keeps your data clean and frees up space against your plan limit (Free: 50 credentials).

Step-by-Step: Issue a Credential

Step 1: Open the Drawer

1. Click Credentials in the left navigation
2. Click + Add Credential (top right)
3. The Issue Credential drawer slides in from the right

Step 2: Who — Fill in Recipient Details

The first section asks who is receiving this credential.

Notify by email checkbox: As soon as you type a recipient email, a "Notify recipient by email" checkbox appears below the recipient fields. When checked, CertLister sends an issuance email as soon as you save. This checkbox follows the category's default automation setting, but you can override it per issue.

Issuing to multiple people? See the Multi-Recipient Issuing section below.

Step 3: What — Credential Details

The second section covers what is being issued.

Category

Select the category this credential belongs to. The category dropdown is a searchable autocomplete — start typing to filter. Each category shows how many credentials it already contains.

Category → Title auto-fill: When you select a category that has a Default Credential Title configured, the Title field fills in automatically (you'll see a brief animation). You can still override the title for this specific credential.

No categories yet? Go to the Categories page, create one first, then come back. Or leave the Category field blank — uncategorized credentials are fully functional.

Credential Title

Required. The name of the achievement, certification, or course. This appears prominently on the credential PDF and verify page.

Examples: "CPR Certification", "First Aid Level 2", "OSHA Safety Training", "Data Privacy Fundamentals"

Step 4: When — Dates

Issue Date

Required. Defaults to today. Change it if you are backdating a credential issued in an earlier session.

Expiry Date

Hidden by default — most credentials don't expire. To add one, click "+ Set expiry date" and a date picker appears inline.

Category default expiry: If the selected category has a default expiry duration set (e.g., "24 months"), the expiry date field opens automatically and is pre-filled to today + that duration. You can still adjust the date.

Send expiry reminder checkbox: If the credential has both an expiry date and a recipient email, a "Send expiry reminder" checkbox appears, letting you opt in to an automatic reminder email before the expiry date.

Step 5: More Options (Optional)

A collapsed "More options" section is at the bottom of the form. Click to expand it. It contains:

Step 6: Save

Click Issue Credential. CertLister validates the form, creates the credential, and triggers any configured automation (email, PDF generation).

The Success Screen

After issuing, the drawer shows a success screen instead of closing immediately.

• Copy verify link — copies a direct link to the public verify page for this credential. Useful for pasting into an email or message. (Single-issue only)
• Issue Another — resets the form and keeps the drawer open for your next credential
• Keep credential details for next issue — checkbox on the success screen. When checked, "Issue Another" preserves the Category, Title, dates, and More options from the credential you just issued — only the recipient is cleared. Useful when issuing the same credential to several people one at a time.
• Done — closes the drawer

Multi-Recipient Issuing

You can issue the same credential to up to 20 recipients in one step.

1. Fill in the first recipient's name (and optionally email)
2. Click + Add another recipient — the first row collapses to a compact summary (numbered chip + name + email), and a new empty row expands
3. Fill in the next recipient and repeat
4. Click any collapsed row to expand and edit it; click × to remove it

During submit: The drawer footer shows a progress bar — "Issuing 2 of 5… 40%". Each credential is issued one at a time, so the credentials list refreshes in real time as they are created.

Success screen (multi): Shows "N credentials issued" with the full list of recipient names.

More than 20 people? Use Bulk Import to create many credentials from a CSV file.

Credential Number field is disabled in multi-recipient mode — each credential gets its own auto-generated number.

After Issuing

Your credential is immediately:

• Visible in the Credentials list (Active status)
• Verifiable via your public verification portal
• Tracked in your dashboard statistics

Generate a PDF

If you did not upload your own PDF and auto-generate was not enabled on the category:

1. Open the credential from the list
2. Click Generate PDF and select a design
3. The PDF is stored and available for download or sharing

See Design Studio for creating and customising your credential design.

Share Verification Instructions

When sending credentials manually, include the credential's verify link or your portal URL so recipients can share it and employers can verify it.

Editing a Credential

1. From the Credentials page, click the credential row (or the edit icon)
2. The same Issue Credential drawer opens, now in edit mode
3. Make your changes and click Update Credential

What's different in edit mode:

• Single recipient only (Name + Email fields, no multi-recipient UI)
• Status field (Active / Expired / Revoked) is editable
• Expiry date is always shown inline if one exists
• No email notification toggle (notifications only fire on creation)
• Additional accordion sections at the bottom: PDF Credential, Wallet Card (Pro), Verification History (Pro), Email History (Pro with tracked emails)

What you can edit: Recipient name, email, title, category, status, issue date, expiry date, description, custom fields, uploaded PDF.

What you cannot edit: Credential Number (permanently assigned at creation).

Editing doesn't regenerate the PDF automatically. If you changed the recipient name or title and need an updated PDF, regenerate it from the credential detail view or via the Bulk Generator.

Deleting a Credential

1. Open the credential
2. Click Delete (in the action menu or credential detail view)
3. Confirm

Warning: Deletion is permanent. The credential is removed from your records and will no longer appear in verification searches. The PDF is deleted from storage.

Alternative: Change the status to Revoked instead. Revoked credentials remain in your records but show as "Revoked" when verified — useful when you want an audit trail.

Troubleshooting

"Issue Credential" button stays disabled

The button activates as soon as:

• At least one recipient has a name
• The Credential Title field is filled
• The Issue Date is set

If category auto-fill populated the Title but the button is still grey, check that the title field is not empty (it may have filled with whitespace).

Expiry date shows an error

The expiry date must be on or after the issue date. If you set an issue date in the past and auto-fill populated a short expiry, the expiry may have ended up before today — adjust it manually.

"Credential number already exists"

Rare. This resolves automatically — try saving again. Contact support if it persists.

Email notification not sent

• Confirm the recipient email is valid and saved on the credential
• Confirm the "Notify recipient by email" checkbox was checked when you issued
• Check Settings → Notifications to ensure issuance email is not globally disabled
• Email delivery requires Basic or Pro plan

See Credential Automation for full email troubleshooting.

PDF upload failed

• File must be a PDF (not a renamed image or Word document)
• Maximum size: 10 MB
• If the file is larger, compress it with an online tool before uploading

Tips for Issuing Many Credentials