---
url: /certificates/student-certificates.md
description: >-
  Where students find their RootWright LMS certificates, how to print or save
  them as PDF, how badges are shared, and how anyone verifies a certificate
  code.
---

# How students get and verify certificates in RootWright LMS

When a student completes a course that awards a certificate, RootWright LMS shows "Your certificate is ready!" with a **View Certificate** button. Later, the student finds every certificate on their **Achievements** page. Anyone can check a certificate on the **Verify a certificate** page.

## When the course is finished

![The completion window after the last lesson](/images/certificates/student-01-completion.jpg)

*The window shown when a student finishes the last lesson. **Back to Courses** returns to their course list.*

The completion window shows one of two messages:

* **"Your certificate is ready!"** with a **View Certificate** button.
* **"Your certificate will be available shortly."** when the certificate is still waiting, for example for an instructor's signature.

## The Achievements page

Students open **Achievements** from their dashboard. The dashboard also shows a **Certificates** count.

Each completed course has a card with the grade and the completion date. Once the certificate is issued, the card also shows the **Verification code**. The main button shows one of these:

| On the card | Meaning |
|---|---|
| **View Certificate** | The certificate is issued. |
| **Certificate Pending** | It is waiting, for example for [sign-off](/certificates/certificate-signoff). |
| **Issued by your instructor** | The course awards certificates by hand. |
| **Certificate requirements not met yet** | The [certificate criteria](/certificates/conditional-certificates) are not met. |
| **Revoked** | The certificate was withdrawn. |

With no finished courses, the page reads "No achievements yet. Finish a course and it will appear here, along with its certificate."

![The Achievements page with one completed course](/images/certificates/student-02-achievements.jpg)

*Achievements, for a student who finished a course whose certificate criteria are not met. **Submit Review** asks them to rate the course.*

## Save a certificate as PDF

**View Certificate** opens the certificate in a new tab. Click **Print / Save as PDF** to open the browser's print dialog, then choose **Save as PDF**.

::: pro
With RootWright LMS Pro, certificates designed in the Certificate Studio also have a **Download PDF** button. It shows "Preparing PDF…" while the file is made.
:::

## Share a badge

::: pro
RootWright LMS Pro adds Open Badges to the **Achievements** page: **Download badge**, **Add to LinkedIn**, and under **More badge options**, **Download .jwt** and **Copy badge link**.
:::

With the Free plugin, share the verification code or the link to the verify page.

## Verify a certificate

The **Verify a certificate** page lives at `/verify-certificate` by default. It is a required page, because the QR code and link on every certificate point to it. You can change which page is used under **Settings → Site & pages → LMS pages**.

::: steps

1. Open the verify page, or scan the QR code on the certificate. A QR code fills in the code for you and checks it straight away.
2. Enter the **Certificate code**. It looks like `ABCD-EFGH-JKLM`. The dashes are optional.
3. Click **Verify**.
   :::

![The Verify a certificate page with the code field](/images/certificates/verify-01-form.jpg)

*The **Verify a certificate** page. Its look follows the front-end design chosen under **Settings → Site & pages**.*

The page shows one of these results:

| Result | Meaning |
|---|---|
| **Verified credential** | Shows **Issued to**, **Course**, **Issued on**, **Issued by** and the **Credential code**, with **Copy link** to share the result. |
| **Not verified** | No certificate matches the code. |
| **Revoked credential** | The certificate was withdrawn. |
| **Too many attempts** | The visitor tried too many codes. Wait and try again. |
| **Verification unavailable** | The check could not run. Try again later. |

You can also place the verify form on any page with the `[rootwright_lms_certificate_verify]` shortcode or the certificate verify block.

## Related

* [Certificate studio](/certificates/certificate-studio)
* [Conditional certificates](/certificates/conditional-certificates)
* [Certificate sign-off](/certificates/certificate-signoff)
* [Open Badges](/certificates/open-badges)