Free Printable Certificate

A certificate is usually given to recognize achievements. It is a simple piece of paper with an awards inscription. These are primarily certificates of achievement; employee, student, or teacher recognition awards; certificates of participation; etc.

How do I create a certificate of achievement?

What information should such a certificate actually contain? The awards certificate design is pretty simple in structure. There are seven common wording sections:

• Title (Certificate of Achievement);
• Presentation line (This is awarded to…);
• Recipient (Name);
• From whom;
• Description (Reason for the award);
• Date;
• Signature.

There are no hard and fast rules for how to word or format an award certificate, but these components are a basic outline.

Beyond the text elements, most informal awards and certificates include a handful of common visual motifs:

• Border: Not every certificate has a frame or border around it, but it's a common component.
• Logo: Some organizations may include a logo or some other image related to the organization or subject of the certificate. For example, a school might include their mascot, a club might use a picture of a golf ball for a golf club award, or a picture of a book for a summer reading program participation certificate.
• Seal: A certificate might have a seal affixed (such as a stick-on gold starburst seal) or have an image of a seal printed directly on the certificate.
• Lines: Some certificates may include blank spaces while others will have lines, like a fill-in-the-blank form where the name, description, date, and signature go (to be either typed or handwritten).

By incorporating these elements, you can be sure of a good start. This Free Printable Certificate template is ready-made, printable and customizable, which makes it easy to create your own look and feel, regardless of what industry you’re in. Just download this Free Printable Certificate template in Google Docs, MS Word format and you are ready to go!