How to create certificates in bulk from a list of names (and make them verifiable)

A webinar with 150 attendees, a training course, a school competition: at the end, everyone expects a certificate with their name on it. Typing names into a design one by one takes an afternoon and invites typos. Mail merge in a word processor works, but the result is easy to copy and edit, so anyone can make a "certificate" that looks exactly like yours.

This guide shows a faster way that also solves the second problem: one PDF per person, generated in one go, each with its own QR code that anyone can scan to confirm the certificate is genuine and issued to that name.

What you need

• Your certificate design as a PDF, with an empty space where the name goes. Export it from Canva, PowerPoint, Word, Illustrator or any design tool.
• The list of names, one per line. You can paste a column straight from Excel or Google Sheets.
• A DocuTools account with a verified email address, so the certificates have a clear issuer.

Generate the certificates in 4 steps

1. Open Bulk Certificates and upload your template PDF.
2. Paste the names, up to 200 per job.
3. Set where the name goes (a percentage from the top of the page), the font size, font and colour. Long names shrink automatically to fit.
4. Click Process. You download a ZIP with one PDF per person and a manifest.csv listing every name, file, verification code and link.

Do a test run with two or three names first. If the name sits a bit too high or low, adjust the position and run the full list. Credits are only used when a job succeeds.

What the QR code does

Every certificate gets a small QR code and a code like K7QM-2XPA. Scanning it opens a verification page that shows the name it was issued to, the issue date and your issuer name. Anyone who received the PDF can also drop the file on that page: if even one character was edited, the check fails.

Set your issuer name (for example your school or company) in Settings before you generate the certificates. It is saved with each code and shown on the verification page, marked as set by the account owner.

Fixing a mistake

Spotted a typo after sending? Generate a new certificate for the corrected name and revoke the old code: find it by name or code under Verification codes in your dashboard. A revoked code shows as revoked on its verification page, so the wrong version cannot be passed off as valid.

Good to know

• Names can use Latin letters including accents (é, ü, ñ). Scripts such as Chinese or Arabic are not supported by the certificate fonts yet.
• Your template is not stored. For each certificate DocuTools keeps only the code, the recipient name, the file fingerprint and the date, so the verification page works.
• A verified certificate proves the file is the one you issued. It does not, on its own, make the certificate an official qualification.