How to send certificates in bulk from a CSV file
Sending a hundred certificates by hand is a long afternoon. From a spreadsheet it is a few minutes, as long as the spreadsheet is clean.
Short answer
Save your spreadsheet as a CSV file with first name, last name and email columns, import it into Certifyd, check the preview and issue. Every person on the list gets an emailed PDF certificate with its own verification page and QR code.
Set up the spreadsheet
You need one row per person and three required columns: first name, last name and email. Organization and a free-text notes column are optional. Certifyd accepts common header names such as FirstName, Last Name, Email and Company, and the Spanish equivalents Nombre, Apellido and Correo. Columns it does not recognize, such as phone number, are ignored.
A sample file is available at certifyd.cloud/sample-attendees.csv if you want to see the layout.
Export and import
- In Excel or Google Sheets, choose Save as CSV. Comma, semicolon and tab separators all work, and the file's text encoding is detected, so accented names survive.
- In Certifyd, open your event and choose the CSV import. A single file can hold up to 10,000 rows and 10 MB.
- Read the result. Rows with a problem, such as a missing email, are reported so you can fix them rather than failing silently.
Check before you issue
- Duplicates: the same email twice means two emails to one person.
- Capitalization: the name is printed as typed, so fix ALL CAPS or all lowercase first.
- Test run: add yourself to the list, issue, and read your own email and PDF.
Issuing uses one credential per person from your monthly allowance. Downloading a PDF or re-sending an email again does not use another one.
When a CSV is not enough
If attendees come from another system, the REST API and signed webhooks let you push people in automatically, and API keys are available on every plan. Certifyd has no ready-made connectors for learning platforms or webinar tools today, so the route from those tools is a CSV export or the API.
Typical problems and how to fix them
When an import complains, the cause is almost always in the file rather than in the tool. These are the usual suspects.
- Missing header row: the first line must name the columns, or the importer cannot tell which is which.
- Merged cells or a title above the table: export a plain table with the headers in row one.
- Names and emails in one column: split them first, since first name, last name and email are separate fields.
- A column called Name only: add separate first-name and last-name columns, which Excel can do with its text-to-columns feature.
If the importer reports a problem, it also shows the header line it actually read, which usually makes the cause obvious. Fix the spreadsheet, save it again as CSV and re-import; nothing has been issued until you issue.
Checklist before you import
- Row one holds the column names.
- First name, last name and email are separate columns.
- There are no duplicate emails.
- Names are capitalized the way you want them printed.
- The file is under 10,000 rows and 10 MB.
Questions
Which columns are required?
First name, last name and email. Everything else is optional.
Can I import people who already received a certificate?
Re-running an event skips people who already have theirs, so you can add new attendees to the list and import again.
Is bulk issuing available on the free plan?
Yes. Every feature is on every plan; plans differ only in monthly volume, and the free plan includes 12 credentials a month.
