Set up certificates of completion

In this article: How to create, customize, and enable certificates of completion so students automatically receive a branded certificate when they finish your course — plus how lesson completion rules work.

Applies to: Pro

Why certificates matter

A certificate gives your students tangible proof of their achievement. For coaching certifications, professional development, and continuing education programs, verification carries real weight. Students can reference it on a resume, post it on LinkedIn, or submit it to an employer or licensing board.

On Ruzuku Pro, certificates live under your custom domain and carry your branding. Your students see your program name and your brand, not Ruzuku's.

Create and customize a certificate

Certificates are configured per course. Each course can have its own design, badge, and custom wording, or no certificate at all.

Open your course and go to Manage Course (use Cmd+K on Mac, Ctrl+K on Windows, or click the Manage Course button).
In the Content column, click Certificate. If you have not created a certificate yet, click Create a Certificate of Completion.
Toggle Enable certificate to on.
Important: New certificates are disabled by default until you switch on Enable certificate. Students will only receive and see certificates when this toggle is active.
Choose your certificate style:
- Modern — A clean, contemporary layout with a bold vertical accent bar on the left.
- Classic — A traditional diploma layout with decorative double borders, formal display headings, and elegant script typography.
Set your Accent Color. Pick a color that fits your brand palette, or leave the default. You can reset to the default color at any time.
Configure the Badge:
- Toggle Show badge on or off.
- Use the default badge icon (which automatically matches your accent color), or click Upload a badge to upload your own square image (such as an organization seal or certification logo).
Customize the certificate text:
- Click directly on any text block in the live preview to edit it: Title, Certifies, Subtitle, Description, Issuer, and Issued date.
- Use the Insert Custom Field dropdown to insert dynamic placeholders:
  - {{STUDENT_NAME}} — The student's full name from their profile
  - {{COURSE_TITLE}} — The title of your course
  - {{ISSUED_DATE}} — The date the student completed all lessons
  - {{GUIDE_NAME}} — Your name as the course instructor
Review your certificate in the preview area. Changes save automatically as you edit.

Tip: If you ever want to revert your edits back to the starting layout, click the three-dot menu in the upper right corner and choose Reset Certificate.

When certificates are issued: Required vs. optional lessons

Certificates are issued automatically as soon as a student completes the course. Understanding how Ruzuku defines "course completion" is essential for setting student expectations.

Every lesson must be completed

To earn a certificate, a student must complete 100% of all lessons across all published modules in the course. There are no "optional" lessons that students can skip and still receive a certificate.

The "Required" toggle vs. course completion: In the lesson editor, the Required toggle controls sequential navigation — it acts as a prerequisite lock, preventing students from skipping ahead to later lessons before finishing earlier ones. Leaving a lesson untoggled allows students to jump around freely. However, it does not make that lesson optional for the certificate. Every published lesson in the course must be marked complete before Ruzuku issues the certificate.

What about draft or hidden modules?

Lessons inside modules that are toggled to Hide module (draft modules) are invisible to students and do not count toward course completion or certificate requirements. Only lessons in published, visible modules are counted.

Similarly, if a module is restricted to a specific price point, only students enrolled under that price point have those lessons counted toward their completion total.

How to handle bonus or optional content

Because all published lessons must be marked complete to trigger a certificate, course creators who want to provide optional or bonus material use one of these practical strategies:

Include bonus resources inside core lessons: Instead of creating separate standalone lessons for bonus material, attach extra worksheets, bonus audio, or supplemental reading as downloadable files inside existing lessons.
Add a completion note in the lesson text: If you create a standalone bonus lesson, add a note at the top explaining: "This lesson is optional bonus material. Feel free to explore it whenever you'd like — just click Mark as Complete so it doesn't hold up your certificate."
Deliver bonus material in a separate course or digital product: On Ruzuku Pro, you can create a separate "Bonus Materials" course or digital product and bundle it with your main course using course bundles or free invitation links. This keeps your certification curriculum focused and prevents extra material from delaying certificates.

Common blockers to certificate completion

If a student has reached the end of your course but has not received their certificate, check these three common requirements:

Pending assignment reviews: If an assignment has "Require guide approval of assignment answers" enabled, the student cannot mark that lesson complete on their own. The lesson stays incomplete until you review and approve their submission in Manage Course → Review Assessments. Once approved, the lesson completes and unlocks the certificate.
Quiz passing scores: If a lesson includes a quiz with a required passing score, the student must achieve that score before the lesson can be marked complete.
Required discussion comments: If a lesson prompt requires a comment, the student must post a reply before they can click Mark as Complete.
A missed lesson earlier in the course: Because non-prerequisite lessons allow students to skip ahead, a student may have bypassed an earlier lesson without marking it complete. Check their progress under Manage Course → Students → Progress to confirm every lesson has a checkmark.

What students see and receive

When a student marks the final lesson in your course complete:

Automated email notification: Ruzuku immediately sends an email with the subject "You earned a certificate from [Course Title]", containing a direct link to view and print their certificate.
Instant next-step button: On the final lesson, the completion button updates to "Mark as complete and continue to Certificate of Completion", opening their certificate in a new browser tab.
Course navigation button: A permanent Certificate of Completion button appears at the bottom of the course modules sidebar.
Course overview link: A certificate link also appears on the student's course overview page.

If a student visits their certificate URL before completing all lessons, the page displays a message: "Your certificate will be available as soon as you complete all lessons," with a button taking them back to their lessons.

How students print or save as a PDF

At the top of the certificate page, students see a built-in Print or Save to PDF button.

When clicked, Ruzuku automatically sets the print layout (portrait or landscape, zero page margins, and clean background rendering) and launches the system print dialog:

To save a digital copy, students select Save as PDF in their browser print destination menu.
To print a physical copy, students choose their local printer.

Every certificate has a permanent, shareable URL on your custom domain (https://[your-domain]/courses/[course-id]/certificate/[student-id]). Students can bookmark this link, share it with employers, or showcase it on LinkedIn.

View and copy student certificates as an instructor

You can review certificates earned by your students at any time:

Go to Manage Course → Students.
Click the Progress tab.
In the student list, look for the badge icon next to students who have finished all modules and lessons.
Click the badge icon to open that student's certificate in a new tab. You can view it, copy the URL to send to the student, or download a PDF copy for your organization's records.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do students have to complete every lesson to earn a certificate?

Yes. Course completion requires every lesson in all published modules to be completed. The "Required" toggle on individual lessons controls sequential prerequisites (preventing students from skipping ahead), but does not make unflagged lessons optional for course completion or certificate issuance.

Can I mark some lessons as optional so students don't need them for the certificate?

No. Ruzuku does not have an "optional lesson" setting that exempts published lessons from course completion. If you want to include optional content, attach it as downloadable files inside existing lessons, deliver it in a separate companion course or digital product, or instruct students to click Mark as Complete on bonus lessons.

What does the "Required" toggle on a lesson actually do?

The "Required" toggle sets a sequential prerequisite. Students must mark that lesson complete before Ruzuku will let them view the next lesson. If a lesson is not toggled as Required, students can skip ahead to other lessons in any order — but they must still return and mark it complete before the course finishes and the certificate is issued.

Why hasn't a student received their certificate if they completed all the "Required" lessons?

This usually happens for one of two reasons: (1) An earlier lesson was skipped. Non-required lessons allow students to jump ahead, but every lesson in the course must be marked complete to earn the certificate. Check the student's record in Manage Course → Students → Progress to verify every lesson is checked off. (2) An assignment is waiting for instructor approval. If an assignment has "Require guide approval of assignment answers" enabled, the lesson remains incomplete until you approve it under Manage Course → Review Assessments.

What happens if I enable certificates after students have already completed the course?

Students who previously completed all lessons can access their certificate immediately by logging in to the course (where the Certificate button will appear in the course navigation) or via their direct certificate URL. However, Ruzuku does not send retroactive emails to past graduates. You can copy their certificate links from Manage Course → Students → Progress and email them directly.

Can I manually issue a certificate without a student completing every lesson?

No. Certificates are tied directly to course completion in Ruzuku. To generate a certificate, all lessons in the published modules must be marked complete.

Can I use different certificate designs for different courses?

Yes. Each course has independent certificate settings. You can customize the template, accent color, badge image, and wording for each course on your Pro site.

Can I require students to pass a quiz before earning a certificate?

Yes. Add a quiz with a passing score to any lesson in your course. Because students must complete all lessons to earn the certificate, they must achieve the passing score to complete that lesson. See Create and configure quizzes for setup details.

Are certificates available on the Core or Free plan?

No. Certificates of completion are exclusive to Ruzuku Pro. If you are on Core or Free and want to add certificates, custom domains, and white-label branding, see Ruzuku plans and pricing.

Need Help?

Email us at support@ruzuku.com — we typically respond within a few hours (M-F 10am-6pm ET).