What makes an online certificate credible
What employers and regulators can verify from a course certificate.
A PDF certificate is easy to issue, but it can be difficult for an employer or regulator to verify. Anyone relying on a certificate should be able to confirm that it is genuine and see what the learner completed.
What to look for
A code and a public check page. Each certificate has a unique code. Anyone can enter the code or open its link to see the learner, course, hours and issue date. You can try the demo code on the Standards page.
An assessment. The certificate is issued when the learner passes, with a pass mark of 80 percent. Questions are drawn from a bank, so a retake uses a different set. This gives the certificate evidence of assessed learning rather than course access alone.
The course version. When a law, rule or standard changes, we can update the course. Each certificate records the version the learner completed, so an auditor can see which material they were assessed against.
What schemes ask for
CPD requirements vary across New Zealand professions. The Law Society, for example, accepts online learning when it is verifiable, structured and interactive or assessed. Check the rules for your own profession before deciding how to deliver a course.