Your program director is changing, and their name appears on every certificate. Before replacing the signature image, decide which awards should use the new signatory, what happens to work already prepared and how your team will explain older certificates.<\/p>\n
This guide offers an operating checklist for changing the person named on a certificate. It covers the visible name, title and signature artwork. A cryptographic signing-key change is a separate technical task; use the issuer verification-method rotation guide<\/a> for that process.<\/p>\n Ask the program owner to confirm the incoming signatory’s name, title, approved signature asset and effective date. Record who approved the change. Do not infer authorization from an email signature, a public biography or a new job title alone.<\/p>\n Next, define which event determines the signatory: course completion, award approval or issuance. These dates can differ. The program owner should choose a rule that matches the organization’s requirements and explain how to handle work spanning the transition.<\/p>\n Approved rule:<\/strong> Awards approved from November 1 use the incoming director’s signature.<\/p>\n Case:<\/strong> A learner finishes in October, but their award is approved in November.<\/p>\n Decision:<\/strong> Under this example rule, the new signatory applies. Completion date stays unchanged.<\/p>\n The date and rule are examples, not a requirement for every program.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Make an inventory before editing a shared design. Record the campaign or award reference, current state, selected design and the decision owner. Avoid copying recipient details into the change log when a controlled record reference is enough.<\/p>\n A personnel change alone is not a reason to assume every earlier award must be replaced. Equally, this checklist cannot establish the legal validity of an individual certificate. Refer disputed authority or program-specific requirements to the responsible organization.<\/p>\n Keep a reference to the approved earlier design and prepare a clearly named new version. Update the printed name and title as well as the signature artwork. Check every place where the old signatory appears, including supporting pages and any notification copy that names them.<\/p>\n In Sertifier, the design duplication guide<\/a> describes creating a copy from the Credential Design area. The signature guide<\/a> explains how to add a signature image through the designer’s Images panel and adjust its size and position.<\/p>\n Those instructions describe editing tools. They do not establish how a particular edit affects certificates already issued or a campaign already scheduled. Verify the behavior for your workflow before modifying a design connected to live awards. If that behavior is unclear, resolve it with the platform team first.<\/p>\n Use only artwork approved for this purpose. Keep the source signature file in the organization’s approved location and limit access according to its policy. A sample used for testing should not contain an unauthorized person’s signature.<\/p>\n Use synthetic recipient data in an approved test workflow. Inspect the certificate at normal reading size, in the download format you distribute and on the hosted page where recipients view it.<\/p>\n Record the observed result and any unresolved question. A successful upload of the new image is not evidence that the entire transition works. If you need typography guidance, use our existing signature font guide<\/a>; the transition review should focus on who is represented and which awards are affected.<\/p>\n When the organization approves a replacement, retain a reference to the original record and the reason for the change. Specify which dates stay historical and which date represents the replacement action. Check how recipients will distinguish the records and whether a notification is appropriate.<\/p>\n Do not change completion dates to make them match a director’s appointment, or resend an entire cohort solely because the design changed. Follow the program’s correction process for the affected records. If the change fails review, return the pending work to its approved state and resolve the mismatch before sending.<\/p>\n Close the change with the approved rule, old and new design references, affected campaigns, review results and any replacement decisions. Include a contact who can answer questions about historical awards. For a wider staff transition, the credential administrator handover checklist<\/a> covers access and ongoing responsibilities.<\/p>\nAgree on the effective date and affected awards<\/h2>\n
A fictional transition<\/h3>\n
Separate issued, scheduled and draft certificates<\/h2>\n
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Prepare the new design without guessing its effects<\/h2>\n
Review the transition as a recipient would<\/h2>\n
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Make replacements explicit<\/h2>\n
Leave the next operator a clear record<\/h2>\n