How to Build a Course Completion Form that Automatically Triggers Branded Certificate

Celebrate course completions automatically

In this guide, you’ll build a Course Completion Form that students fill out at the end of a course to confirm their progress. Once submitted, Formaloo will automatically generate and send a personalized certificate, no manual tracking or emailing needed.

This workflow works perfectly for online academies, internal training programs, or client certification courses.

📘 Learn more: Create your first form, app, or portal in a flash

Step 1: Create your course completion form

From your workspace, click + New → Form, or choose  Final Task Submission & Certificate Issuance template from the gallery.
You can also use Magic Create, try this prompt:

“Course completion form that collects learner details, verifies course completion, and triggers certificate generation.”

Add essential fields:

• Student name
  
  
• Email address
  
  
• Course title or ID
  
  
• Completion date (auto-filled with today’s date)
  
  
• Instructor or mentor name
  
  
• Course feedback (optional)
  
  
• Certificate status (Pending / Sent)
  
  

💡 Tip: Prefill student info or course title using URL parameters or Memory forms for a smoother experience.

📘 Learn more: How to create a form
📘 Learn more: How to create a memory form that auto fills user details

Step 2: Add logic to verify completion

Go to Settings → Logic → On submit, and define your verification rules.

Examples:

• If @course_feedback is filled AND @instructor_name is not empty → set @status = “Verified.”
  
  
• If @course_title = “Advanced Marketing” → tag certificate template “Marketing_Cert_2025.”
  
  

This ensures certificates are only sent for verified completions.

📘 Learn more: How to add advanced logic to your form

Step 3: Create a certificate PDF template

In your project, open PDF templates → + New Template, and design your certificate layout.

Include:

• Student name (variable: @student_name)
  
  
• Course title (@course_title)
  
  
• Completion date (@completion_date)
  
  
• Instructor name (@instructor_name)
  
  
• Signature or institution logo (uploaded image)

Or choose certificate PDF from the PDF examples dropdown.

💡 You can design branded certificates with backgrounds, seals, and dynamic fields for a professional look.

📘 Learn more: How to create PDF templates to turn responses into documents

Step 4: Attach certificates to automatic emails

Go to Settings → Notifications, and create a custom email template for certificate delivery.

Example email:

Subject: Congratulations, @student_name — here’s your course certificate!

Hi @student_name,
Congratulations on completing the @course_title course. Attached is your official certificate of completion.

Keep learning and growing!
— The @organization_name Team

Enable Attach generated PDF and select your certificate template.

📘 Learn more: How to send custom PDFs with email notifications

Step 5: Trigger emails automatically after submission

Now, use On submit logic to send the certificate email once the form is verified.

Logic example:

If @status = “Verified” → send “Certificate delivery” email.

You can also notify instructors or admins when a student completes a course.

📘 Learn more: What is on submit logic and how it works

Step 6: Track certificates and submissions in a dashboard

Go to Results → Dashboard to visualize completion trends and certificate activity.
Add:

• Table view: All completions with student, course, and status
  
  
• Pie chart: Certificates by course or instructor
  
  
• Bar chart: Completions per month or department
  
  

💡 Filter the table by course name to export completion lists for each instructor.

📘 Learn more: How to showcase charts based on form responses

Step 7: Build a student certification portal

Turn your setup into a Student Certification Portal App for easy access and record-keeping.
Add pages for:

• Complete your course — main form
  
  
• My certificates — filtered table showing each student’s completions
  
  
• Course dashboard — admin overview of all learners
  
  

Enable Login/Sign-up so each student sees only their certificates, and instructors can view class-level progress.

📘 Learn more: How to create a portal and manage users access
📘 Learn more: How to let users view and edit their own data in your portal

Step 8: Use AI Smart Content for personalized messages

Add AI Smart Content to your ending page to celebrate each student’s achievement.

Example AI prompt:

“Write a short, warm congratulatory message for @student_name completing @course_title.”

Example result:

“Amazing work, Sarah! Completing Advanced Marketing shows your commitment to growth — your certificate is on its way!”

📘 Learn more: Create dynamic ending pages with AI Smart Content

Pro tips

• Enable autosave: Let learners return later to confirm details or upload missing info.
  📘 Learn more: How to auto save incomplete responses and let users resume later
  
  
• Add verification codes: Include a unique ID or QR code in the certificate for authenticity.
  
  
• Sync certificates with Google Sheets or CRM: Keep all completions logged automatically.
  📘 Learn more: How to set up two-way sync between Formaloo and Google Sheets
  
  

Example scenario

A student completes your “Data Analytics Fundamentals” course and submits the completion form.
Logic verifies the submission, triggers a thank-you message, and automatically sends the personalized PDF certificate.
The instructor receives a copy, and the course dashboard updates to show the student’s status as Certified.

📘 Learn more: Build personalized and time-saving flows with logic, automations, and AI

FAQ

1. Can I design different certificates per course?
Yes, use conditional logic to attach different PDF templates depending on @course_title.

2. Can students download certificates later?
Absolutely, add a “My certificates” page in your portal with downloadable links.

3. Can I include instructor signatures automatically?
Yes, add a signature field ( admin-only ) in your PDF template for each instructor.

Your automated certification system is live

You’ve built a full course completion workflow that celebrates achievements automatically, complete with personalized PDFs, logic verification, and tracking dashboards.
Next, expand it into a Learning Portal with lesson pages, quizzes, and instructor dashboards.

📘 Learn more: How to customize your portal with your brand identity

Last updated November 2025

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