How to Create and Use Europass Digital Credentials in Sertifier

Sertifier can generate a European Digital Credential for Learning, also called an EDC, from an issued Sertifier credential. The Europass version is a signed, machine-readable `.jsonld` file that recipients can view, verify, and store using Europass.

The quality of the Europass credential depends on the information entered in Sertifier.

This guide explains:

How to configure your organization for Europass
Which Sertifier fields are included in the Europass credential
How to write titles, descriptions, skills, and earning criteria
How Sertifier matches skills with ESCO
Which Sertifier fields are not currently included
How recipients download, view, store, and share the credential
How issuers can track Europass downloads

The Europass integration must be enabled and configured for your organization.

Your organization must also have a country selected under Organization Settings. The integration will not work correctly without this country information.

What is a European Digital Credential for Learning?

A European Digital Credential for Learning is a verifiable digital record of a learning achievement. It can represent a diploma, micro-credential, training certificate, certificate of completion, certificate of participation, or another learning record.

Unlike a PDF or image, an EDC contains structured information about:

The credential holder
The issuing organization
The learning achievement
The skills or learning outcomes
The assessment or earning requirements
The awarding and issuance dates

The credential is electronically sealed by the issuing organization. If someone changes the contents of the downloaded file, the Europass verification checks can detect that modification.

For more information, see the European Commission's guide to European Digital Credentials for Learning.

Before You Create a Europass Credential

Complete the following setup before issuing credentials that recipients will download in Europass format.

1. Complete your organization information

Go to Settings > Organization Settings. You can also open Organization Settings by selecting your organization name from the dashboard.

Check the following information:

1. Confirm that the Organization Name contains the full legal or official name of the issuing organization.

2. Under General Settings, select the correct Country from the country list.

3. Select the applicable State / Province / City.

4. Enter the organization's official Address.

5. Save the changes and confirm that the fields show as saved.

The selected country is required for the Europass credential. It identifies the country of the awarding organization. Entering a country name only inside the free-text Address field is not sufficient. You must select the country from the Country field.

The organization name appears as the issuing and awarding organization in Europass. Review it carefully before issuing credentials.

2. Configure the electronic seal

In Organization Settings, locate the Europass Digital Credentials section.

If Europass is not yet active:

1. Select Electronic Seal Certificate (.p12).

2. Upload the `.p12` certificate issued to your organization.

3. Enter the Certificate Password.

4. Select Save Configuration.

5. Confirm that the page displays Europass digital credentials are active.

Use the electronic seal belonging to the issuing organization. Do not upload a personal certificate or an unrelated signing certificate.

The `.p12` file and its password are normally provided by your organization's Qualified Trust Service Provider. Only an authorized organization administrator should complete this setup.

If you do not have access to your organization's electronic seal, contact an authorized administrator in your organization. If the Europass section is not available in your account, contact Sertifier Support.

3. Check the electronic seal when it changes

An electronic seal certificate has a validity period. If your organization renews or replaces its certificate, make sure the Europass configuration is updated before recipients try to download new Europass credentials.

Never send the electronic seal file or its password to recipients.

Where to Prepare the Credential Information

The content of the Europass credential is mainly taken from Sertifier Credential Details.

You can create or select Credential Details in either of these places:

Open Components > Credential Details and create or edit a Detail.
While creating a campaign, go to the Details step and select Create New Detail.

Complete the Credential Details before issuing the campaign. The most important fields for Europass are:

Credential Type
Credential Title
Credential Description
Skills / Knowledge
Earning Criteria

Other Detail fields can still be useful on the Sertifier credential page, but not all of them are included in the current Europass output. The complete mapping is explained below.

Sertifier to Europass Field Mapping

Credential Detail fields included in Europass

Sertifier field	Europass representation	What the recipient sees
Credential Title	Learning achievement title, learning achievement specification title, and display title	The main name of the credential
Credential Description	Learning achievement description and display description	An explanation of the program, activity, or achievement
Skills / Knowledge	Learning outcomes	A separate learning outcome for each skill
Automatically matched ESCO skill	Related ESCO skill reference	A standardized European skill concept linked to the learning outcome
Earning Criteria	Learning assessment description	The requirements or assessment used to award the credential
Credential Type	Education level for supported academic credential types	An EQF level when the selected academic type has a defined mapping

Other information included automatically

Some Europass information does not come from Credential Details. Sertifier adds it from the issued credential and your organization settings.

Sertifier source	Europass representation	What you should check
Recipient full name	Credential holder's given name and family name	Make sure recipient names are complete and correctly spelled before issuance
Organization Name	Issuer and awarding body legal name	Use the organization's official name
Organization Country	Awarding body country	A country must be selected in Organization Settings
Credential issue date	Issuance date, valid-from date, and awarding date	Confirm that the recipient's issue date is correct
Credential number	Unique credential and achievement identifiers	Generated automatically
Certificate or badge design	Europass summary image	Check the credential preview before issuance

How to Complete Each Credential Detail field

Credential Title

The Credential Title becomes the main title of the learning achievement in Europass. It is displayed prominently and is also used as the title of the learning achievement specification.

Use a title that clearly states what was awarded.

Good examples:

Annual AI and Machine Learning Summit Certificate of Participation
Data Analytics Professional Certification
Sustainable Materials Micro-Credential
Advanced Project Management Course Completion

Avoid:

Internal campaign codes
Marketing slogans
Titles that contain recipient-specific information
Generic titles such as "Certificate" or "Training"

The campaign title and Credential Detail title are different. The campaign title helps your team organize campaigns in Sertifier. The Credential Title is the value used for the Europass learning achievement.

Credential Description

The Credential Description explains the learning achievement. It should help an employer, educational institution, or other verifier understand what the recipient completed or achieved.

A useful description normally includes:

The purpose of the course, event, program, or assessment
The main topics or subject area
The intended learning or professional context
The type of participation or completion being recognized

Example:

"This credential recognizes successful participation in the Annual AI and Machine Learning Summit, covering current applications of artificial intelligence, machine learning workflows, model evaluation, and responsible AI practices."

Write the description as final text that applies to every recipient of the campaign.

Do not rely on placeholders such as `[recipient.name]` or `[credential.issueDate]` in content intended for Europass. Use wording that remains complete without recipient-specific substitutions.

Skills / Knowledge

Each skill added to Credential Details becomes a separate learning outcome in the Europass credential.

For example, if you add:

Artificial Intelligence
Machine Learning
Data Analysis

the Europass credential contains three learning outcomes.

How ESCO matching works

ESCO stands for European Skills, Competences, Qualifications and Occupations. It is the European Commission's common classification of skills and occupations.

When a Europass credential is generated, Sertifier uses the skill name entered in Credential Details to find the closest relevant ESCO skill concept. The original Sertifier skill name remains in the credential. When a suitable ESCO concept is available, its reference is added to the same learning outcome.

The ESCO preferred name may not be identical to the Sertifier skill name. This is expected. For example:

Sertifier skill	Related ESCO concept
Artificial Intelligence Systems	principles of artificial intelligence

In this example, the Europass credential keeps Artificial Intelligence Systems as the learning outcome title and adds the following ESCO reference:

`http://data.europa.eu/esco/skill/e465a154-93f7-4973-9ce1-31659fe16dd2`

If no sufficiently relevant ESCO concept is available, the original skill is still included as a learning outcome, but it may not contain an ESCO reference.

How to write skills for better ESCO matching

Use the following guidelines:
Add one skill or knowledge concept per tag.
Prefer existing Sertifier skills when an appropriate option is available.
Use specific, commonly recognized names.
Write the full term instead of relying only on an internal abbreviation.
Keep proficiency levels and assessment results out of the skill name.

Recommended:

Data analysis
Project management
Python
Regulatory compliance
Machine learning

Avoid:

Python, SQL, dashboards, and reporting
Advanced ML stuff
Internal capability code A17
Successfully completed data course
Good communication and leadership with project teams

If the credential covers several skills, add them as separate tags. Do not combine multiple skills into a single long tag.

You do not need to search for or enter ESCO codes manually.

To learn more about the classification, see About ESCO.

Earning Criteria

The Earning Criteria field becomes the description of the learning assessment in Europass. It should state what the recipient had to do to earn the credential.

Use measurable and verifiable requirements when possible.

Good example:

Attend at least 80% of scheduled sessions and complete the final knowledge assessment with a score of 70% or higher.

Other useful criteria may include:

Completing all required course modules
Passing an examination
Submitting a project or portfolio
Demonstrating a skill through practical assessment
Participating in required workshops
Meeting a defined attendance threshold

Avoid descriptions that only repeat the credential title or use promotional language.

The Europass credential contains Earning Criteria as plain text. Rich-text formatting is not preserved, so make sure the content remains understandable without special fonts, images, tables, or layout.

As with the Credential Description, do not depend on recipient-specific placeholders in this field.

Credential Type and EQF education level

Credential Type describes the kind of achievement being awarded. Select the type that accurately represents the credential.

For the following academic credential types, Sertifier also adds the corresponding European Qualifications Framework level:

Sertifier Credential Type	Europass EQF level
Associate Degree	EQF Level 5
Bachelor's Degree	EQF Level 6
Master's Degree	EQF Level 7
Postgraduate Certificate	EQF Level 7
Postgraduate Diploma	EQF Level 7
Doctoral Degree	EQF Level 8

Other credential types, such as Participation, Workshop, Course Completion, Micro-Credential, or Professional Certification, do not currently add an EQF level automatically.

Choose the credential type according to the actual achievement. Do not select an academic degree type only to add an EQF level.

The separate Sertifier Level field, such as Beginner, Intermediate, or Advanced, describes difficulty within Sertifier. It is not the same as an EQF level.

Credential Detail fields Not Currently Included in Europass

The following fields remain useful on the Sertifier credential page but are not currently exported as separate fields in the Europass credential:

Sertifier field	Current Europass behavior
Duration	Not included
Cost	Not included
Level	Not included as an EQF level
Expiry Date	Not included
Supporting Documents	Not included
Custom Attributes	Not included as separate Europass fields

Continue to complete these fields when they are useful for your Sertifier credential. However, do not rely on them to communicate essential information in Europass.

If a duration, level, or other detail is essential for a Europass user to understand the achievement, include the relevant context in the Credential Description or Earning Criteria as appropriate.

Do not confuse the Sertifier credential Expiry Date with the validity of the organization's electronic seal. They are separate concepts.

Complete Example

The following example shows how a Credential Detail is represented in Europass.

Information entered in Sertifier

Sertifier field	Example value
Credential Type	Participation
Credential Title	Annual AI and Machine Learning Summit Certificate of Participation
Credential Description	This credential recognizes active participation in an industry summit covering artificial intelligence, machine learning, model evaluation, and responsible AI practices.
Skills / Knowledge	Artificial Intelligence; Artificial Intelligence Systems
Earning Criteria	Attend the required summit sessions and participate in the scheduled workshops and learning activities.

Resulting information in Europass

The credential title becomes the Learning Achievement title.
The description becomes the Learning Achievement Description.
Each skill becomes a separate Learning Outcome.
The original skill wording remains visible.
A relevant ESCO concept is linked when a suitable match is available.
The earning criteria becomes the Learning Assessment Description.
The recipient's name becomes the credential holder.
The organization name and selected country identify the awarding body.
The credential issue date becomes the issuance and awarding date.
The Sertifier certificate or badge is included as the summary image.
No EQF level is added because Participation is not one of the academic types with an automatic EQF mapping.

Issue the Credential

After completing the organization setup and Credential Details:

Create or open a credential campaign.
Select a certificate or badge design.
Select the completed Credential Detail.
Add the email template and campaign options.
Add recipients.
Review recipient names and issue dates.
Use the preview to check the visible certificate or badge.
Send a test credential to an authorized internal recipient when validating a new Europass setup.
Issue the campaign when the information is correct.

The campaign must have a Credential Detail with a title. A campaign without valid Credential Details cannot produce a complete Europass credential.

Download the Europass Credential

When Europass is active for the issuing organization, recipients can download the Europass version from their Sertifier credential page.

Open the credential page.
Open the **Download** menu.
Select **Europass**.
The browser downloads a file named with the credential number, such as `23571244192586.jsonld`.

The `.jsonld` file is the original machine-readable credential. It is not intended to be opened in a text editor, Microsoft Word, or a PDF reader.

Do not edit the file. Changing its contents can invalidate the electronic seal.

View and store the credential in Europass

Recipients can view the file without storing it:

Open the official European Digital Credential Viewer.
Select Upload credential.
Choose the downloaded `.jsonld` file.
Review the credential content and verification results.

Recipients can also store the credential in their Europass account:

Sign in to Europass.
Open My Library.
Find Certificates and diplomas.
Select Add.
5. Upload the `.jsonld` file.

Storing the credential in the Europass wallet is recommended for long-term access and controlled sharing.

The current Sertifier flow provides the credential as a downloadable file. It does not directly deposit the credential into the recipient's Europass wallet.

Share the Credential Safely

The original `.jsonld` file contains the recipient's credential data and should be treated as a personal document.

The European Commission recommends storing the credential in a Europass or compatible wallet and sharing it through a controlled share link. Recipients can also create a PDF representation from Europass when needed.

Do not publish or forward the original `.jsonld` file unless there is a specific reason to provide the complete credential file to a trusted party.

Track Europass Downloads

Europass downloads are recorded as recipient activity in Sertifier.

To review them:

Go to Analytics > Event Logs.
Open the general filters.
Select the Europass download event.
Apply any relevant campaign, credential, recipient, or date filters.

This allows your organization to review which credentials have been downloaded in Europass format.

Recommended Pre-Issuance Checklist

Before issuing a campaign intended for Europass:

Europass Digital Credentials are active under Organization Settings.
The organization's electronic seal is valid.
Organization Name contains the correct official name.
Country is selected from the Country field.
State / Province / City and Address are completed.
Credential Type accurately represents the achievement.
Credential Title is specific and understandable outside your organization.
Credential Description explains the achievement in plain English.
Each skill is entered as a separate, specific skill tag.
Earning Criteria clearly states how the credential was earned.
Essential information is not stored only in an unsupported field.
Recipient names and issue dates are correct.
The certificate or badge preview is correct.
A test Europass file has been downloaded and opened in the official viewer.

Troubleshooting

The Europass option does not appear in the Download menu

Check that Europass digital credentials are active in Organization Settings. If the option is still unavailable, contact your organization administrator or Sertifier Support.

The organization country is missing

Go to Settings > Organization Settings > General Settings and select a country from the Country field. Do not enter the country only as part of the free-text address.

Country information is required for the awarding organization in the Europass credential.

The downloaded file does not open on my computer

This is expected if you try to open the file in a standard document application. Upload the `.jsonld` file to the European Digital Credential Viewer or to the Certificates and diplomas section of your Europass Library.

The ESCO wording differs from the Sertifier skill

ESCO has its own preferred labels. The related ESCO concept may therefore use different wording. The original Sertifier skill remains the learning outcome title.

A skill does not have an ESCO reference

The skill remains in the credential even when a suitable ESCO concept is not available. For better matching, use a specific, commonly recognized skill name and avoid combining several skills into one tag.

Formatting from Earning Criteria is missing

Europass receives the Earning Criteria as plain text. Rewrite the content so that it does not depend on rich-text styling, images, tables, or visual layout.

A placeholder appears as text

Use final, recipient-independent wording in the Credential Description and Earning Criteria. Do not rely on placeholders in content intended for Europass.

Information in the credential is incorrect

Do not edit the `.jsonld` file. Correct the source information in Sertifier and download a new Europass credential. A sealed credential file must remain unchanged.

The viewer reports a verification or readability problem

Download a fresh copy from the Sertifier credential page and try the official viewer again. If the issue continues, contact Sertifier Support with:

Your organization name
The credential number
A screenshot of the viewer message
The time the download was attempted

Share the original credential file only through an approved support channel if requested. Never share the electronic seal certificate or its password.

Frequently asked questions

Do users need to enter ESCO codes manually?

No. Users add skills in Credential Details. Sertifier adds the relevant ESCO reference automatically when a suitable match is available.

Does ESCO replace the skill name entered in Sertifier?

No. The original Sertifier skill remains the learning outcome title. The ESCO concept is added as a related standardized reference.

Can I use a custom skill?

Yes. A custom skill is included as a learning outcome. Use a clear and specific name to improve the possibility of finding a relevant ESCO concept.

Can one credential contain multiple skills?

Yes. Each skill becomes a separate learning outcome. Add each skill as its own tag.

Does the Sertifier Level field become an EQF level?

No. The Sertifier Level field describes values such as Beginner or Advanced. EQF levels are added only for the supported academic Credential Types listed in this guide.

Is the Sertifier Expiry Date included in the Europass file?

Not currently. The Expiry Date continues to apply within Sertifier but is not exported as a separate field in the current Europass credential.

Can recipients open the file as a PDF?

The downloaded credential is a `.jsonld` file. Recipients should upload it to Europass. After storing it in their Europass wallet, they can use Europass sharing and PDF export options.

Is the credential sent directly to the recipient's Europass wallet?

Not in the current Sertifier flow. The recipient downloads the Europass file from the Sertifier credential page and uploads it to Europass.

Which language should I use?

For the current Sertifier Europass export, enter the Credential Title, Description, Skills, and Earning Criteria in English. The Europass interface may be available in other languages, but the credential content is based on the values entered in Sertifier.