Before you issue: a quick checklist

A few minutes of checking before you issue saves a lot of "I never got my badge" emails afterwards. Run through this list before each issue.

Your recipient list

• Names are spelled correctly and in the format recipients want to see on their credential. Names often come straight from a registration system, so errors carry through.

• Email addresses are current. For most adult learners, a personal address is better than a work one. Work addresses stop working when people change jobs, and a credential should last a whole career.

• Each person appears once, with one address. The same person at two addresses gets two separate credential records and counts as two recipients.

Your credential

• The design, title and description are final, and the description says what the recipient did to earn it.

• An expiry date is set if the credential needs renewing. See How to set expiry dates on credentials.

Delivery

• Issue a test credential to yourself and open it on a phone, as your recipients will.

• Warn big organisations. If you are issuing to people at large employers, universities or public bodies, ask a contact there to make sure emails from Certify won't be quarantined.

• Tell recipients it is coming. People open emails they are expecting. Mention the credential in your course and tell them when to look out for it.

• Issue as close to the achievement as you can. Recipients are most likely to share in the first few days.

Ready to issue?

See How do I issue credentials in bulk?

For a full guide to getting badges opened, claimed and shared, read How to get your digital badges claimed and shared.