Split: date=August 2008

A certificate is an official document affirming some fact. For example, a birth certificate or death certificate testifies to basic facts regarding a person's birth or death. A certificate may also certify that a person has received specific education or has passed a test, and is considered below the standard of an academic degree.

Due to the low cost of production as compared to other awards like trophies or plaques, certificates are used to recognize most any minor achievement throughout many levels of society. For example, in U.S. schools certificates of attendance are given to students who miss less than a certain number of days of school. A matriculating elementary or secondary school student may receive a certificate stating he/she was most improved in science, mathematics, or a language. Certificates are often used as an inexpensive positive reinforcement to encourage desired behaviors in many contexts.

In computing and especially computer security and cryptography, the word certificate generally refers to a digital identity certificate, also known as a public key certificate. It also may be awarded as a necessary certification to validate that a student is considered competent in a certain specific networking skill area in today's ubiquitous and necessary information technology. Thus a computer engineer or computer science graduation most likely will have to obtain additional certificates on and pertaining to the specific technologies or equipments used by the hiring corporation; if not, such employer may suffer unwanted penalties like foregoing (voiding the contract) the protections of a certain level of customer service or warranties.

As an academic award

A certificate, in addition to certifying that someone has passed a test or reached a specific standard of knowledge, may also be the name of an actual award.

In many countries, certificate is a qualification attained in secondary education. For instance, students in the Republic of Ireland sit the Junior Certificate and follow it with the Leaving Certificate. Similarly, other countries have awards, for instance, in Australia the Higher School Certificate (HSC) in New South Wales, the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) in Victoria, etc., is the examination taken on completion of secondary education.

In many countries, certificates are qualifications in higher education. For example, in the Republic of Ireland, the National Certificate, which is soon to be replaced by the "Higher Certificate". These have the titles Certificate (at an undergraduate level), Graduate Certificate (at an undergraduate level, but requiring the completion of a prior undergraduate degree for admission) and Postgraduate Certificate (at a postgraduate level). In Hong Kong, students take the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination. Certificate is below the standard of the associate degree and higher diploma, which are below the bachelor's degree. Postgraduate certificates are taken after the bachelor's degree and are more vocational oriented than master's degree.