A certificate of attendance is an official document verifying an individual's actual presence at an event. It is typically generated automatically after check-in and serves as proof for employers, professional chambers, or tax deduction purposes.
Also known as: Certificate of attendance, proof of participation
Required for: CME-certified training courses
Delivery: Via email (PDF) after check-in
What is a certificate of attendance?
The certificate of attendance is more than just a polite follow-up – for many attendees, it is the very reason the trip was worthwhile: it verifies professional development to employers or chambers, supports travel expense claims, or serves as documentation for grant programs. Organizers have a duty of care to issue these accurately and promptly.
Technically, issuance is linked to the digital check-in : Only those who were actually on-site receive a certificate.
Mandatory content
- Full name of the attendee
- Event title, location, and date (for multi-day events, all days attended)
- Organizer with address
- Duration of attendance (or days booked)
- For scientific events: topics, learning objectives
- For CME-certified events: certification number, number of credits, EFN
- Date of issue
- Signature or electronic signature of the organizer
Variants
- General certificate of attendance: Standard version, for personal records and employers
- CME certificate: With certification number, credit category, EFN; mandatory document in the medical field
- Workshop/module certificate: For modular structures, per module attended
- Speaker confirmation: For speakers as proof of the presentations given
- Exhibitor confirmation: For sponsors and exhibitors regarding their participation in a trade fair or exhibition
Dispatch process
- Triggered by check-in: Successful check-in triggers eligibility
- For multi-day events: Only after the event has ended or per day attended
- For CME events: Possibly after successfully completing the learning assessment
- Generation of the personalized PDF from template and participant data
- Automatic dispatch via email with a personalized cover letter
- Storage in the participant portal for later download
Best practices
- Finalize and approve the template well before the event (logo, text, signature)
- Provide multilingual templates for international participants
- Link issuance to attendance – no certificates for no-shows
- Provide an option to correct typos in names
- Ensure archiving for at least the statutory retention period
Attendance certificates in Converia
Converia generates attendance certificates after check-in: personalized PDFs with logo, certification number, CME points, and electronic signature.
Certificates without manual list management
With Converia, every participant automatically receives the correct certificate – with the right points, the right logo, and in the right format.
- Digital check-in – On-site event operations
- CME certification – Compliance & legal
- Attendee management – Ticketing & registration
Automatically generated, personalized PDFs containing all mandatory information – immediately after check-in.