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 associations, or tax deduction purposes.
Also known as: Certificate of participation, certificate of attendance
Mandatory 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 worth the effort: it verifies professional development to employers or chambers, supports travel expense claims, and serves as proof for grant programs. Organizers have a duty of care to issue these documents 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 (all days attended for multi-day events)
- Organizer with address
- Duration of attendance (or booked days)
- 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
Variations
- General certificate of attendance: Standard version for personal records and employers
- CME certificate: Includes certification number, credit category, EFN; mandatory document in the medical field
- Workshop/module certificate: Issued per module for modular programs
- Speaker certificate: For speakers as proof of their contributions
- Exhibitor certificate: For sponsors and exhibitors confirming their participation in a trade fair or exhibition
Delivery process
- Triggered by check-in: Successful check-in grants eligibility
- For multi-day events: Issued after the event ends or per day attended
- For CME events: Potentially after successful completion of a learning assessment
- Generation of the personalized PDF from templates and attendee data
- Automatic delivery via email with a personalized cover letter
- Storage in the attendee portal for later download
Best practices
- Finalize and approve the template well before the event (logo, text, signature)
- Provide multilingual templates for international attendees
- Link issuance to attendance – no certificates for no-shows
- Provide a way to correct typos in names
- Ensure archiving for at least the statutory retention period
Certificates of attendance in Converia
Converia generates certificates of attendance after check-in: personalized PDFs with logo, certification number, CME credits, and electronic signature.
Certificates without manual list management
With Converia, every attendee automatically receives the correct certificate – with the right credits, the right logo, and in the right format.
- Check-in (digital) – On-site event operations
- CME certification – Compliance & law
- Attendee management – Ticketing & registration
Automatically generated, personalized PDFs containing all mandatory information – available immediately after check-in.