6 FREE Certificate of Excellence Templates

Excellence should be awarded — and we have just the right certificate templates to help you express your admiration and gratitude!

Below are six free certificate of excellence templates you can edit to your liking and download, without strings attached.

#1 Certificate of Excellence Format for Business

This certificate of excellence template is suitable for any business purpose, with a clean, professional design:

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#2 Certificate of Academic Excellence Award Template

Award the outstanding academic achievements with a tasteful certificate:

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#3 Certificate of Excellence for Students 

Use this certificate template to recognize excellence in students:

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#4 Certificate of Excellence Award Template

A default template that’s good to have at hand, for any purpose:

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#5 Certificate of Excellence Template — the Universal Model

Smart design and plenty of room for adjustments, fitting for any occasion:

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#6 Certificate of Excellence Template — for Outstanding Performance

If you want to applaud someone for hard work and great results, look no further — this template is what you need:

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There are 100+ more free downloadable certificate templates — browse and pick the ones you like the best!

Pro tip: there’s a free trial you can use to personalize certificates with recipients’ photos, add custom fields, and do a lot more! 

What should every certificate of excellence contain?

These are the necessary elements each certificate of excellence should contain:

• Issuer’s logo — Choose top, bottom, or corners;
• Issuer’s branding elements — Unobtrusive placement, subtle and semi-transparent design elements, and colors that go well together;
• Certificate title — “Certificate of Excellence”, or other non-standard wording that suits your certificate the best;
• Official statement — Briefly explaining the reason for awarding the certificate of excellence;
• Recipient’s full name — Placed prominently, in the middle, below the (optional) recipient’s photo;
• Date of issuing — Add an expiration date too, if applicable;
• Issuing location/ educator — Facility/ person that issues the certificate, their city, and country;
• Full names of the involved parties — Recipients, educators, and responsible parties, along with designated spots for their signatures;
• Certificate validation elements — Certificate ID, QR code, or verification links, to prove the certificate is legitimate.

Optionally, you can add the recipient’s photo and extra details.

It’s easier with digital certificates.

On top of a free template library, you can explore our digital certificate solutions and turn the certificate recipients into your authentic advocates online. 

Virtualbadge.io provides several forgery-proof tools for online credentials:

• Free Digital Certificate Maker — Go paperless! Our digital certificate maker lets you create, distribute, and manage certificates with ease, without even having to download the certificates.
• LinkedIn Certificates — An outstanding perk you can offer to certificate recipients. Showcasing verifiable skill levels on LinkedIn helps them stand out to employers, while you establish yourself as a trustworthy industry leader.
• Open Badge Creator — The professional standard for digital badges, recognizable all over the world.