> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.skillsdb.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Certifications
> Learn how to build and manage your certifications library in SkillsDB — create certifications, configure types, assign to employees, review submissions, and track expiration.
**Quick Summary:** The Certifications Library is where administrators define, organize, and manage your organization's certification catalog. From here you can create certification records, assign them to employees, review submission proof, and track completion and expiration status across the whole organization.
# Overview
The Certifications Library is the administrative hub for all certifications in SkillsDB. Administrators build the library by creating certification records — defining the name, issuing authority, type, and other metadata for each certification the organization tracks. Once a certification exists in the library, administrators and managers can assign it to employees, who then submit their proof of completion. That proof flows into an approval workflow where a manager or administrator reviews and approves or rejects the submission.
SkillsDB handles the full certification lifecycle from the library: assignment, submission, approval, expiration tracking, and renewal. Every approved submission is stored with a full history, so administrators have an auditable record of who holds which certifications, when they were earned, and when they expire.
Administrators have full access to the library — they can create, edit, and delete certification records and manage certification types. Managers can assign certifications to their direct reports and approve their team's submissions, but cannot create or modify certification definitions. Employees interact with certifications from their own profile and cannot access the library.
***
## Prerequisites
Before using the Certifications Library, you need:
* **Permission level**: Administrator role
* **Access**: Navigate to **Library > Certifications**
**Note:** The Certifications Library is only visible in the sidebar for administrators. Employees see their personal certifications at **Profile > Certifications**, and managers see their team's certifications at **Team > Certifications**.
***
# Managing Certification Types
Certification types are the categories used to organize your certification catalog — for example, `Compliance`, `Technical`, `Safety`, `Leadership`, or `Vendor`. Defining types before building the library makes it easier to filter and report on certifications later.
To manage certification types:
1. Navigate to **Library > Certifications**
2. Select **Manage Types** in the top navigation bar
3. The **Manage Types** drawer opens, showing all existing types in order
From the drawer you can:
* **Add a type** — enter a name and select **Save**
* **Edit a type** — select the edit icon next to any type and update the name
* **Delete a type** — select the delete icon; any certifications using that type will have their type field cleared
* **Reorder types** — drag types into the preferred display order using the drag handle
Types appear in the **Type** dropdown when creating or editing a certification, and as a filter in the certifications table.
***
## Building the Certifications Library
#### Creating a certification
To add a new certification to the library:
1. Navigate to **Library > Certifications**
2. Select **+ Certification** in the top navigation bar
3. In the **Add New Certification** modal, complete the following fields:
| Field | Required | Notes |
| ---------------------- | -------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Name** | Yes | Up to 100 characters. This is the name employees see when the certification is assigned to them. |
| **Description** | No | Explain what the certification covers, why it matters, or any prerequisites. |
| **Certification Type** | No | Select from the types you have configured. Used for filtering and reporting. |
| **Issued By** | No | The name of the issuing authority or organization (for example, `AWS`, `PMI`, `OSHA`). |
| **URL** | No | A link to the issuing authority's website. Must begin with `http://`, `https://`, or a valid domain — SkillsDB prepends `https://` automatically if no protocol is entered. |
| **Expiration Date** | No | The date the certification expires organization-wide. For certifications where individual expiration dates vary by person, leave this blank and let employees enter their own expiration dates when submitting proof. |
| **File Attachments** | No | Upload supporting documents for the certification definition (for example, an exam guide or study materials). Accepted formats: `.jpg`, `.png`, `.pdf`, `.docx`, `.xlsx`, `.txt`, `.csv`. Maximum 5 files, 10 MB each. |
| **Link Attachments** | No | Add one or more URLs with labels linking to external resources. |
4. Select **Submit** to create the certification
The certification appears immediately in the library table and is ready to be assigned to employees.
#### Editing a certification
1. Navigate to **Library > Certifications**
2. Select the certification row to open the detail page
3. Access the edit option to update any fields in the edit form
4. Select **Submit** to save
Changes to the certification name and metadata are reflected immediately across all assignment records. Editing a certification does not affect the submission status of employees who have already been assigned it.
#### Deleting a certification
1. Navigate to **Library > Certifications**
2. Select the certification row and access the delete option from the detail page or row actions
3. Confirm the deletion in the dialog that appears
**Warning:** Deleting a certification removes it from the library and from all employees it has been assigned to. All submission and approval history for that certification is also removed. This action cannot be undone. Consider whether you simply want to stop assigning the certification rather than deleting it entirely.
***
## Assigning Certifications to Employees
Certifications must be assigned to employees before they can submit proof of completion. Assigning a certification creates an **Assigned** record on the employee's profile and triggers a notification prompting them to submit their details.
#### Assigning from the library
1. Navigate to **Library > Certifications**
2. Locate the certification you want to assign
3. In the **People (#)** column, select the people count to open the assignment panel
4. The assignment panel opens, showing a searchable list of all employees
5. Search for employees by name using the **Search people...** field
6. Select **Assign** next to each person you want to assign the certification to
The employee immediately appears in the certification's detail view with a status of **Assigned**.
#### Assigning from the certification detail page
Selecting a certification's name in the library opens its detail page, which shows a table of all people currently assigned to that certification along with their status.
From the detail page, you can also open the assignment panel to add more people.
#### Unassigning a certification
To remove an assignment before a submission has been made:
1. Open the assignment panel for the certification
2. Select **Unassign** next to the person's name
If the employee has already submitted proof of completion, the submission and its approval history remain attached to their record even if the active assignment is removed.
**Note:** Managers can assign certifications to their direct reports from **Team > Certifications**. Managers cannot assign certifications to employees outside their direct reporting structure.
***
## Reviewing and Approving Submissions
When an employee submits their certification details and proof, the status moves to **Awaiting Approval** and the reviewing manager or administrator receives a notification in their inbox. Approving or rejecting the submission is the final step in the assignment workflow.
#### Reviewing a pending submission
1. Open your **Inbox** from the left sidebar — pending certification approvals are listed there
2. Select the certification submission you want to review
3. The review dialog opens, showing:
* The employee's name and the certification details
* **Certification ID** — the serial number or identifier the employee entered
* **Date Granted** — when the employee earned the certification
* **Expiration Date** — when the certification expires for this employee
* **Attachments** — uploaded proof documents (click to download or preview)
4. Review the submitted information and supporting documents
5. Select **Approve** to mark the certification as approved, or **Reject** to send it back to the employee
**Tip:** Admins can also review and approve submissions directly from the certification detail page (**Library > Certifications > \[Certification Name]**), which shows all pending submissions for that certification in one place.
#### What happens after approval or rejection
**If approved:**
* The certification status changes to **Approved** on the employee's profile
* The approval is recorded with the approver's name and timestamp
* If the certification has an expiration date, it will automatically become **Expired** on that date
**If rejected:**
* The certification status changes to **Denied**
* The employee is notified and prompted to resubmit with corrected information
* The employee can review the rejection and submit updated details
***
## Understanding Certification Statuses
Every certification assignment has a status that reflects where it is in the lifecycle. The following statuses appear in the certification detail page and in manager and employee views:
| Status | Meaning | Next action |
| --------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Assigned** | Certification has been assigned; employee has not yet submitted details | Employee selects **Submit Details** from their profile |
| **Awaiting Approval** | Employee submitted proof; pending review by manager or admin | Manager or admin selects **Approve** or **Reject** |
| **Approved** | Submission reviewed and confirmed | No action needed; certification is active |
| **Denied** | Submission reviewed and rejected | Employee resubmits with corrected information |
| **Expired** | The expiration date on the approved submission has passed | Employee submits renewal; manager or admin approves |
**Note:** A certification with status **Expiring Soon** appears when the approved submission's expiration date is within 30 days. This status is displayed as a yellow badge in the expiration date column and serves as an early warning to prompt renewal.
***
## Tracking Expiration and Managing Renewals
#### Expiration tracking
SkillsDB automatically calculates expiration status based on the expiration date on each employee's approved submission:
* If today's date is **before** the expiration date by more than 30 days: certification is active with no warning
* If today's date is **within 30 days** of the expiration date: status displays as **Expiring Soon** (yellow)
* If today's date is **on or after** the expiration date: status displays as **Expired** (red)
No manual action is needed to trigger expiration — the status updates automatically each day based on the current date.
#### Renewal workflow
When an employee's certification expires, they can initiate a renewal from their profile page. The renewal creates a new submission record (a new grade) linked to the same certification — the employee provides updated credentials, a new expiration date, and new proof documents.
The renewal submission follows the same approval workflow as the original submission: the employee submits, the manager or administrator reviews, and either approves or rejects. When approved, the new submission becomes the active record. All previous submissions are preserved in the certification history, giving a complete audit trail of every renewal cycle.
**Tip:** Use the **Expiring Soon** filter in **Team > Certifications** to get ahead of renewals. Proactively contacting employees about upcoming expirations reduces the gap between expiration and a completed renewal.
***
## Navigating the Certifications Library
To access the Certifications Library, select **Library > Certifications** from the left sidebar.
#### Group By
The library supports three grouping modes via the toggle at the top of the page:
| Mode | Behavior |
| ---------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Alphabetical** | Default. Certifications grouped into collapsible sections by first character. |
| **Label** | Certifications grouped by the labels applied to them. |
| **None** | A flat list with no grouping. |
#### Library table columns
| Column | Description |
| --------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Name** | The certification name. Select a row to open the detail page. |
| **Description** | The certification's description text. |
| **Labels** | Any labels (tags) applied to the certification for grouping. |
| **Issued By** | The issuing authority. |
| **People (#)** | The number of people assigned to this certification. |
| **Actions** | Row-level action icons for managing the certification. |
#### Filtering
Select **Filter** in the toolbar to open the filter menu. Available filters: Name, Description, Labels, Issued By, Type, People (#).
#### Importing and exporting certification data
Select **Import/Export** in the top navigation bar to access import and export options.
To export the library to Excel:
1. Navigate to **Library > Certifications**
2. Select **Import/Export** in the top navigation bar
3. Select **Export**
4. An `.xlsx` file downloads containing the visible data
***
# Common Questions
No. Employees cannot add certifications to their own profile independently. A certification must first be assigned to an employee by an administrator or manager before the employee can submit their proof of completion. This ensures that only organization-approved certifications are tracked in SkillsDB.
Yes. Open the assignment panel for a certification and use the **Search people...** field to find employees one by one, selecting **Assign** for each. There is no single "select all and assign" button for batch assignment, so each employee is assigned individually from the same panel without needing to close and reopen it.
Deleting a certification type removes the type from the **Manage Types** list and clears the Type field on any certifications that were using it. The certifications themselves are not deleted — only their type association is removed. You can reassign a new type to those certifications at any time by editing each one.
Yes. The expiration date on the certification library record is optional and applies to the certification definition itself. Each employee enters their own personal expiration date when submitting their proof of completion. This means the same certification can have different expiration dates across different employees, reflecting when each individual's credential actually expires.
Employees can upload up to five files per submission. Accepted formats are `.jpg`, `.png`, `.pdf`, `.docx`, `.xlsx`, `.txt`, and `.csv`. Each file can be up to 10 MB. Employees can also include a certification ID number (such as a serial number or badge ID) and the date the certification was first granted.
Yes. Certifications can be attached to job roles (Careers) in SkillsDB, so that employees assigned to a role can see which certifications are expected for it. This is configured from the career management side. See Library > Careers for details.
Yes. Each certification assignment maintains a full history of every submission, approval, rejection, and renewal. To view the history, open the certification detail page (**Library > Certifications > \[Certification Name]**) and select the employee's row. The individual record shows all grade history including dates, approval decisions, and attachments for every submission cycle.
Yes. Surveys in SkillsDB support a **Certification Request** question type that allows employees to confirm and submit certification details as part of a survey response. Responses to this question type flow into the standard certification approval workflow. See Surveys for information on building survey templates.
***
# Related Articles
How employees view their assigned certifications and submit proof of completion
How managers track and approve certification submissions for their team
Org-wide certification visibility for admins and managers
Collect certification data from employees through surveys
Link certifications to job roles and career paths
***
# Need Help?
If you run into any issues or have questions, reach out to your organization's SkillsDB administrator or contact [SkillsDB Support](https://www.skillsdb.com/support).