How to Bulk Generate Certificates from a CSV or Excel File

Answer capsule: To bulk generate certificates from a CSV, open your certificate design in CertFusion, go to Recipients, and choose Add Recipients → Import Recipients from CSV. Upload a spreadsheet with a name column and an email column, map those two columns, then click Import Recipients. Select all recipients and hit Issue Certificates to generate every certificate at once.

Adding recipients one at a time is fine for five certificates. It is not fine for forty, and it is definitely not fine every month.

If you already keep your attendees in a spreadsheet — and almost everyone does — you can skip the manual entry entirely. CertFusion reads a CSV, maps your columns to certificate fields, and issues the whole batch in a single click. This guide walks through the full flow, exactly as shown in the video.

Prerequisites

• A CertFusion account with at least one certificate design.
• A spreadsheet of recipients with (at minimum) a name column and an email column.
• Enough remaining certificate quota to cover the batch.

Step 1 — Prepare your CSV or Excel file

Your recipient list can come from anywhere: Excel, Google Sheets, Numbers, or an export from your LMS. The only real requirement is two columns — one for the recipient's name, one for their email address.

Two columns is all you need: name and email.

When you're ready, export or save the file as .csv.

No email addresses? You can still import. Put a placeholder like dummy@example.com in the email column, then choose not to email the certificates when you issue them. You'll distribute the links yourself.

Step 2 — Open the design's recipient list

In CertFusion, go to Certificate Templates, find the design you want to issue, and click the recipients icon on its card.

Each design has its own recipient list. Click the people icon to open it.

If this design hasn't been used yet, you'll see an empty state. Click Add Recipients.

Step 3 — Choose Import Recipients from CSV

CertFusion offers three ways to add recipients: manually, from a CSV, or by connecting an integration (Zoom, Google Meet, Typeform, Tally, and others).

Pick Import CSV.

Manual entry is fine for a handful. CSV is the one that scales.

Step 4 — Upload the file

Click Choose file, pick your CSV, then click Upload & Preview.

Nothing is imported yet — this just lets CertFusion read the file so you can check the mapping before committing.

Step 5 — Map your columns

CertFusion shows a preview of your rows and asks what each column contains. Open the Column 1 dropdown and select Recipient Name.

Name and email are required. Any custom fields on your design appear here too.

Then set Column 2 to Email Address.

If your certificate design uses custom fields — a course name, a CPD points value, a completion date — they show up in the same dropdown. Add a column for each one in your spreadsheet and map it here to personalize every certificate in the batch.

Step 6 — Import the recipients

Once both required mappings are set, click Import Recipients.

All 40 rows land in the recipient list at once, each marked Pending.

"Showing 1 to 10 of 40 results" — the whole spreadsheet imported in one pass.

Pending means the recipient exists but no certificate has been generated for them yet.

Step 7 — Select everyone and issue

Tick the checkbox in the table header. That selects the visible page — so click Select all to extend the selection to all 40 recipients across every page.

Watch this one: the header checkbox only grabs the current page. "Select all" grabs the batch.

Now click Issue Certificates.

Step 8 — Decide whether CertFusion emails them

CertFusion asks whether you want it to email each certificate out.

• Yes — CertFusion emails each recipient a link to their certificate.
• No — CertFusion generates the certificates but doesn't send anything. You distribute the links yourself.

Pick one and click Confirm. Generation runs in the background; give it a moment and refresh.

Step 9 — Confirm they're issued

Every recipient flips from Pending to Issued.

From here the list also tracks Views and Downloads per recipient, so you can see who has actually collected their certificate.

Step 10 — Check a certificate

Open the ⋯ menu on any recipient and choose View Certificate Page. This is what your recipient sees.

Every certificate carries a unique credential ID that anyone can verify.

They get a verified credential ID, a download button, a share link, and a one-click Add to LinkedIn Profile button — which, incidentally, is free marketing for your programme.

FAQ

Can I import an Excel file (.xlsx) directly? Export or save it as .csv first. Excel, Google Sheets, and Numbers all do this from File → Export / Save As. The data itself doesn't need to change.

Is there a limit on how many recipients I can import at once? The import handles large lists in a single pass. The practical limit is your plan's monthly certificate quota, since issuing (not importing) is what consumes it. Check your quota in the top bar before a big batch.

What if my recipients don't have email addresses? Use a placeholder such as dummy@example.com in the email column, and choose No when CertFusion asks whether to email the certificates. You'll then share the certificate links or PDFs yourself.

Can I personalize each certificate beyond the name? Yes. Add custom fields to your certificate design — course title, grade, CPD points, completion date — then add a matching column to your CSV and map it during import. Each certificate is generated with that recipient's values.

Do I have to re-upload the CSV to issue certificates? No. Importing and issuing are separate steps. Recipients sit as Pending until you select them and click Issue Certificates, so you can import in advance and issue when the cohort actually finishes.

Prefer to watch?

The whole flow, start to finish, in under two minutes.

https://youtu.be/J5TeseMWGZ8