Certificate of Authenticity certificate templates and badges
3 free designs. A set is one design as a badge, a landscape or a portrait certificate, or all three.
Free for up to 20 recipients a year
A certificate of authenticity template gives artists, galleries, print studios and dealers a clear record to hand over with an original work. It goes to the buyer when a painting, drawing, photograph, sculpture or limited edition print is sold, and it stays with the work for life: the owner shows it when they insure, lend, appraise or resell the piece.
A good certificate names the work and the artist, records the medium, the size, the year, where the work is signed and, for prints, the edition number. It says who examined the work and carries a register number and the signature of the artist or the issuer, so a later buyer can trace the work back to its source.
The designs come as certificates, in A4 and US Letter, and as digital badges. Each issued certificate has its own verification page, so an owner can prove the record is genuine without sending the paper.
Wording
What to write on a certificate of authenticity certificate
Use these lines as they are, or as a start for your own. Every template comes with wording you can change in the studio.
Wording for an original artwork certificate of authenticity
- “This certifies that the work described here is an original by the artist, signed by hand and entered in our register.”
- “I confirm that I created this work and that it is the only one of its kind.”
- “Examined in person by our registrar and recorded with the details below.”
Wording for a limited edition print
- “This print is number 12 of an edition of 50, printed by hand under the artist's supervision.”
- “The plate was cancelled after the edition was printed; no further impressions will be made.”
- “Signed and numbered in pencil by the artist in the lower margin.”
Short lines for the badge or the listing
- “Authenticated original, recorded in the artist's register.”
- “Verified by the issuing gallery.”
Why send it with Hyperstack
More than a PDF
Customize the template free. When it is ready, send it to everyone at once.
One design, every name
Upload a spreadsheet and Hyperstack makes a certificate of authenticity for each person on it, in one go.
Sent by email
Each recipient gets their own email and link. You see who opened it, downloaded it and shared it.
Anyone can verify it
The QR code opens a page that proves the certificate is real. Recipients add it to LinkedIn in one click.
FAQ
Questions, answered
The artist's name, the title of the work, the year, the medium, the dimensions and, for prints or casts, the edition number. Add a short statement that the work is genuine, who issued the certificate, a unique register number, the date and a signature. Many issuers also attach a photograph of the work.
The artist is the best source while they are alive. A gallery that represents the artist, the print studio or publisher of an edition, the artist's estate or foundation, or a recognised expert on the artist can also issue one. The certificate is only as trusted as the person or business behind it.
Ideally the artist signs it. When a gallery or publisher issues it, a director or registrar signs for the business, and many certificates carry both signatures so the buyer has the maker's word and the seller's record.
Yes. Each impression gets its own certificate with its own number, for example 12/50, so the record matches the number pencilled on the print. Keep a register of which owner holds which number.
Paper certificates are easy to copy, so the register number matters. With a digital certificate, the buyer scans the QR code or opens the link and sees the record on the issuer's own verification page.
It is strong evidence, not final proof. Its value comes from the issuer's reputation and from the rest of the provenance, such as invoices, exhibition records and earlier owners. Keep the certificate with those papers.
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