Blockcert Certificates

A blockchain certificate can be used to verify your credentials to prospective employers and authorities.

When you own your official records, you no longer have to get original copies from the Certificate Issuer every time you are applying for a new opportunity. You can simply send your digital Certificate via email or text message or paste a link to your Certificate in your résumé or LinkedIn profile for easy verification.

Your Certificate will be sent to you via email from “Skills Pass Certificates” - to be imported into the secure Blockcerts Wallet mobile app installed on your smartphone or tablet, which is designed to receive, store, and share your Certificate. In the email, you will receive an attachment of your certificate file – a coded file intended for secure storage – so you can store them wherever you like.

1. First, download the free Blockcerts Wallet Mobile app. You will receive an email from the “Skills Pass Certificates” - inviting you to download your free Blockcerts Wallet app from your phone’s Play Store or App Store. Once it is installed, it is recommended that you copy your secure passphrase and store it somewhere safe. The passphrase lets you prove that you own your certificates if you ever delete the app or lose your phone.

2. Secondly, add your certificate to the app. When it is time to receive your certificate, you will receive a second email from “Skills Pass Certificates”- with your actual certificate attached. This file is your real blockchain certificate; it is recommended to store it wherever you store your other important data files. You can also click the link in the email to add the certificate to your app, which makes certificate sharing and online display easy.

Your app works just like a private folder. It’s cryptographically secured, so nobody but you can access it. It talks to the organisations that issue you certificates, so they know where to send them. It also lets you keep certificates from many different organisations all in one place on your own devices, so you don’t have to rely on anyone else to store your certificates. It is not tied to any public identity you have (like a social media profile or a school account), so you choose when and how you want to share the information in your app.

What this means, though, is that you are completely responsible for managing your app. It will have a secure passphrase to which only you have access to. Make sure you save your unique passphrase in a secure place, like a password manager. This will let you regenerate your app and prove you own your credentials if you ever delete your app or lose your phone. If you lose your passphrase, it’s like losing the ID that says you are who you say you are; you will need to contact us to re-issue your Certificate to you.

Having your Certificate on the blockchain means that your original record is always in your possession. You control how it is used. You can choose to share your Certificate publicly, like on a social media profile (Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.), or send your Certificate privately by email or text message. Finally, you can include links to your Certificate on your resume, public portfolio, or applications, so that people like potential employers can verify your qualifications with the click of a button.

Once a record is on the blockchain, it is there forever. Your certificate may expire (if it is time-delimited, like a license) or be revoked (if it was issued in error, or as part of disciplinary action), but you will always have it in your possession. If it is expired or revoked, however, it will no longer verify as a valid certificate by third parties.

As long as you have your passphrase, you can import your Certificate to a new app at any time and still prove it belongs to you. Just download the app from the App Store, enter your passphrase, and import your Certificate.

The passphrase is also what allows you to maintain ownership of your Certificate across multiple devices. So, for example, you can enter the passphrase into apps you download on your tablet or another phone, then import the same Certificate to those apps, too.

If you lose your passphrase, however, there is no way to prove ownership of your Certificate. It is like losing the ID that says you are who you say you are; even if you still have your Certificate, you cannot prove it is yours. If this happens, you will need to download the app again, get a new passphrase, and contact us so we can re-issue your Certificate to you.

The Blockcerts Wallet App can only be downloaded and used on a mobile phone or tablet. Downloading the Blockcerts Wallet App is now optional, but it is recommended that you download the App so that you will be able to save your Skills Pass certificate (and other certificates issued by other institutions via Blockcerts) in one place on your mobile phone or tablet.

If it is not possible for you to download the App on a mobile phone or tablet, please wait for the second email sent by “Skills Pass Certificates” – where you will have instructions on how to:
1. Save the credential on your desktop/laptop;
2. View/verify your digital credential on your desktop/laptop; and
3. Save the digital certificate on your laptop/desktop.

If you have more questions about your blockchain certificate app or the issuing process, please contact [email protected]

We are here to help make accepting and using blockchain certificates easy!