You have a list of 40 or 400 names in Excel, and each person needs a certificate with their name, the course, and the date. Typing each name into a template takes an afternoon and adds typos. A mail merge does it in a few minutes: one template, one row per person, one certificate per row.
This guide shows three ways to make certificates from an Excel list, and a fourth way that sends each certificate automatically when a person finishes.
Prepare the list
All the ways below read the same kind of file:
- The first row has the column names, such as
name,course,date, andnumber. - Each other row is one person.
- One column for each value that changes on the certificate. The text that is the same for everybody stays in the template.
From Google Sheets, use File > Download and choose Microsoft Excel (.xlsx) or Comma-separated values (.csv).
Type the dates as text, as you want them printed, for example 14 October 2026. Excel stores a date as a number, and a mail merge can print it in another format.
Method 1: Word mail merge (free)
Word can merge an Excel list into a certificate layout. You get one page per person, ready to print or to save as a PDF.
- Make the certificate in Word: set Layout > Orientation > Landscape, then add the border, the logo, and the text.
- Select Mailings > Start Mail Merge > Letters.
- Select Mailings > Select Recipients > Use an Existing List, open your Excel file, and choose the sheet. Keep First row of data contains column headers selected.
- Put the cursor where the name goes, and select Insert Merge Field > name. Do the same for the course and the date.
- Select Preview Results to see the certificate of each person, and fix long names that do not fit.
- Select Finish & Merge > Edit Individual Documents > All. Word makes a new document with one certificate per page. Print it, or save it as a PDF.
Good for: a printed batch, when you already have Word. Limits: the result is one long document, not one file per person. To email each person their own certificate, you split the PDF or merge again per person. Designs with photos or many fonts are hard to keep in place in Word.
Method 2: Canva Bulk Create
Canva has many certificate designs, and Bulk Create fills one design from a CSV or XLSX file. Connect the data, connect each text element to a column, and Canva makes one design for each row. You download them as you do with any design.
Bulk Create is a paid feature, and a file upload takes up to 300 rows. Our guide to Canva Bulk Create shows each step and the fixes for the common problems.
Good for: a designed certificate for one event. Limits: a paid Canva plan, 300 rows per upload, and you run it by hand each time.
Method 3: a bulk certificate generator
Bannerify makes one image for each row of a spreadsheet, and gives each image its own link. That is the part a mail merge needs: you send each person a link to their certificate.
- Copy a certificate template from the gallery, or make your own in the editor. Name the layers that change:
name,course,date. - Open Bulk under Generate, choose the template, and upload your CSV or XLSX file.
- Check the Field Mapping. Bannerify matches the columns to the layers by name, and you can change a match.
- Click Run Sequentially. Each row gets a hosted PNG and its link.
- Click Export XLSX. Your list comes back with a new column,
bannerify_image_url, with the link of each certificate.
Now each row has the email and the certificate link of one person. Use the new file in a Gmail or Outlook mail merge, or in your email tool, to send each person their own certificate. A QR code layer takes its value from a column too, so each certificate can link to a page that confirms it. Bulk generation has the details.
Good for: one file per person, links you can send, and the same template for every batch. Each certificate counts as one generation, and the free plan includes 100 a month.
Method 4: automatic certificates
When people finish at different times, a batch is not the right tool. Make each certificate when the person finishes: your course platform or form tool sends a webhook, and the PDF generation API returns the certificate as a PDF for the email.
Without code, Zapier or n8n do the same: a new row in your sheet, a new form answer, or a finished course starts the flow, Bannerify makes the certificate, and the next step emails it. Our certificate of completion guide has the code and the wording to put on it.
Which way to choose
| You need | Use |
|---|---|
| A printed batch, free | Word mail merge |
| A Canva design, under 300 people | Canva Bulk Create |
| One file and one link per person | Bannerify Bulk page |
| A certificate as soon as each person finishes | The API, Zapier, or n8n |
Common problems
The date prints as 10/14/2026. Excel stores dates as numbers. Type the dates as text in the sheet, or format the column as Text before you type them.
A long name does not fit. Make the name box wide enough for your longest name, and preview the longest one before you print. In Bannerify, a text layer can shrink its text to fit the box.
The merge reads the wrong sheet. Word and the Bulk page read one sheet. Put the list on the first sheet of the file, with the column names in the first row.
Try it
To make one certificate now, use the free certificate generator: type the name and download the PNG, with no account and no watermark. For a whole list, copy the template into Bannerify and upload your sheet. See pricing for more than 100 a month.
