---
title: "Approval Certificates"
description: "Hand anyone a tamper-evident record of an approval: a downloadable certificate for a completed request, with a public verification link a third party can check without an account."
category: "Tracking & reporting"
updated: 2026-08-27
canonical: https://approvethis.com/docs/manuals/approval-certificates
---

# Approval Certificates

An approved request often needs to be shown to someone outside the workspace — an auditor, a vendor, a finance contact who never logs in. ApproveThis turns a completed approval into a downloadable PDF certificate that carries a public verification link, so the recipient can check it is genuine without an account. This guide is for Requesters working from a request that has already been approved, and covers downloading the certificate and confirming the verification page. Approval Certificates are available on all tiers.

**Who this is for:** a Requester.

> **Prerequisite:** Sign in as a Requester.

> **Getting here:** Open your approved request — from My Requests, the approval email, or search. The green approved bar at the top is where the certificate lives.


## Download the approval certificate

A completed approval lives inside ApproveThis until you export it; the certificate is the copy you can attach to an email or hand across a desk. Downloads are recorded in the request's Activity Log, so you can see afterwards that a certificate was issued.

1. Sign in as the Requester who owns the approved request.
2. On the green approved bar, click **Download Certificate** to generate the PDF copy of the approval.

   ![On the green approved bar, click Download Certificate to generate the PDF copy of the approval.](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/approval-certificates/screenshots/approval-certificates-s1-01.png)

3. Click **Activity Log** to open the request's history, where the download you just made is recorded.

   ![Click Activity Log to open the request's history, where the download you just made is recorded.](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/approval-certificates/screenshots/approval-certificates-s1-02.png)


> **Success cue:** The Activity Log entry **Downloaded approval certificate** marks the download.

## Confirm the certificate verifies as genuine

Anyone holding the PDF needs a way to tell a real certificate from a doctored one. The verification link — printed at the foot of the certificate as both a QR code and a URL — opens a public page confirming the approval, and no sign-in is required to view it.

1. Open the verification link from the certificate: scan the QR code or type the URL printed at the foot of the page (the example uses the address captured in `@artifact:verify_url`).

   ![Open the verification link from the certificate: scan the QR code or type the URL printed at the foot of the page (the example uses the address captured in…](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/approval-certificates/screenshots/approval-certificates-s2-01.png)


> **Success cue:** The page reads **Certificate Verified**, confirming the approval is genuine; that visit is recorded in the Activity Log as well.