How Authors Get Their Own Certificates

The author portal lets recipients download their own certificates whenever they need them, without writing to your editorial team.

It lives at yoursite.com/my-certificates/ on your journal’s own website.

How it works for authors

1. The author opens the author portal page.
2. They enter the email address their certificate was issued to.
3. A one-time code is sent to that address. They enter it on the page.
4. They see the certificates issued to that email and download the PDFs they need.

There’s no account to create and no password to remember. Sessions are temporary, so access ends on its own.

Text you can send to authors

Copy this into your acceptance or publication emails, with your own website address in place of yoursite.com:

“You can download your certificate any time at yoursite.com/my-certificates/. Enter the email address this message was sent to, then the one-time code we email you.”

Most “I can’t find my certificate” questions come from signing in with a different email address. Tell authors which address their certificate was issued to.

If the code doesn’t arrive

1. Ask the author to wait a few minutes and check their spam or junk folder.
2. Check they used the exact email the certificate was issued to. Search for them in Certificates to confirm.
3. If codes don’t arrive for anyone, your website’s email needs attention: see email and SMTP setup.

Questions

Do authors need an account?

No. They sign in with their email and a one-time code.

Can an author see someone else’s certificates?

No. They only see certificates issued to the email address they verified with the code.

The author changed their email address. What now?

They need the address the certificate was issued to. If they no longer have it, download the PDF from the admin panel and send it to them.