How to Issue a Certificate for a HubLMS Course Without a Final Exam

Method 1: The Simple Dummy Exam

This method utilizes a simple, one-question "exam" to trigger the system's standard certificate-generation process. It's the quickest way to issue a certificate for an exam-less course.

Standard Operating Procedure:

1. Navigate to the Course: Open the course for which you want to issue a certificate.
2. Enable the Final Exam: In the course editing interface, locate and enable the "Final Exam" feature.
3. Create a Single Question:
   • Set up a single multiple-choice question.
   • The question should be simple and direct, for example: "Would you like to receive your certificate?"
4. Set Up "Correct" Answers:
   • Create at least one answer choice, such as "Yes".
   • Crucially, mark this answer as the correct one.
   • For user-friendliness, you can add a "No" option but ensure at least one, if not all, options are marked as correct. This guarantees the user "passes."
5. Apply Changes: Save the exam settings.

Result: When a user completes the course content, they will proceed to this "final exam." By selecting the correct answer, they will technically pass the exam, which will trigger the system to automatically issue and deliver their course certificate.

Method 2: The Automated Workflow

This method provides a more robust and automated solution using a workflow. It is ideal for when you need to set specific properties, like expiration dates, and create a detailed record of the certification on the contact's timeline. This method requires access to workflow creation and potentially HubSpot Operations Hub Pro for date formatting.

Part 1: Preparation & Information Gathering

Before building the workflow, you need to identify key pieces of information.

Prerequisites:

• Percent Completed Property: Your system should have a calculated property that measures course completion (e.g., (Completed Lessons / Total Lessons) * 100).
• Certificate Page URL: You need the URL for the dynamic certificate page.
  1. Navigate to Content > Website Pages.
  2. Search for your certificate page (e.g., "Certificate Dynamic").
  3. Click View to open the page in a new tab.
  4. Copy the entire URL from your browser's address bar. It will look something like https://your-domain.com/certificate. Keep this URL on your clipboard.

Part 2: Building the Workflow

1. Create a New Workflow:

   • Navigate to Workflows and click Create workflow > From scratch.
   • Select MyCourse-based as the object type.
   • For the initial setup, choose a Manual trigger only.

2. Configure Workflow Actions: Add the following actions in order:

   • Action 1: Set Status to Certification

     • Type: Edit record
     • Record Type: MyCourse
     • Property to update: Status
     • New Value: Certification
     • This step is critical for the certificate to render correctly.

   • Action 2: Set the Completion End Date

     • Type: Edit record
     • Record Type: MyCourse
     • Property to update: End Date
     • New Value: Date of action
     • This captures the moment the user officially completed the course.

   • Action 3: Set the Dynamic Certificate URL

     • Type: Edit record
     • Record Type: MyCourse
     • Property to update: Course URL
     • New Value: Paste the certificate URL you copied earlier, add a forward slash (/) at the end, and then add the Record ID token.
     • Example: https://your-domain.com/certificate/[Record ID]

   • Action 4: Format and Set the Expiration Date (Requires Operations Hub Pro/Enterprise)

     • Type: Format data
     • Property to format: End Date
     • Format: Add an amount of time
     • Amount/Unit: 1 Year
     • Output Type: Date
     • Click Save and continue.
     • Save formatted data to: MyCourse property Certificate Expiration Date.
     • Choose action output: Select the Date value from the previous Format data action.

   • Action 5: Create a CRM Note (Recommended)

     • Type: Create a note
     • Content: Create a message for the contact's timeline. Include the dynamic certificate URL you constructed in Action 3.
     • Example Text: "User has earned a certificate. View it here: [Paste Dynamic Certificate URL with Record ID token]"
     • Optionally, check the box to Pin the note to the top of the record.

Part 3: Setting Up Enrollment Triggers

Once the actions are configured, define the criteria for who should be enrolled in this workflow.

1. Edit Enrollment Triggers: Click the enrollment trigger setup at the top of the workflow.
2. Define Filter Criteria:
   • Trigger when: One of five. Filter criteria is met.
   • Criteria 1: MyCourse Property > Percent Completed > is equal to > 100
   • AND
   • Criteria 2: MyCourse Property > Status > is any of > Completed
   • AND (Optional, for specific courses)
   • Criteria 3: MyCourse Information > Associated Course Name > is equal to > [Enter the exact name of your course]
3. Save the enrollment criteria.

Part 4: Review and Publish

1. Name Your Workflow: Give it a clear, descriptive name (e.g., "Certificate Automation: [Your Course Name]").
2. Review and Publish: Click the Review and publish button.
3. Enroll Existing Contacts: The system will ask if you want to enroll existing MyCourses that currently meet the trigger criteria.
   • Select Yes to retroactively issue certificates to users who have already completed the course.
   • Select No to only enroll users who complete the course from this point forward.
4. Turn On: Confirm the settings and activate the workflow.

Result: Once activated, any user who meets the specified completion criteria for the course will be automatically enrolled, the relevant properties will be updated, and a dynamic link to their personalized certificate will be generated and stored.