CERTIFICATE

A certificate is a document by means of which a civil servant, clerk or officer with the relevant power, or any other authorised person, bears witness to a fact, the contents of a document, or details in records, registers, minutes, etc.

Format: DIN A4 (210 x 297 mm).

GENERAL DRAFTING CRITERIA

Certificates, like other administrative documents, follow a generally constant structure and comply with the requirements of functionality and formality that characterise official communications. The two most noteworthy features to be taken into account are:

• The need to be formal and concise, as this is an official communication issued by a person in virtue of his or her particular post or office.
• Use the first person singular (I): I HEREBY CERTIFY, etc.
  
  In many cases, when the certificate is not addressed to any person or organisation in particular, the certificate may be headed: To whom it may concern and end with the formula: And in witness whereof...

USEFUL PHRASES

Certifying formulas (part 3):

- That, according to the documentation held in this department, Mr./Ms. ... 
- That, according to our records ... 
- That Mr./Ms. ... has successfully completed the course in ...

Final formulas (part 4):

- And in witness whereof, I have signed this certificate
- And in witness whereof, at the behest of the interested party, I have signed this certificate
- And in witness whereof and for the purpose of, I have signed this certificate, with the approval of... 
- And in witness whereof, and so that it may have the corresponding effects, I have signed this certificate

1. Issuer's details
This section should include the following details:
- The name and surname(s) of the person issuing the certificate.
- Following the name, the post held by the issuer.

I, Joan Pla i Ribas, Head of the ...

2. Certification
This section, which is the core of the certificate, is introduced by the formula I, ..., HEREBY CERTIFY, in capital letters to make it stand out visually.

What is certified is described after the conjunction that in the form of one or more sentences. 

If more than one fact or circumstance is being certified, it is best to separate them into different paragraphs and number the paragraphs.

3. Certification formula
This is a set final formula, although it may contain certain variations:
And in witness whereof, I have signed this certificate

4. Date
This should comprise:
- The name of the town or city where the certificate is issued.
- The date on which it is issued as follows: the day (in numbers), the month (in letters) and the year (in figures and in full).

5. Signature
This section should contain the following:
- On the left, the signature of the person issuing the certificate (the signatory's name and office have already been given in section 2)

- On the right, if appropriate, the signature of the person giving their approval
  - Indication of approval (e.g. Approved by)
  - Office or post
  - Signature 
  - Name and surname(s)

CERTIFICATE

I, Jaume Balaguer i Amorós, Head of the Academic Management Service of Pompeu Fabra University,   

HEREBY CERTIFY that according to the information held in this Service, Ignasi Deulofeu i Cardona, holder of identity document number 45210020, is officially enrolled for the academic year 1993-94 in the second cycle of the degree course in Economic and Business Sciences (specialising in Business Sciences) in this university.    

And in witness whereof, I have signed this certificate.    

Barcelona, 21 February 1994