A certificate is provided in the following situations:

A course completion certificate is issued when you finish a training course. Some e-learning courses include a final course exam as part of the course itself, but this is different from a certification exam: a course exam is not proctored and does not require identity verification.

For certifications, a certificate is issued when a candidate passes the required certification exam. Certification exams are proctored and require identity verification (for example, presenting a government-issued ID), and are designed to let you demonstrate that you have the skills, knowledge, and abilities that a minimally qualified job candidate in that role would have. Unlike training courses, achieved certifications also have a set expiration date, which is usually 2 years from the date that a candidate passes a required exam to achieve the certification. In order to keep the certification current, a candidate can choose to renew the certification (see How to Renew Certifications).

For training courses, the certificate includes:

For certifications, the certificate includes:

Note: Certification records have a set expiration date, but candidates can choose to renew their certification before the expiration date. Because certifications can be renewed, no expiration date is printed on certificates. Instead, the online verification tool at https://training.linuxfoundation.org/certification/verify/ can be used to verify the status of a certification record. See Certification Verification for questions related to the verification tool.

Certificates can generally be found in the Certificates of Completion tab of the training portal.

Alternatively, click the click the caret in the top right corner of the training portal to open the User menu and go to Transcripts.

No, paper certificates are not provided. You can download the PDF of your certificate from the Certificates tab of the training portal and print it for your own records.

Certificates and badges are not available for microcourse content.

No. Some courses include a final exam as part of the course content. This course final exam is not the same as a certification exam:

Passing a course final exam does not result in a certification. Certification requires passing a separate, proctored certification exam with identity verification.

No. A certificate for a certification can only display the exact name listed on the ID that the candidate presented to the proctor for identification purposes.

Full ID requirements for certification exams are outlined in the "Candidate Identification and Authentication" section of the Candidate Handbook.

A certificate can only list the name that the proctor verified at the time you took the exam (that is, the name that was confirmed to match your ID). The name cannot be changed after the fact.

If you have an upcoming exam and want to make sure the correct name is used:

Completing this step is required for all candidates before launching an exam reservation.

Be sure to also review the "Candidate Identification and Authentication" section of the Candidate Handbook to understand the ID requirements in full. Failing to meet these requirements may mean the proctor cannot allow you to test, and you may forfeit the exam attempt.

Expired certificates may no longer be available in the Certificates tab of the training portal. You can try the following instead:

Yes, this is expected. When you renew a certification, the system renews your original certification record and extends the expiration date - it does not create a new record. Because the original record is simply renewed, the certificate is designed to continue listing your original date of completion for the certification.

To show that you have kept your certification current since that original date, you can direct others to:

When the verification tool returns a "Current" status for a certification, it means the candidate has remained certified since the achievement date listed.

Yes. The Linux Foundation provides a Certification Verification Tool that allows individuals with active certifications to demonstrate their certified status to potential employers or clients.

To submit a query, a user must enter:

The last name must be entered exactly as it appears on the certificate, including any special characters.

A successful query returns:

The verification tool is designed to verify certifications only. It does not verify certificates issued for completion of a training course.

To achieve a certification, you must pass the associated certification exam. These exams are proctored and require candidates to verify their legal identity. Learn more about the Linux Foundation's certifications in the certification catalog.

No. The Linux Foundation does not provide verification of training completion to third parties, and does not verify an individual's qualifications after completing a course.

What we do provide is a certificate of course completion to students who complete a course delivered directly by the Linux Foundation. This certificate is not tied to any qualification check — a student only needs to attend and/or mark the course as complete to receive it.

While we don't send these certificates to third parties on your behalf, you can present your own certificate of course completion to your employer.

When you complete a training course or achieve a certification, your completion data is sent to Credly. Credly then sends you an invitation to claim your digital badge.

Credly is the third-party platform used to issue and manage digital badges for course completions and certifications.

Yes. Once you claim your badge through Credly, you can share it (for example, on LinkedIn or other platforms) as verifiable proof of your achievement.

No. The Linux Foundation does not have access to, or the ability to provide support for, Credly accounts.

For questions about your Credly account or how to update your account information, contact Credly directly at support.credly.com.

Within 2 days of an exam being graded as a Pass, an invite to accept a digital badge from our partner, Credly, will be emailed to the test-taker.

Please note that if you renewed a certification, you will not receive an invitation for a new badge. Instead, your existing badge will be updated to reflect the new expiration of your renewed certification.

The Kubestronaut program, including badge issuance, is managed by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF). The CNCF team will contact you within seven business days of passing your final qualifying exam.

If you haven't received an update after seven business days, contact [email protected].

For more information, see:

The Kubestronaut title is valid until the end of the year in which the first of the five required certifications expires. Every October, CNCF sends an expiration reminder to all Kubestronauts whose status expired earlier in the year, as well as to those whose status will expire before the end of the year.

If you have additional questions about the CNCF Kubestronaut initiative, contact [email protected].

For more information, see: