How to Add a Certification on LinkedIn

Dave Johnson August 24, 2023

Most LinkedIn recruiters who want candidates with specialized knowledge use certification keywords to spot them. If they find the credentials they’re looking for on your profile, they have greater confidence in your abilities. To distinguish yourself from other jobseekers, you must know how to update your profile with your latest certifications.

If you don’t know how to add certification to your LinkedIn profile, this article will show you how.

Adding a Certification on LinkedIn

While LinkedIn doesn’t make certifications mandatory, it recognizes the value they bring to your career development. You can add as many certificates to your profile as you want and even have other professionals endorse you for specific certifications.

Generally, LinkedIn certifications fall into three categories:

Educational certifications: These relate to formal education achievements, including diplomas, degrees, master’s, and doctorates.
Industry-specific certification: They show your specialization in a specific area.
General certifications: These certificates don’t fall into either of the above categories but show your proficiency in a given area, such as communication or leadership.

These are the steps to add certification to your LinkedIn profile:

Log in to your LinkedIn account and navigate to the top right corner.
Tap “Me” and select “View profile” from the drop-down menu. This opens your profile page.
Scroll down to “Licenses and certifications.” If you’ve not used the section before, it might not appear on your profile. Go to the top of the page beneath your headline and tap the “Add professional section” button.
Tap “Recommended” and select “Licenses and certifications.”
Type your certification name in the “Name field.” Below the name field, enter the issuing organization’s name and select it from the drop-down menu. Only organizations with a LinkedIn page appear on the drop-down menu after typing their name.
If your certificate has no expiry date, check “This credential does not expire” and choose the issuing date. Uncheck the option if your certificate has an expiry date, and enter the issuing and expiry dates.
Enter your certification ID in the “Credential ID” section if it has one.
Finally, copy your certificate’s link from the issuer’s website and paste it into the “Credential URL” box. When you finish, tap “Save,” your certification should be visible on your profile. If your certificate is in PDF format, check how to create a link in the section below.

Creating a Link for PDF Certificates

LinkedIn doesn’t allow you to upload your certificate to prove you earned it. Instead, the license and certifications page has a credential URL section where you can redirect someone to view your certificate. If your certificate is a PDF or you can’t access it from the issuer’s website, create a link before filling in the certification form on LinkedIn.

Here are the steps to follow:

Go to your Google Drive account or signup if you don’t have one.
When you log in, upload your PDF certificate from your device. Navigate to the left sidebar and select “New.”
Choose “File upload” from the drop-down menu. This opens a file explorer, from which you can locate your certificate on your device.
Select your certificate and tap “Open” to move it to your Google Drive.
Right-click the certificate and select “Get link.” A pop-up window opens, from which you can copy your link.
Before copying the link, tap the drop-down menu beside “Restricted” and choose “Anyone with link” to give anyone looking at your profile access to your certificate.
Tap “Copy link” and paste it into the “Credential link” section.

How to Add a LinkedIn Certificate from the Issuer’s Platform

If you earn a certificate from one of LinkedIn’s partners, you can add it to your profile from their page.

Go to your certificate on the issuer’s page and look for the “Share” option. It mostly appears below the certificate but might differ depending on the platform.
Select the “LinkedIn” option to share your certificate with LinkedIn. You’ll get a log-in prompt if logged out of your LinkedIn.
After logging in, you’ll get two options: to share your certificate as a post or to add it to your profile. Choose “Add to my profile.”
The above step automatically opens the “License and certifications” page. Initially, your certification details would auto-populate, but now you enter them manually, as explained above.
Tap “Save” when you finish.

How to Add LinkedIn Certifications to Your Profile

Besides offering a comprehensive platform that connects professionals, LinkedIn also promotes a culture of continuous learning. It provides certification courses to keep professionals updated with industry trends and best practices.

If you earn one of LinkedIn’s certificates, you can add it to your profile as follows:

Log in to your LinkedIn account and tap “Learning” in the top right corner. This takes you to your courses.
Navigate to “Learning history” in the left sidebar to access your completed courses.
Select the certificate you want to add to your LinkedIn profile.
When it opens, select “Add to LinkedIn profile.”
On the new window, tap “Add to profile” to confirm.
Refresh your LinkedIn account and tap “Me” in the top right corner. Choose “View profile.”
Scroll to “Licenses and certifications,” and your LinkedIn certificate details will be on display. If you click “Show credentials,” the link will redirect you to view the certificate.

How to Edit or Delete Your LinkedIn Profile Certification

If you want to update your certification details or delete it, here are the steps to follow:

Open your LinkedIn profile and scroll to the “Licenses and certifications” section.
Tap the “Pencil” icon to the right to enable editing mode for all certificates.
Select the certificate you want to edit and tap the “Pencil” icon.
Edit the sections you want and tap “Save.” Conversely, if you want to delete the certificate, tap “Delete license or certification” in the bottom left corner.

FAQs

Do I have control over ordering how my certificates appear?

LinkedIn doesn’t offer a way to rearrange your certificates as you wish. It automatically orders them, with those without an expiry date appearing at the top. The ones with an expiry date appear below, from the farthest to the nearest expiration date.

What if my certificate is unaffiliated with any organization? Can I add it to my LinkedIn profile?

You can add any certificate to your LinkedIn profile to show your transferable skills. Head to the license and certification section and enter your certification information. Ensure you create a credential URL to direct viewers to your certificate for verification.

What should I do if I can’t find the issuing organization on LinkedIn’s drop-down menu?

If the issuing organization fails to appear on the drop-down menu, it has no LinkedIn page. Go ahead and enter the correct name. Though the empty logo bar makes your certification less attractive, you can’t create an organization’s page without administrative rights. However, you can request the issuing organization to create a LinkedIn page.

Boost Your Profile with Certifications

Don’t underestimate the potential your certificates have on LinkedIn. Whether academic or not, they can help you open new networking opportunities and pave the way for accelerated career growth. So, whenever you earn a certificate from any institution, head to your LinkedIn and add it to your profile using the above methods.

How many LinkedIn profile certifications do you have? Have you received a positive impact after adding them? Tell us in the comments section below.