How to Create Your Own Certificates With Word Templates

Learn how to use certificate templates and produce professional-looking award certificates in almost no time. Microsoft Word comes with a selection of certificate templates to make the process easy.

Use a Certificate Template in Word

The easiest way to make certificates in Word is to use a Word template. There are templates for many occasions, and the text can be modified for your specific award or event. Here's how to create a certificate in Word.

1. Open Word and select New.

2. In the Search text box, type Certificate to filter for certificate templates.

3. Choose a template, then select Create. The certificate opens as a new document.

4. To add a custom border, select the Design tab and, in the Page Background group, choose Page Borders.

5. In the Borders and Shading dialog box, select the Page Border tab.

6. In the Setting section, select Custom and choose a border.

7. Choose OK to apply the template border you selected.

8. To change the certificate colors, select a different theme. Go to the Design tab and, in the Document Formatting group, select Colors. Hover over a theme to preview it in the document, then select the color theme you want to use.

9. Save the changes.

Personalize the Text

The text of the certificate is fully editable. Edit the text to say whatever you want, then change the font, color, and spacing of the text.

1. In the Word document, double-click the sample text to select it.

2. Select the Home tab.

3. In the Font group, choose a font and a font size.

4. Select Bold, Italic, or Underline, if desired.

5. Select the Font Color drop-down arrow and choose a color to apply to the text.

6. Type the custom text you want to use.

7. Repeat the process with every section of text on the certificate, then save the file.

Make a Certificate Without a Template

You don't have to use a template to create a certificate. Microsoft opens to an 8.5 x 11 vertically oriented sheet by default, but most certificates are made in landscape orientation, so you'll make that change to get started.

To make a certificate from scratch:

1. Open a new Word document.

2. Select the Layout tab.

3. In the Page Setup group, select Orientation, then choose Landscape.

4. Select the Design tab.

5. Choose Page Borders.

6. On the Page Border tab, select either a Style or Art, assign a size and color, then select the Box icon. Choose OK to see the result.

   To adjust the margins, select Options, then enter new values.

7. Add text boxes to the document and customize the appearance of the font styles, sizes, and colors as desired. Save the changes to the custom template.