Professional Associations & Certifying Bodies
Digital credentials for professional associations
Issue your association's certifications as blockchain secured digital credentials on your own domain. Members add them to LinkedIn in one click, anyone can confirm a certification by scanning a QR code, and every share puts your association's name in front of a professional network you did not have to buy.
TL;DR
A professional association's certification is only as strong as the proof behind it and the number of people who see it. TRUE issues each certification as a branded digital credential on the association's own domain, carrying a QR code and a permanent verification URL. The record is written to a public blockchain at issuance, so a forged copy fails the check instead of passing a glance. Members share the credential to LinkedIn in one click, which turns a certification programme into a visible channel rather than a document that sits in a drawer. Issuing runs from a dashboard, a CSV upload, a structured email or a REST API of five endpoints, and the analytics show views, shares and verifications per certification.
- Credentials members display, because they are designed to be shown rather than filed.
- Verification in seconds by QR code, with no login and no call to the association.
- On your own domain, so every view and every verification carries your brand.
The problem
Why do professional certifications never get seen?
Because a paper certificate is not built to be shown and a PDF is not built to be trusted. Neither reaches the certified member's professional network, neither can be checked by a third party without contacting you, and neither tells you how far your certification travelled. The association pays for the curriculum, the exams and the infrastructure, and gets no visibility back.
Your association has certified thousands of professionals. You've trained them. Tested them. Recognized their achievement. Then you send them a certificate.
And that certificate sits in a drawer. Or gets filed in a folder. Or floats somewhere in their email archive, never to be opened again.
- Paper certificates do not get shared. They are not designed for it, they are awkward to post, and a professional showing one to their network looks like they are trying too hard.
- PDF certificates can be forged. Anyone with basic editing skills can alter a PDF, and since most employers never check, the forgery goes undetected. Your certification's credibility erodes quietly.
- You get zero marketing value. You invested in building a certification programme, and your certified members walk into the world with credentials that generate no awareness for your association.
- No visibility into credential reach. How many people saw your certifications last month? There is no way to track a piece of paper.
At a glance
The hidden cost of paper credentials
Investment: Curriculum, exams, certification infrastructure.
Return: Zero brand awareness, zero lead generation, zero tracking.
Thousands of certified professionals, each with their own network, and none of that reach is used.
How often is a professional credential verified at all?
Rarely enough that a forged claim is a reasonable bet. Independent UK research finds that most large employers have caught a false qualification claim, yet barely half check every credential they are shown, and smaller employers check far less. That is the gap a self verifying certification closes.
- 45% of large employers have uncovered a false qualification claim, and only 52% verify all academic credentials. Verification falls to 37% at medium sized organisations and 29% at small ones. Source: Prospects Luminate, November 2025, from a YouGov survey of 526 HR decision makers conducted 24 to 29 April 2025.
- More than 1.75 million degree verifications have been processed since 2011 by Hedd, UK higher education's official degree verification service, reported in the same Prospects Luminate analysis.
- 18% of UK adults say they have lied on a CV or job application, or know someone who has, in the past 12 months. Published by Cifas, the UK fraud prevention service, on 3 February 2025, from an Opinion Matters survey of 2,000 UK adults.
An association cannot make employers check more carefully. It can make checking take one scan, which is the part it controls.
The TRUE solution
What makes a credential that members share?
One that looks like a credential and proves itself. TRUE issues an animated, branded document on your domain rather than a PDF, so a member is willing to post it, and it carries a QR code that returns a cryptographic verification rather than a claim.
Beautiful, shareable design
TRUE credentials aren't PDFs. They're animated, interactive digital certificates that look impressive and feel modern. Professionals are proud to share them because they're worth sharing.
One click to post on LinkedIn. One link to add to an email signature. One QR code to display at conferences.
Blockchain-secured
Every credential is written to the blockchain immediately upon issue. The record becomes immutable. It cannot be edited, forged or deleted.
When anyone scans the QR code, they see instant verification. That is a cryptographic result rather than a claim.
Your brand, your domain
TRUE credentials live on your domain, at an address such as credentials.yourassociation.org, rather than on TRUE's website. Every time someone views or verifies a certification, they see your brand.
Your logo. Your colors. Your design. Your domain.
Marketing value you can measure
TRUE tracks every view, share and verification
You see exactly how much reach your certifications generate. How many impressions. Which geographic regions. Which certifications perform best.
TRUE customers have generated over 100 million marketing impressions from shared credentials. That is advertising value delivered by your own members.
How it works
How does a shared credential bring in new members?
Through the certified member's own network. They post the credential because they are proud of it, their colleagues see your association's name attached to it, and the ones who want the same qualification arrive on your site through the verification page rather than through an advert.
1
You certify a professional
2
They receive a TRUE credential that is branded, shareable and verifiable
3
They post it to LinkedIn because they're proud of it
4
Their network sees your association's brand
5
Colleagues ask: "How do I get certified?"
6
New members find you through organic discovery
7
Repeat with each new certification
Every certified member becomes an ambassador. Every credential becomes an advertisement. And you didn't pay for any of it.
Proof
Which associations already issue credentials through TRUE?
Certifying bodies whose credentials get checked by outsiders, including SSF, Great Place To Work, OneMore Secure, Safe Cert Group and Almega Utbildningsföretagen. Several of them certify other organisations for a living, which makes the choice of credential platform part of their own credibility.
SSF (Sveriges stöldskyddsförening)
Sweden's leading security authority, in operation for over 80 years, chose TRUE for its security certifications. When SSF certifies a professional, that credential carries the weight of eight decades of expertise. Now it carries blockchain verification too.
"SSF offer extensive training in Security to our customers... It has been particularly important for us to be able to ensure that our Proofs of Education... are correct and secure."
- Maria Dahlstedt, Program Manager, SSF
Great place to work
The workplace certification recognized globally. When Great Place To Work certifies an organization, that certification travels: on company websites, in recruiting materials and across social media. TRUE credentials make that sharing easy and verifiable.
Onemore secure
Cybersecurity experts certifying other cybersecurity professionals. OneMore Secure understands what a tamper-proof credential is worth.
"For us, it's only natural to collaborate with the player in secure document management that has the highest quality, and stands for world-class security."
- Matti Olofsson, CEO, OneMore Secure
Safe cert group
Hospitality safety certifications across hotels and restaurants. When Safe Cert Group certifies a property, guests and staff can verify the safety credentials instantly.
"The certificate is not just a piece of paper... it is a symbol of a commitment to quality and safety that both guests and staff can trust."
- Joachim Törngård, CEO, Safe Cert Group
Almega utbildningsföretagen
Industry certifications for training providers across Sweden. Almega trusts TRUE to deliver credentials that reflect the quality standards they represent.
The numbers
What scale has TRUE reached?
Over 500,000 documents issued by more than 200 organisations, including 16 or more associations and 11 or more certifying bodies, and shared credentials from those issuers have produced more than 100 million marketing impressions. These are TRUE platform figures rather than third party research.
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Marketing impressions generated | 100M+ |
| Marketing value saved | €9.5M+ |
| Documents issued | 500,000+ |
| Organizations using TRUE | 200+ |
| Association customers | 16+ |
| Certifying body customers | 11+ |
16+
Association customers
11+
100M+
Marketing impressions
Security & trust
How is credential integrity protected?
By putting the proof outside the platform. Each credential is written to public blockchain networks at issuance, so there is no central database to alter, and verification is a cryptographic comparison anyone can run with a QR code. TRUE is eIDAS compliant, GDPR native and Cyber Hygiene Certified.
- Blockchain-secured: Credentials are written to multiple blockchain networks (Ethereum, Polygon, AVAX, Fantom). The record is permanent and tamper-proof. There is no database to hack and no records to alter. Learn how blockchain verification works.
- Instant verification: Anyone with the QR code can verify a credential in seconds. No app needed, no account required.
- eIDAS compliant: TRUE meets EU requirements for electronic identification and trust services, so your digital credentials carry proper legal weight.
- GDPR native: TRUE is a Swedish company, built from day one with European data protection in mind.
- Cyber Hygiene Certified: TRUE is Cyber Hygiene Certified by OneMore Secure, a cybersecurity company that chose TRUE for its own credentials.
Trust you can point to
Cybersecurity experts use TRUE
OneMore Secure, the company that certifies other organizations for cyber hygiene, chose TRUE for its own credentials.
Features associations need
Which features do associations need at scale?
Six, in practice: batch issuing from a CSV, custom branding, an API into the membership system, email issuing for teams without developers, an analytics dashboard, and a custom domain so credentials never point at somebody else's website.
Batch issuing
Certify 10 professionals or 10,000. Upload a CSV with recipient data, and TRUE issues individual, personalised credentials to everyone, each with its own verification code and member details.
Custom branding
Your logo, colors, design, and domain. Credentials look and feel like they come from your association, because they do.
API Integration
Connect TRUE to your membership management system, LMS, or CRM. Automate credential issuing when members complete requirements. TRUE's REST API has 5 simple endpoints with comprehensive documentation.
Email issuing
For associations without technical resources, issue credentials by sending a structured email. No coding required.
Analytics dashboard
Track views, shares, verifications, and geographic reach. See which certifications generate the most engagement. Report actual marketing value to your board.
Custom domain
Credentials live at an address such as credentials.yourassociation.org rather than on TRUE's website, so your brand stays front and centre.
Why TRUE
Why choose TRUE over a badge platform?
Because a certification is a document, not a thumbnail. TRUE issues full branded certificates rather than achievement badges, verifies them against blockchain rather than a vendor database that breaks when systems change, and is built in Stockholm to European rules.
European Company, European standards
TRUE is headquartered in Stockholm. eIDAS, GDPR and EU regulatory frameworks are built in rather than added afterwards.
Marketing-first approach
TRUE measures impressions, reach, and marketing value. We help you see the return on your certification program, not just issue documents.
Beautiful design, not badges
TRUE credentials are full certificates: animated, branded and professional. Not thumbnail achievement badges that look like gaming rewards.
Blockchain security
Permanent verification that works forever. Not database lookups that break when vendors change systems.
Proven nordic associations
SSF, Great Place To Work, Safe Cert Group, Almega. Real associations using TRUE for real certifications.
What do associations ask about digital credentials?
Six questions come up in nearly every conversation with a certifying body: how verification works, whose brand the credential carries, how a cohort gets issued, what happens on expiry, how long the switch takes, and whether anyone checks credentials at all.
How do members verify a credential from our association?
They do not have to. Anyone holding the credential scans its QR code or opens its verification URL, and a page on your own domain shows the member, the certification and the issue date, confirmed against the blockchain record. No login, no account and no contact with your office.
Can credentials carry our association's branding and domain?
Yes. Certifications live at an address on your own domain, such as credentials.yourassociation.org, and carry your logo, colours and design. Recipients and verifiers see your association rather than TRUE.
How do we issue credentials to a whole certification cohort?
Upload a CSV and TRUE issues an individual, personalised credential to every recipient, each with its own verification URL. Associations with a membership system or LMS can automate the same thing through a REST API of five endpoints, and teams without developers can issue by sending a structured email.
What happens when a certification expires or is withdrawn?
You update the credential status through TRUE. The blockchain record keeps the full history of what was issued, while the verification page reflects current standing, so a verifier sees the position today rather than the position on the issue date.
How long does it take to switch from paper or PDF certificates?
Most associations go live within two to four weeks: discovery and design in week one, template setup and integration planning in week two, a test issue with your internal team in week three, and the next certification cohort in week four. Associations with existing API infrastructure are usually faster.
How often do employers verify professional credentials?
Not often. Prospects Luminate research published in November 2025, from a YouGov survey of 526 HR decision makers, found that only 52% of large employers verify all academic credentials, falling to 37% at medium sized organisations and 29% at small ones, while 45% of large employers had uncovered a false qualification claim.
What do association customers say?
Two certifying organisations on what changed. Both issue credentials that people outside their own membership have to be able to trust.
“SSF offer extensive training in Security to our customers, both physically and digitally. It has been particularly important for us to be able to ensure that our Proofs of Education are correct and secure.”
“Thanks TRUE! Incredible to work with you to realise our fully accredited NED Academy Certificates!”
Getting started
How long does switching to digital credentials take?
Two to four weeks for most associations, and faster for those with an API already in place. Week one is discovery and credential design, week two template setup and integration planning, week three a test issue with your internal team, week four go live for the next cohort.
- Week 1: Discovery call and credential design
- Week 2: Template setup and integration planning, if applicable
- Week 3: Test issuing with your internal team
- Week 4: Go live for the next certification cohort
For associations with existing API infrastructure, the timeline is often faster.
Ready?
Put your certification in front of more people
Your certified members want to share their credentials. Make it easy for them. Make it beautiful. Make it verifiable.
Want to see how associations use TRUE?
→ SSF Case Study
→ Great Place To Work Case Study
→ OneMore Secure Case Study