For Educational Institutions
Digital diplomas that students want to share
Your diplomas should work as hard as your students did to earn them.
Paper diplomas end up in a drawer. PDFs get lost in email folders. A TRUE diploma gets posted on LinkedIn, embedded in a portfolio and verified by employers anywhere in the world. Blockchain-secured, branded to your institution, verifiable for as long as anyone asks.
TL;DR
A digital diploma is a graduate's credential published at a permanent web address on your institution's own domain, carrying a QR code and a verification link that anyone can use. An employer who receives it does not email your registrar; they open the page and read the graduate's name, the programme and the award date. Blockchain-secured diplomas compare the document against a cryptographic record written at issuance, so an edited copy fails the check instead of passing as genuine, which is the weakness a PDF cannot fix. For the institution the effect is two-sided: inbound verification requests stop arriving one at a time, and every graduate who shares a diploma sends traffic back to your domain rather than to a third party platform. Issuing runs from a dashboard, a CSV upload, an LMS integration or a REST API, depending on volume.
- Employers verify in seconds by scanning the QR code or opening the verification link.
- Diplomas live on your domain, so the brand exposure from every share belongs to your institution.
- Issue from your existing systems through Canvas, Moodle, Learnster or a REST API with five endpoints.
For universities: TRUE Original is a digital credential platform for universities issuing verifiable diplomas. KTH Royal Institute of Technology issues course diplomas through TRUE, and Karolinska Institutet issues course certificates. A diploma can also carry TRUE’s own eIDAS qualified electronic seal, which makes it Europass-compatible. Anyone can check it free in TRUE Verify, without an account.
For universities
Which digital credential platform can universities use to issue verifiable diplomas?
TRUE Original is a digital credential platform that universities use to issue verifiable diplomas. Each diploma gets its own web address, a QR code and a cryptographic fingerprint on a public blockchain, so an employer can check it without contacting the registrar. KTH Royal Institute of Technology issues course diplomas through TRUE, and Karolinska Institutet issues course certificates.
By October 2026 TRUE Original had created, issued and stored over 900,000 documents for more than 200 issuing organisations, with customers in more than 15 countries. A diploma is tested years after graduation. Someone asks for it when the graduate changes jobs or applies abroad, and the check has to work without anyone at the university picking up a phone.
What should universities look for in a digital diploma platform?
Universities should look first at what a stranger can check: whether an employer can verify a diploma without an account, whether an edited copy fails, and whether the diploma still verifies after the university changes systems. Standards, the EU seal, integration and price come next.
| What to check | Why it matters for a university | TRUE Original |
|---|---|---|
| Verification by a stranger | An employer abroad has no relationship with your registry. | A QR code and verification link on every diploma, and a free check in TRUE Verify with no account |
| Tamper evidence | An edited copy has to fail the check instead of passing as genuine. | A hash of each diploma on a public blockchain: if anything in the document is altered, verification fails |
| Revocation | A diploma issued in error has to stop verifying. | Revocation reaches QR scans, the portal and the chain record in seconds, and a revoked diploma still shows its status |
| Life after a change of system | Graduates need the diploma for a whole career. | The blockchain record is independent of TRUE’s systems and of the university’s |
| Standards | W3C Verifiable Credentials 2.0, Open Badges 3.0 and the EU’s European Digital Credentials decide where a credential can travel. | Aligns with the verifiable credentials principles behind Open Badges 3.0, and EDCI/Europass-compatible through TRUE’s qualified seal |
| EU legal standing | A qualified electronic seal carries a presumption of origin and integrity under eIDAS. | TRUE’s own eIDAS qualified electronic seal since May 2026, applied under Mandated Issue with the university as named issuer |
| Issuing from existing systems | Diplomas go out per class, from records the registry already keeps. | Canvas, Moodle, Learnster, Salesforce, a CSV upload, email-based issuing, or a REST API with five endpoints that connects to a student information system |
| Your brand | Every shared diploma is a link to somebody’s website. | A TRUE diploma can open on the university’s own domain |
| Price at university scale | Volume grows with every graduating class. | Tailored per organisation: plans from €100 a month on a yearly contract, and above 8,000 documents a year TRUE can price per document |
Named platforms are compared side by side, with prices read on each vendor’s own site, in Best Digital Credential Platforms 2026.
“What we appreciate most is how smooth it is inside Canvas. We can deliver certificates in a way that feels completely natural in our existing workflow.”
“In a normal year we would spend at least two weeks issuing the credentials. With the new digital system and the blockchain we are saving a huge amount of time, we can guarantee the authenticity of the credentials, and we drive a lot of traffic back to our site.”
What is a digital diploma?
It is a diploma issued as a permanent web address rather than as a printed sheet or a file attachment. The graduate receives a link. Whoever they send it to sees the credential and, on the same page, proof that your institution issued it and that nothing has been changed since.
That is the whole difference. A scanned PDF asks the reader to trust the sender. A digital diploma answers the question itself, which is why it works across borders and years, long after the registrar who signed it has moved on.
Why does a diploma need to be verifiable?
Because qualification claims are being falsified more often and checked less often than most institutions assume. UK research published in 2025 found that most HR teams do not verify every qualification a candidate presents, while a clear majority of large employers say AI has driven a rise in fraudulent applications. Every unverifiable diploma your institution issues sits inside that gap.
- 45% of large employers have discovered that a job applicant gave false information about their qualifications, and 67% say AI contributed to a rise in fraudulent applications. Source: Prospects Luminate and Hedd, July 2025, from a YouGov survey of 526 HR decision makers, fieldwork 24 to 29 April 2025.
- Only 40% of HR decision makers check all of a candidate's qualifications. That is 52% at large employers and 32% at small and medium ones, and 22% of SME respondents check none at all. Same source.
- 18% of UK people have lied on a CV or job application to land a role, or know someone who has, in the past year. Source: Cifas, 3 February 2025, from an Opinion Matters survey of 2 000 UK adults.
A diploma that verifies itself removes the excuse for skipping the check. It costs the employer one scan, which is less than the cost of not checking.
What breaks in manual diploma issuing?
Four things, and they repeat every graduation cycle. The work does not scale, the output can be forged, nothing is visible afterwards, and the marketing value of your own name evaporates the moment the document leaves the building.
Manual processes that do not scale
Collecting graduate data, laying out documents, printing, signing, posting. One mistake means reprinting the whole batch.
Documents that can be forged
A PDF scan is editable in minutes. Employers increasingly question whether a certificate is real, and calling your office to find out is nobody's idea of efficient.
No visibility after issuing
Once the diploma leaves your hands you have no idea where it goes, whether it helps your graduates get hired, or whether it brings anyone back to your institution.
Lost marketing opportunity
Your diplomas carry your brand, and paper in a drawer builds no awareness. Every diploma is a chance to be seen by a graduate's professional network.
How does a blockchain-secured diploma fix it?
By making the document prove itself. At issuance a cryptographic fingerprint of the diploma is written to a blockchain, and the diploma is published at a permanent address on your own domain with a QR code and verification link on it. From that point the graduate can prove the credential and any verifier can check it, without either of them going through you.
Tamper-proof by design
Every TRUE diploma is written to a blockchain, Ethereum, AVAX, Fantom or Polygon. Once issued it cannot be altered, backdated or forged, because the cryptographic record is permanent.
Shareable in one click
Graduates receive a link rather than a file. They can post it on LinkedIn, embed it on a personal site or add it to any portfolio, with no attachments and no downloads.
Verifiable by anyone
Employers, licensing boards and other institutions verify any TRUE diploma instantly by scanning the QR code or opening the verification portal. See how QR code verification works.
Branded to your institution
TRUE diplomas live on your domain rather than ours: your logo, your colours, your certificate design. Anyone who views or shares one sees your brand.
Every share sends traffic back
When a graduate posts a TRUE diploma on LinkedIn, viewers click through to your domain. The diploma becomes a route back to your institution rather than a dead end.
Which education institutions issue diplomas with TRUE?
More than 90 education organisations, from a medical university to vocational academies and business schools founded in the nineteenth century.
Karolinska Institutet
Sweden's medical university issues training certificates through TRUE, so credentials for healthcare professionals can be verified rather than assumed.
FEI
One of Sweden's oldest business schools, founded in 1888, uses TRUE for business and finance diplomas.
YH Akademin
Vocational higher education reaching students across Sweden, issuing digital diplomas at scale with full API integration into their student systems. See YH digital diplomas.
TUC Education
Automated diploma issuing through TRUE's API. What once took days now happens as the student completes the programme.
SIH, Stockholms Internationella Handelsskola
Diplomas issued on the school's own domain and secured on a blockchain.
AW Academy
A tech talent accelerator issuing credentials graduates share, with the marketing value that follows from it.
Which universities issue verifiable diplomas with TRUE?
KTH Royal Institute of Technology issues course diplomas through TRUE Original, and Karolinska Institutet has issued over a thousand course certificates with TRUE straight from Canvas. Among Sweden’s higher vocational schools, IHM Business School and Nackademin have each issued more than ten thousand diplomas with TRUE.
KTH Royal Institute of Technology
Founded in Stockholm in 1827. KTH issues course diplomas through TRUE: each one states that the participant has completed the course and all its parts, and carries a QR code anyone can scan to verify it.
IHM Business School
More than ten thousand diplomas issued with TRUE, class by class and in each graduate’s own language, every programme validated against the programme codes of Myndigheten för yrkeshögskolan. Read the IHM Business School case.
Nackademin
More than ten thousand diplomas issued with a hash on Ethereum, written through a smart contract the school owns. Read the Nackademin case.
“Our alumni now have nice looking Diplomas in an accessible format, but we also see great marketing value!”
“These modern and stylish educational certificates can easily be shared on LinkedIn and other digital channels.”
“The animation looks fantastic, and it’s so simple for our recipients.”
How does a registrar issue diplomas through TRUE?
In five steps, and after the first cycle only three of them involve a person. Upload the graduate data, design the diploma once, issue, let graduates share, and read the numbers afterwards.
1. Upload graduate data
Import a CSV, connect your LMS, or call the REST API.
2. Design your diploma
Use TRUE's design tools or bring your existing design across.
3. Issue in one click
TRUE generates each diploma, secures it on a blockchain and delivers it.
4. Graduates share
A unique link goes to LinkedIn, a CV or any portfolio.
5. Track everything
See opens, shares, verifications and where the exposure landed.
What happens to a verifiable diploma if it is revoked or the university changes systems?
A revoked TRUE Original diploma shows its new status within seconds on every verification channel: the QR scan, the verification portal and the blockchain record. Nothing is deleted. A diploma that stays valid keeps verifying after a platform migration, because the blockchain record is independent of TRUE’s systems and of the university’s.
A verifier who opens a revoked diploma sees its status, not a dead link. Validity sits on the same record. Nackademin’s diplomas are written to Ethereum through a smart contract the school owns, and the contract stores an expiry date so anyone can tell whether a credential is still valid. Status, expiry and the audit trail behind them are set out in digital credential lifecycle management.
Why do institutions choose TRUE over a hosting platform?
Because hosting a credential online and proving it are different problems. Most platforms publish your document to their domain; TRUE writes a cryptographic record of it to a blockchain and publishes it to yours.
Blockchain security
Not simply digital. TRUE documents are cryptographically secured and immutable once issued, so verification is a mathematical comparison rather than an opinion.
LMS integration
Connect Canvas, Moodle, Learnster or any other system through the REST API and issue from the workflows you already run.
Your domain, your brand
Documents live on your domain. When one is shared on LinkedIn or checked by an employer, your institution gets the exposure.
eIDAS compliant
TRUE meets EU standards for electronic identification and trust services, which matters for institutions operating across European borders.
Analytics dashboard
Track opens, shares, verifications and geographic distribution, so you know where your diplomas travel.
Marketing value built in
Every share by a graduate drives traffic back to your institution. Across the platform TRUE has recorded more than 100 million impressions for issuers.
Which standards should a university diploma platform support?
A university diploma platform should be able to say how its diplomas relate to three standards: W3C Verifiable Credentials 2.0, 1EdTech’s Open Badges 3.0 and the EU’s European Digital Credentials for Learning. TRUE Original aligns with the verifiable credentials principles behind Open Badges 3.0 (recipient-owned, blockchain-verifiable), though the TRUE document format is broader than badges, covering certificates, diplomas, licences, transcripts, and other credential types beyond the badge model. For the EU format, TRUE seals university diplomas with its own eIDAS qualified electronic seal, which makes them EDCI/Europass-compatible.
- W3C Verifiable Credentials 2.0 is the W3C data model for expressing credentials on the web “in a way that is cryptographically secure, privacy respecting, and machine-verifiable”. It is one of seven W3C Recommendations the Verifiable Credentials Working Group published on 15 May 2025, and the W3C’s own example is that “university degrees can be used to assert our level of education”. Source: W3C, 15 May 2025.
- Open Badges 3.0 is 1EdTech’s specification for “packaging information about a single recognition or achievement, such as an earned microcredential, skill, competency, or degree”. Each OpenBadgeCredential is signed by its issuer as a credential “compatible with the Verifiable Credentials Data Model 2.0”, and several can be bundled into a transcript as a CLR. Source: 1EdTech.
- A European Digital Credential for Learning (EDC) is “a verifiable, digital version of a credential issued by an organisation to a learner to document their learning”, signed with an electronic seal. Source: EQAR, the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education.
TRUE Original delivers the core properties of a verifiable credential (tamper-evidence, verification without contacting the issuer, and permanence) by securing every document it issues on a public blockchain. The trade-off between that and a full W3C stack of DIDs and wallets is laid out in TRUE’s guide to W3C Verifiable Credentials.
Can a university diploma carry an eIDAS qualified electronic seal?
Yes. As of May 2026, TRUE Value Software AB holds its own eIDAS Qualified Electronic Seal (QSeal) certificate, and through Mandated Issue TRUE applies that seal to a university’s diplomas while the university stays the named issuer, so the university needs no eSeal of its own. A qualified seal proves a diploma’s origin and integrity.
Opened in the European Commission’s own Europass viewer, a TRUE-sealed credential comes back verified. Under eIDAS a qualified electronic seal is recognised as a qualified seal in all 27 EU member states. The blockchain anchor is a separate layer that lets anyone check the diploma independently, while the seal’s qualified status comes from eIDAS. eIDAS-sealed university diplomas sets out how Mandated Issue works.
How does a TRUE diploma compare with a PDF?
On every line where the reader is a stranger. Both formats look fine on a screen; only one of them can be checked by someone who has no relationship with your institution.
| Feature | TRUE | |
|---|---|---|
| Can be edited or forged | Yes | No, blockchain-immutable |
| Shareable link | No, file attachment | Yes, unique URL |
| Verifiable | Manually, by calling the registrar | Instantly, by QR code or portal |
| Branded to your domain | No | Yes |
| Analytics on views and shares | No | Yes |
| Marketing value | Zero | Every share drives traffic |
And against Credly or Accredible?
Blockchain-secured, not only digitised. Most platforms host your credentials online. TRUE writes them to a blockchain, which makes them cryptographically verifiable and tamper-proof. Compare in detail: TRUE vs Credly and TRUE vs Accredible.
White-labelled to your brand. TRUE diplomas live on your domain. Other platforms keep credentials on theirs, which splits your brand presence between two places.
What is the platform's scale?
900,000+
documents issued
200+
organisations worldwide
90+
education customers
15+
countries
4
blockchain networks
What do institutions ask about digital diplomas?
Questions that come up most often from registrars, IT leads and marketing teams evaluating digital credentials.
What education institutions use TRUE?
More than 90 education organisations, including Karolinska Institutet, FEI (founded 1888), YH Akademin and other Swedish yrkeshögskolor, TUC Education, SIH (Stockholms Internationella Handelsskola), AW Academy and Webbdagarna Academy. Internationally, TRUE also powers digital diplomas for Dutch MBO-scholen.
Can TRUE integrate with our LMS?
Yes. TRUE connects to Canvas, Moodle, Learnster and any other system through a REST API with five endpoints, so diploma issuing runs from your student management workflows.
Do diplomas appear on our domain?
Yes. TRUE diplomas live on your domain, for example credentials.youruniversity.edu. When one is shared on LinkedIn or checked by an employer, your brand gets the exposure rather than TRUE's.
How is a TRUE diploma different from a PDF diploma?
PDFs can be edited and forged. TRUE diplomas are blockchain-immutable, shared as a unique URL rather than a file attachment, verifiable instantly by QR code, and reported on through analytics showing views and shares.
What happens to a diploma if we change systems?
It keeps verifying. The blockchain record is independent of TRUE's systems and of yours, so a diploma issued today still checks out after a platform migration, a rebrand or a change of registrar.
What is the best digital credential platform for universities?
The best platform for a university is one whose diplomas an employer can verify without an account, that issues from the student systems the university already runs, and whose diplomas keep verifying after a change of vendor. TRUE Original does all three and adds an eIDAS qualified electronic seal for Europass. Named platforms are compared side by side in Best Digital Credential Platforms 2026.
Which universities issue verifiable diplomas with TRUE?
KTH Royal Institute of Technology issues course diplomas through TRUE Original, and Karolinska Institutet has issued over a thousand course certificates with TRUE from Canvas. IHM Business School and Nackademin, two Swedish higher vocational schools, have each issued more than ten thousand diplomas with TRUE.
How do TRUE diplomas relate to Open Badges 3.0 and W3C Verifiable Credentials?
TRUE Original aligns with the verifiable credentials principles behind Open Badges 3.0 (recipient-owned, blockchain-verifiable), though the TRUE document format is broader than badges, covering certificates, diplomas, licences, transcripts, and other credential types beyond the badge model. TRUE Original delivers the core properties of a verifiable credential (tamper-evidence, verification without contacting the issuer, and permanence) by securing every document it issues on a public blockchain.
Do TRUE diplomas work with Europass and the EU’s European Digital Credentials?
Yes. TRUE seals university diplomas with its own eIDAS qualified electronic seal, held since May 2026, which makes them EDCI/Europass-compatible. Through Mandated Issue the university stays the named issuer and needs no eSeal of its own.
Can a TRUE diploma be revoked?
Yes. When a TRUE Original diploma is revoked, the new status reaches the QR scan, the verification portal and the blockchain record within seconds, and the diploma still opens and shows that it was revoked.
How much does a digital diploma platform cost for a university?
TRUE tailors the price to each organisation: plans start from €100 a month on a yearly contract, and above 8,000 documents a year TRUE can price per document. Checking a diploma costs the employer nothing: anyone can verify a TRUE document free in TRUE Verify, without an account.
What do TRUE customers say?
“Our alumni now have nice looking Diplomas in an accessible format, but we also see great marketing value! Thanks for a great product!”
“These modern and stylish educational certificates can easily be shared on LinkedIn and other digital channels.”
Start issuing diplomas your graduates will use
Your graduates worked hard for their credentials. Give them one they can prove. More than 90 education organisations already issue with TRUE.