Co-Branding CPD Certificates — Training Delivered Under Someone Else’s Banner
Training relationships are rarely simple. You might deliver a programme on behalf of a client, run a joint course with a partner organisation, or provide training under someone else’s banner as part of a white-label arrangement. The certificate that comes out of that training needs to reflect the relationship — not just your name, and not just theirs.
Co-branded certificates on Open CPD carry both names. Here is how that works and when it applies.
When co-branding makes sense
The most common situations where a co-branded certificate is the right answer:
Delivering under a client’s banner. You are a freelance trainer or small training business contracted to deliver a programme for a larger organisation. The client wants their name on the certificate — it is their programme, their learners. But you are the one who designed and delivered it, and the credential belongs to you as the issuing provider.
Joint programmes. Two organisations are running a course together — both have contributed to the content, both have a stake in the credential. A single-branded certificate feels like one organisation is taking credit for both organisations’ work.
White-label training. You develop a course that another organisation delivers as their own. The certificate carries their brand because learners know it as their programme — but the credentialing infrastructure is yours.
Charitable and funded training. A charity delivers training on behalf of a funder, a grant body, or a commissioning organisation. The funder’s name on the certificate reflects the real relationship and satisfies reporting requirements.
What the co-branded certificate shows
A co-branded certificate carries your name as the issuing Open CPD provider — you are the one who signed the Declaration and holds the membership — alongside the client’s or partner’s name and branding. Both are visible on the certificate. The verification link still points to your Open CPD provider profile, because you are the legitimate issuing authority. The credential chain is clear: who delivered the training, who the partner is, and how to verify the certificate.
This avoids the awkward conversation about whose logo takes priority. Both names are on the certificate. Both organisations can reference it. The issuing relationship is unambiguous.
How it works in practice
Co-branding is part of the certificate creation workflow on Open CPD — not a separate feature that requires additional setup. When you create a course that will be delivered in partnership or under a client’s name, you include the co-branding details as part of the course configuration. Certificates issued for that course carry both names automatically.
You remain the issuing provider throughout. Your OCPD Provider ID, your Declaration, your membership — these are the accountability layer behind every certificate, co-branded or otherwise. The co-branding reflects the training relationship; the verification reflects your responsibility as the provider.
What it means for your learners
From the learner’s perspective, the certificate reflects what they actually experienced. If they attended a programme run by Organisation X, delivered by you, the certificate says so. That context matters — to the learner who wants to reference the training accurately, to the employer checking it, and to the professional body reviewer who needs to understand what the training was and who delivered it.
The verification link still works for anyone who checks the certificate. The achievement page, issued the following day, shows the full credential details including the co-branding context. The digital badge carries the same information. Nothing about the co-branded certificate undermines the verifiability of the credential.
Available on all plans
Co-branded certificates are available across all Open CPD plans — Pay-As-You-Go, Business, and Professional. There is no plan tier that restricts co-branding. Whether you are issuing occasionally for a single client arrangement or running multiple co-branded programmes across a full subscription, the feature is available to you.
FAQ
Can I issue co-branded certificates for training I did not originally design?
If you are the one delivering the training and you are taking responsibility for the credential — by signing the Open CPD Declaration — then yes. The Declaration commits you to certifying only training you have legitimate authority over. If you delivered it, that authority is yours. If someone else entirely designed and delivered it and you are simply adding a logo, that is a different situation and one where Open CPD membership would not be the right tool.
Does the client or partner organisation need to be on Open CPD?
No. The partner or client whose name appears on the co-branded certificate does not need an Open CPD account. They are named as the organisational context for the training, not as a co-issuer. You are the issuing provider; they are the named partner. Their branding appears on the certificate; your membership is the accountability behind it.
What if the partnership ends?
Certificates already issued under the co-branding remain valid — they reflect the training relationship at the time of issue. If the partnership ends and you continue delivering training independently, you simply issue future certificates without the co-branding. There is no need to retroactively alter past certificates.
Can I create separate courses for the same content delivered under different banners?
Yes. The platform allows you to create variants of a course for different contexts, audiences, or clients — each with its own co-branding configuration and its own Aims, Skills, and Outcomes if the delivery differs. This is common for training businesses that deliver the same core programme to multiple clients under different arrangements.
