Certificate of Authenticity
Certificate of Authenticity generator for artists
A Certificate of Authenticity tells a buyer this work is real, this is who made it, and this is what they bought. Artwork Codex generates a professional, auto-numbered COA from your artwork record in seconds — no templates, no design software.
Generate a COA in under a minute
Launch the live demo to see the full flow: add an artwork, generate a COA, and download the PDF. Or sign up free and run it on your own work.
Free plan available. COA generation included on Pro.
What a professional Certificate of Authenticity includes
- A clear photograph of the artwork
- Title, year, medium, dimensions
- Edition number and edition size (for prints or multiples)
- Artist's name and a unique certificate number
- Artist's signature
- Issue date
- Optional notes — materials, provenance, special conditions
The Artwork Codex COA generator pulls all of this from the artwork record and the COA settings you configure once, then outputs a clean, elegant PDF in EB Garamond. No layout work, no inconsistency, no re-typing.
Why collectors expect a COA
Collectors aren't just buying an object. They're buying provenance, resale potential, insurability, and peace of mind. A Certificate of Authenticity is the document that makes those things portable.
Without a COA, every future question about the work — is it real? is it a genuine edition? who made it? — becomes a research project. With a COA, the record travels with the work.
Auto-numbered so nothing slips
Every COA issued by Artwork Codex gets a unique certificate number automatically. You can't accidentally issue two with the same number. You can't forget which copies of an edition have been certified. The record is permanent.
This matters more than it sounds. A collector who calls in ten years to verify a certificate number expects you to find it in thirty seconds. If your certificates are in a folder of unnamed PDFs, you're starting from scratch.
Configure your signature and details once
Set your artist name, display name, signature image, and COA preferences in settings. Every COA uses those defaults, so your certificates are consistent across every work — same typography, same layout, same signature placement.
For editions, the generator handles copy numbering automatically. For unique works, it omits edition info cleanly. You don't have to remember the difference.
COA generation is part of a full inventory tool
The COA is only as strong as the record behind it. Artwork Codex keeps your COAs connected to the underlying artwork: images, dimensions, provenance, sales, and exhibition history all live on the same record.
That means when you re-issue or reprint a certificate, nothing contradicts itself. And when a collector calls, you have the full picture of the work in one place — not split across a certificates folder, a spreadsheet, and an email archive. See how this fits with a proper artwork cataloging workflow.
How to generate your first COA
- Sign up for the free plan (no credit card needed).
- Add an artwork with images, dimensions, and medium.
- Open the artwork and click "Generate COA."
- Choose copy number (if an edition) and add any notes.
- Download the PDF.
That's it. No templates, no manual numbering, no layout work. Most artists issue their first COA inside five minutes of signing up.