Creating an Organization
Organizations are the issuers in CertDirectory. Every credential is signed by an organization — never by an individual user — so before you can issue, you need to create one.
Prerequisites
- A signed-in account with a verified email address. Email verification is required before you can create an organization.
Create the organization
- From your dashboard, click Create Organization (or go to
/organizations/new). - Fill in:
- Name — your organization's display name. Shown on credentials, the public profile, and emails.
- Slug — auto-generated from the name; appears in your public URL
/o/{slug}. Edit if needed. - Website — your organization's primary website. Required if you later want to verify your domain.
- Description — a short blurb shown on your public profile.
- Click Create.
You'll be taken to the organization detail page (/organizations/{id}).
Approval flow
New organizations start with status pending_review. While in this state you can:
- Generate signing keys.
- Create badge templates.
- Invite team members.
- Configure billing & domain verification.
You cannot issue credentials until you're approved. Approval is typically completed within one business day; you'll get an email when the status changes.
If your organization is rejected (e.g. because the website doesn't load or the description is unclear), you'll get an email with the reason. You can update the org details and resubmit for review.
If your organization is suspended later (for policy violations), issuance is paused but existing credentials remain verifiable.
Generate signing keys
Every credential is signed with your organization's Ed25519 keypair. Keys are generated once per organization.
- On the organization page, find the Signing keys section.
- Click Generate signing keys. (Owner only.)
- Your public key is now published at:
https://credentials.certdirectory.io/issuers/{slug}/did.json
The private key is encrypted and stored on the server — it never leaves it.
Generate keys before you start issuing
The Issue and Bulk Issue pages show a warning until keys are generated. You can't issue credentials without them.
Public profile
Your organization automatically gets:
| URL | What it serves |
|---|---|
/o/{slug} |
Public marketing page with stats and badge gallery. |
/issuers/{slug} |
OB3 issuer profile (JSON-LD). |
/issuers/{slug}/did.json |
DID document with your public key. |
/issuers/{slug}/achievements |
Public catalogue of your badges (JSON-LD). |
Customize the page by setting your logo (uploaded from the organization detail page) and keeping your description and website up to date.
Subscription tier
Every new organization starts on the Free plan. You can upgrade any time — see Billing & Plans.
Each organization is billed independently. A user can own multiple organizations on different tiers.