Checked 25 September 2026. Features and prices come from each vendor’s own product page, linked below. Where a page doesn’t mention a feature, we say “not stated” rather than guess. We make LearnDash Certificate Expiry, so read our row with that in mind, and check the others’ pages yourself before buying.
Which one fits?
- Access should simply end after a number of days: LearnDash’s own Course Access Expiration. It’s built in and free, but it counts from enrolment and doesn’t touch the certificate.
- Certificates need real expiry dates from completion: an add-on. Certificate Tracker PRO and LearnDash Certificate Expiry both do this.
- Verification comes first, with expiry dates and reminders: WooNinjas’ Certificate Verify & Share covers both, according to its documentation.
- Expiry that simply makes students retake the course: LMS Experts’ Refresher Course add-on resets progress after a grace period.
- You award certificates for lessons or topics, not whole courses: WooNinjas’ Certificate Manager is the one here that states it supports those. It doesn’t state expiry.
The comparison
| Option | Expiry per student | Reminders before expiry | Verification page and QR | Renewal | Listed price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LearnDash Course Access Expiration (built in) | No. Ends course access, counted from enrolment. The certificate is unchanged. | Not stated | No | No | Included with LearnDash |
| Certificate Tracker PRO (ELearning Complete) | Yes. From completion, first completion, or a fixed date for everyone. | Not stated | QR options. Verification page through Certificate Verifier, sold separately. | A renewal time window | £56.99 a year, plus £29.99 a year for the Verifier |
| Certificate Manager (WooNinjas) | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | $49 a year |
| Certificate Verify & Share (WooNinjas) | Yes, an expiry duration per course, quiz or group (per its docs) | Yes, “Notify Before Certificate Expires” emails X days ahead | Yes, including LinkedIn “add to profile” and Open Badges | Not stated | $99 a year, or $229 lifetime for one site |
| Refresher Course add-on (LMS Experts) | Course expiry with a grace period, set in months | Yes, reminder emails before expiry | Not stated | Resets progress so the student retakes the course | $49.99 a year |
| LearnDash Certificate Expiry (ours) | Yes. From each student’s completion. | Yes. Schedule set per course, such as 180, 90 and 60 days. | Yes, included. Status shows active, expired or revoked. | With our Certificate Renewal add-on: quiz, course retake or paid renewal | See pricing |
What does LearnDash’s built-in option really do?
Course Access Expiration ends a student’s access after a number of days. LearnDash’s documentation says it’s based on the enrolment date, and offers an option to delete course and quiz data when access ends, with a warning that deleted data can’t be recovered.
It’s the right tool for time-limited access, such as a subscription. It’s not certificate expiry: the certificate keeps showing its completion date and nothing marks it as expired. Our guide on making LearnDash certificates expire goes through the difference in detail.
Certificate Tracker PRO
ELearning Complete’s plugin adds a unique certificate ID and an expiry date to LearnDash course and quiz certificates. Its page lists three ways to count expiry: from the completion date, from the first completion, or a fixed date on which everyone’s certificate expires. That last option suits annual compliance cycles where everyone renews together, which ours doesn’t offer.
Verification by QR code or certificate ID is a separate plugin, Certificate Verifier, which requires Tracker PRO. The product page doesn’t mention reminder emails. If reminders matter to you, ask the vendor before buying.
WooNinjas’ certificate add-ons
WooNinjas sells several LearnDash certificate add-ons. Two are relevant here. Certificate Manager’s page focuses on issuing certificates for individual lessons, topics and assignments as well as courses and quizzes, and doesn’t mention expiry. Certificate Verify & Share adds a verification page where anyone can look up a certificate by its ID, a QR code shortcode, sharing to Facebook, LinkedIn and X, and a one-click LinkedIn “add to profile”. Its product page doesn’t mention expiry, but its documentation does: an expiry duration per course, quiz or group, “Notify Before Certificate Expires” emails, and Open Badges export. That makes it the closest match to ours on this list.
What its documentation doesn’t mention is paid renewal through WooCommerce or renewal by quiz. If your need is lesson-level certificates or LinkedIn profile integration, WooNinjas covers ground ours doesn’t.
LMS Experts’ Refresher Course add-on
The Refresher Course add-on sets an expiry timeline per course, with a grace period in months, and sends reminder emails as it approaches. When the period runs out it clears the student’s progress so they retake the course. It suits training where renewal always means doing the whole course again. The page doesn’t mention a verification page or paid renewal.
LearnDash Certificate Expiry
Ours gives each student’s certificate its own expiry date from their completion, with reminders on a schedule you set per course. It also has a public verification page with a QR code, and a Certifications screen to filter, extend, revoke and export to CSV. Certificates can be free, paid through WooCommerce or approved by an admin, and exported as Open Badges.
What it doesn’t do, from our own product page: expiry works at course level only, so lesson or topic certificates aren’t tracked. The QR code needs one shortcode added to your certificate template. Letting students renew by themselves is the separate Certificate Renewal add-on, or the Expiry + Renewal bundle.
How to choose
- Decide what “expired” has to mean. Access ends? Certificate shows expired to an employer? Student must renew? Each needs more than the last. Renewal is covered in our guide to annual recertification.
- Check reminders. Expiry without reminders just moves the spreadsheet. Confirm how each option warns students, and whether you can set the schedule.
- Check verification. Whether it’s included or separate, and whether the page shows current status or only the issue date.
- Check what happens to past completions. Students who finished before you install anything need dates, and every option handles that differently.
- Try it on a copy of your site. Refund windows exist for this. Ours is 14 days.
Ready to decide? See screenshots, requirements and pricing for LearnDash Certificate Expiry.
View the add-on