Certificate Renewal adds a way for students to renew an expiring certificate on their own. It needs LearnDash Certificate Expiry, and all of its settings sit on the course edit screen.
Before you start
- LearnDash and LearnDash Certificate Expiry are installed and active. Without Expiry, Renewal shows a notice and does nothing.
- The course already has a certificate and validity period set up in Certificate Expiry.
- For paid renewals, WooCommerce is active and you have a product for the renewal.
Choose a renewal mode for the course
On the course edit screen, find the Certificate Renewal box and answer How does a student renew an expired certificate?
| Setting | What the renewal link does |
|---|---|
| Retake the whole course (default) | Opens the course page. |
| Retake a specific recertification quiz only | Opens the quiz you pick. Passing it renews the certificate. |
| Admin re-issues manually (one-click) | Puts the renewal product in the WooCommerce cart. Paying for it renews the certificate. Without WooCommerce or a product, you renew it yourself from the Certifications screen. |
Recertification quiz
If you pick the quiz mode, choose the quiz under Recertification quiz. The list only shows quizzes that belong to this course, and it won’t save a quiz from somewhere else. When a student passes it, their certification is renewed with a fresh expiry date.
Renewal product
Under WooCommerce product for paid renewal (optional), pick a separate product if renewal should cost something different from the first certificate. Leave it on “Same as the initial-issuance product” to reuse the original. The payment is released under the same rules as a first-time paid certificate (the Payment & Unlock tab in Certificate Expiry).
The renewal link in reminder emails
Certificate Expiry’s email templates support a {renewal_link} placeholder. With Renewal active, it becomes a signed link:
- It belongs to one student and one course.
- It stays valid for 30 days. Each reminder carries a fresh one.
- It sends the student to the right place for the course’s renewal mode.
- If someone edits it or uses it after it has expired, they land on a normal page instead of an error.
Make sure your reminder templates include {renewal_link}. The default templates already do.
Things to know
- “Retake the whole course” doesn’t reset the student’s LearnDash progress. If they have already completed every step, reset their progress in LearnDash, or use the quiz mode instead.
- Paid renewals are matched to the customer account on the order, so students need to be logged in when they check out. Guest orders can’t be matched to a student.
- The separate renewal product only applies to the one-click mode.
Licence and updates
Renewal has no licence field of its own. It uses the key entered in Certificate Expiry. A bundle key covers both plugins. If you bought Renewal separately, email support@pluginsprout.com so we can make sure updates reach it too.