Discrepancy: Learning Plan Completion vs. Certificate Renewal (Bug/Feature Request?)

Yeah I get you ​@chatterjs.

Certifications are getting rewired some - and part of the plan is to leverage a special flavor of learning plans for certifications.

“Is it a bug or isnt it a bug” is a decent fundamental question that I believe Docebo will stand by suggesting that it is working as intended. They wired courses to be contained inside of a certification type of instance, but they allow for the bypass to occur to support “regular - non-certifiable” learning with that object.

Alot of folks have come back with workarounds and even hacks to get that certification link more emphasized to dial down what you have run into.

There are alot of gotchas with certifications and what does make many of us happy is Docebo’s progression to tighten the model. I wish you luck with this and encourage you to see what others have done to support certifications better at your org.

The question of certificates and certification has come up lately and there are some inconsistent behaviours a this time. The retake option doers not archive the previous completion so the certificate would not c change as a result. Right now, users must use the RENEW option to get things working properly. The fact that the certificates do not update is and has always been an issue, not just with the “renew option” For example, if you backdate a completion, the certification will be issued on the day the transaction is done and will not back date any data related to that in the certificate (say if you use the certification expiry date short code). You would need to adjust the certification date and then re-issue the certificate. Hence, using the renew button and having the old record archived is critical to getting a proper , updated certificate.

​@lrnlab does the retake option all the user to complete the course again? I thought it was just a way to recess the content if needed but had no impact on the course completion. I haven’t tested this functionality personally so I’m flying a little blind here. 

As far as I have tested, the “retake” option does not reset the content but it depends on the content type. With some SCORM content, it will track extra iterations if you had a test in there somewhere but for a native Docebo test, for example, you would still be limited to however the test is configured and if it allows multiple attempts or not. 

​@lrnlab ​@dianex.gomez  - I've observed that when users retake a learning plan or course, the completion date automatically updates (hence the name retake?).

In our current process, updating a course typically involves replacing the SCORM files, which effectively means users are retaking the course. Consequently, the certificate doesn't accurately reflect their initial completion, as the learning plan's completion date is updated.

Hello ​@chatterjs and dear community!
Very good question, thank you for reaching out and for bringing attention to this important scenario!
We understand your concern regarding the discrepancy between course/learning plan completion and certification renewal, and we’d like to reassure you that the current behavior is expected under the current system design.
At present, a certification can only be renewed via an explicit user action—specifically, by clicking the "Renew Certification" button. Simply re-taking a course or learning plan, even if completed, does not automatically trigger certification renewal. This design ensures that certification renewals are intentional and traceable actions, aligned with compliance and regulatory requirements.
Additionally, we’d like to clarify the behavior regarding certificates. Certificates are issued based on course completion and follow the renewal logic of the associated certification:

• When a user completes a course, a certificate is generated accordingly.
• However, retaking and completing the course again does not update the existing certificate.
• When a certification is renewed, the course enrollment is archived. As a result, the certificate is also archived.
• Upon completing the course again, a new and updated certificate is issued with the renewed certification award.

This ensures that certificates remain aligned with the most recent certification cycle and reflect the current compliance status of the learner.
That said, we fully acknowledge that this behavior can cause confusion, especially in environments where learners assume that retaking a course should automatically renew their certification.
We’re actively addressing this with the upcoming New Certification & Retraining feature.
This enhancement includes:

• A streamlined retraining flow, which allows the certification to be renewed not only via the “Renew” button but also via alternative, system-managed paths such as retraining periods and manual admin actions.
• Improvements to the call-to-action interface, making it much clearer when and how a certification should be renewed.
• Greater admin control and flexibility through new configurations for renewal logic, expiration handling, and retraining automation.

We are actively collaborating with our design team to ensure that the renewal flow is intuitive and that learners are guided clearly through the correct path to maintain compliance.

We appreciate your feedback and your patience as we continue to improve the platform.
For more context on the New certifications, please check out the following updates!

Certification initiative
https://community.docebo.com/pdg-certification-and-retraining-improvements-inside-learn-92/nov24-update-certification-initiative-12404

Certification Prototype Videos: Key User Flows in Action
https://community.docebo.com/pdg-certification-and-retraining-improvements-inside-learn[…]tification-prototype-videos-key-user-flows-in-action-13073

Warm regards,
Giacomo Fosci
Docebo Product Business Analyst