Add certifications through the "Licenses & Certifications" section on your profile

LinkedIn has a dedicated section for certifications separate from your work experience and education. To add one, go to your profile, click the pencil icon next to "Licenses & Certifications," and select "Add a license or certification." You'll enter the certification name, the issuing organization, the issue date, and optionally an expiration date and credential URL. LinkedIn will then display it on your profile in a way that employers and recruiters can see and verify.

The section appears below your education history on your profile. When you add a certification, LinkedIn may suggest related skills to add to your profile at the same time. You can accept or skip these suggestions — they're optional.

Key Takeaways

  • Certifications live in their own section on your profile, separate from work experience and education.
  • You can add a credential URL so people can click through to verify your certification with the issuing organization.
  • LinkedIn lets you set an expiration date, which is useful for time-limited certifications like CPR or security clearances.
  • You can add certifications while you're still working toward them by leaving the issue date blank until you complete it.

What information LinkedIn requires and what's optional

LinkedIn requires only two pieces of information: the certification name and the issuing organization. Everything else is optional but worth filling in when you have it. The issue date helps people understand when you earned it. The expiration date is particularly important for certifications that expire — if you include it, LinkedIn will remind you when it's coming due, and your profile will show that the certification is current.

The credential URL is the link to your certificate or badge on the issuing organization's website. For example, if you completed a Google Career Certificate, you can link directly to your certificate on Google's platform. This gives people a way to verify you actually hold the certification without having to ask you for proof. If your certification doesn't have a public URL, you can leave this blank.

How to find the credential URL for your certification

Not every certification has a public URL, but many do. Check the organization that issued your certification — most will have a way to view or download your certificate, and that page usually has a shareable link. For example, Coursera, Udemy, Google Career Certificates, and AWS all provide URLs you can copy and paste into LinkedIn. Some certifications, like professional licenses issued by state boards, may not have a public URL at all.

If you're unsure whether your certification has a URL, log into the account where you earned it and look for a "View Certificate" or "Share Certificate" button. If you can't find one, you can still add the certification to LinkedIn without a URL — it just won't be clickable for verification.

Adding certifications you're currently working toward

You can add a certification to your profile before you've finished it. Leave the issue date blank and add a note in the credential URL field or in a comment that you're currently pursuing it. This signals to recruiters that you're developing new skills. Once you complete the certification, come back and fill in the issue date so your profile shows it as complete.

Some people choose not to list in-progress certifications because they worry it looks incomplete. That's a personal choice — there's no rule against it, and it can actually help if you're in a field where continuous learning is valued.

Organizing multiple certifications on your profile

If you have several certifications, LinkedIn displays them in the order you added them, with the most recent at the top. You can reorder them by clicking and dragging. It's worth putting your most relevant or impressive certifications first, since people scanning your profile may not scroll through all of them. If you have more than five or six, consider whether all of them are worth listing — a shorter list of strong, relevant certifications is often more effective than a long list that dilutes your profile.

You can also delete certifications from your profile at any time. Click the pencil icon next to the certification and select "Delete." This is useful if you're removing outdated or less relevant certifications to make room for newer ones.

Privacy and visibility settings for certifications

By default, certifications are visible to everyone who views your profile. You can change this by going to your profile settings and adjusting who can see your certifications — you can make them visible to connections only, or hide them entirely. However, most people keep certifications public since they're meant to demonstrate your qualifications to potential employers and clients.

If a certification has an expiration date and it expires, LinkedIn will mark it as expired on your profile. You can either update it with a new expiration date if you renew it, or delete it. Keeping expired certifications on your profile can signal that your skills may be outdated, so it's worth staying on top of renewals if the certification matters to your work.

Certifications that LinkedIn recognizes and suggests

LinkedIn has partnerships with some certification providers, which means it can recognize certain certifications automatically and may suggest related skills. For example, if you add a Google Cloud certification, LinkedIn might suggest cloud computing or Google Cloud skills. You don't have to accept these suggestions, but they can be useful for making your profile more discoverable in searches.

You can add any certification you hold, even if LinkedIn doesn't recognize it. The name and organization are what matter — LinkedIn will still display it on your profile and make it searchable. If you're adding a less common certification, be as specific as possible with the name so people searching for that skill can find you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I add certifications from online courses like Coursera or Udemy?

Yes. Add the certification name, the platform name as the issuing organization, and include the credential URL if the platform provides one. Most online learning platforms let you share your certificate publicly, which makes it easy to add the link to LinkedIn.

What if my certification doesn't have an expiration date?

Leave the expiration date field blank. LinkedIn will display the certification as permanent. This is fine for most certifications — only include an expiration date if the certification actually expires or needs to be renewed.

Do I need to add certifications if I already mention them in my job descriptions?

It's worth adding them to the dedicated section anyway. The Licenses & Certifications section is more visible and easier for recruiters to scan than details buried in job descriptions. You can mention them in both places without duplication being a problem.

Can employers see my certifications if my profile is private?

That depends on your privacy settings. By default, certifications are visible to everyone. If you've restricted your profile to connections only, only your connections can see your certifications. Check your privacy settings to see who can view your profile and certifications.

What should I do if I let a certification expire?

You can either delete it from your profile or update the expiration date if you renew it. If you're planning to renew soon, you might leave it up with the new expiration date. If you're not renewing, it's cleaner to remove it so your profile doesn't show outdated qualifications.