Blank Certificate Templates: Free, Fillable, Print and Hand-Write

What is a blank certificate template?

A blank certificate template is a pre-designed printable certificate with the design, borders, and headings already done but the name, award, and date fields left empty. You print it on cardstock and write the personalized details by hand at the ceremony. Award Generator (awardgen.com) ships four blank template designs (Classic, Modern, Athletic, Premium) for free, no signup. The same wizard also offers a fully personalized path if you want everything pre-printed.

Blank vs personalized at a glance

Blank (hand-write)

Good for small ceremonies (5 to 10 kids)
Nice for the writing-on-stage moment
Requires decent handwriting
Print one design once, reuse for any kid

Personalized (PDF)

Good for bigger teams (12 or more kids)
Clean print quality, no handwriting variance
Lets you write a one-line personal note
Whole team in one PDF, print and done

How to print a blank certificate template

Three minutes to a blank PDF, then print as many as you need.

Pick a template

Four designs to choose from: Classic, Modern, Athletic, Premium.

Type team info only

Team name, season, coach name. Leave player names and awards blank.

Skip the roster step

You can add 1 placeholder player or leave it empty depending on how the wizard prompts you.

Download the blank PDF

The PDF prints with design and team info, but blank lines where names and awards go.

Print on cardstock and hand-write

Bring a nice pen to the banquet. Write names as you hand each certificate over.

The pen matters more than you think

If you're going the hand-write route, the pen choice is half the look. A cheap ballpoint makes the certificate look like a permission slip. A real pen makes it look intentional. Three picks that work:

Sharpie Fine Point (black or gold), $2 at any drug store. Bold, dries fast, won't smudge.
Pilot G2 0.7mm (black), $1.50. Smooth, looks more formal than a Bic.
Tombow Fudenosuke calligraphy pen, $4 on Amazon. Feels fancy, makes any handwriting look better.

Skip the metallic gel pens. They look great until they smear at the banquet.

Frequently asked questions

Where can I get free blank certificate templates?

Award Generator (awardgen.com) gives you free blank certificate templates you can print and fill in by hand, or personalize digitally and download as a finished PDF. Four design styles (Classic, Modern, Athletic, Premium), no signup, no watermark. The blank version is good for ceremonies where you want to write the name on stage. The personalized version is good when you want everything printed clean.

How do I make a blank certificate I can fill in by hand?

Open the wizard, pick a template, type your team name and season, and leave the player name and award fields blank. Hit download. The PDF prints with the design and your team info filled in, but the kid's name and the award title are blank lines. Bring a nice pen to the banquet and write each kid's name as you hand the certificate to them. Looks intentional, not lazy.

Can I print blank certificates and fill them in Word later?

You can, but it's usually easier to fill the names in the wizard than to import a PDF into Word. If you want to edit in Word, screenshot the blank PDF and paste it into Word as a background image, then layer text on top. The wizard is faster for most use cases. The blank-and-hand-write workflow is the better fit when you only have a Word doc to work with.

Are these blank certificate templates fillable in Adobe Acrobat?

The downloaded PDF is not interactively fillable (no form fields). You can open it in Adobe Acrobat, add text boxes manually, and type names that way, but it is slower than just using the wizard. For a fully fillable PDF workflow, the wizard at awardgen.com handles the same job in fewer clicks. The blank PDF is for the print-then-hand-write path.

When should I use a blank template vs a personalized one?

Blank works when you have a small ceremony (5 to 10 kids), nice handwriting, and you want the writing-on-stage moment. Personalized works when you have 12 or more kids, want clean print quality, or are doing the banquet at home and don't want to fight with handwriting. The wizard supports both, so pick based on the vibe of your event.

Get your blank certificates

Free, no signup, ready in three minutes. Skip the player roster step and you have blank PDFs ready to print.

Open the wizard

Blank Certificate Templates