An award certificate for recognizing achievement is a simple piece of paper. There is usually a title plus the name of the recipient, but there are also a few other components that make up most award certificates.

The components discussed here apply primarily to certificates of achievement; recognition awards for employees, students, or teachers; and certificates of participation. Diplomas and similar official certification documents may contain additional elements related to their legal status.

Most informal certificates contain the following components:

In addition to the textual elements, most informal awards and certificates contain a number of common visual motifs: