Formstack is one of the most capable form builders available for enterprise teams, professional services, healthcare organizations, and educational institutions. It combines online form creation, document generation, e-signatures, and workflow automation in a single platform, integrating deeply with tools like Salesforce, HubSpot, Google Workspace, and Microsoft 365.
It is widely used for course registrations, event sign-ups, compliance acknowledgements, client intake, and employee onboarding. In almost every one of these scenarios, the end of a form submission is the beginning of a credentialing moment. A course completes, a training is passed, an event is attended. The question is always the same: how do you get a certificate into the hands of the person who earned it?
This guide covers every method available for issuing certificates from Formstack submissions, who is currently using each method and how, the honest limitations of each approach, and the cleanest way to automate the entire process.
How Formstack Users Are Currently Issuing Certificates
Before looking at the tools, it helps to understand how real Formstack users are currently solving this problem, based on community discussions, G2 reviews, and Capterra feedback.
The most common approach is Formstack Documents (formerly WebMerge). Users build a certificate template in Microsoft Word using Formstack's merge field syntax, connect it to their Formstack form via the native integration, and configure an email delivery so the generated PDF is sent to the respondent automatically. This is the recommended path inside the Formstack ecosystem and works reasonably well for teams who are comfortable working in Word and do not need design-heavy output.
The second most common approach is Zapier plus a third-party document tool. Teams who find Formstack Documents too expensive or too limited for their needs connect Formstack to tools like Docmosis, PDFMonkey, or Google Slides via Zapier. Docmosis, for example, uses Word-based templates and connects to Formstack through Zapier, triggering certificate generation on every new submission. A tutorial for this exact workflow, generating a course completion certificate via Docmosis and Zapier from a Formstack form, is one of the more frequently referenced guides in the community.
The third approach is entirely manual. Many smaller organizations and individual educators download their Formstack submission data as a CSV, open a certificate template in Canva or Word, manually fill in each recipient's name and details, export individual PDFs, and email them one by one. This approach is still common among teams who have not yet set up an automated workflow, particularly for low-volume use cases.
A small number of power users build custom API integrations. Development teams use Formstack's webhook support to POST submission data to a custom backend, generate the certificate programmatically, and deliver it through their own email infrastructure. This is the most flexible approach but requires developer resources to build and maintain.
Method 1: Formstack's Built-In Simple PDF Feature
Formstack has a basic built-in PDF generation feature available directly from the form settings. It is the simplest option but also the most limited.
How It Works
From within your Formstack Form Editor, navigate to Form Settings and scroll down to the PDF confirmation options. You can configure Formstack to generate a simple PDF copy of the form submission and attach it to your notification or confirmation email. You can add your logo, select which fields appear in the PDF, and choose to export all submissions as one combined PDF or as individual PDFs per submission.
This feature is described in Formstack's documentation as "Simple PDFs" and is available on all plan levels for the Formstack Salesforce App. For standard Formstack Forms, it is referred to as "Advanced PDF" and allows you to add a logo, choose field mappings, and attach the document to notification or confirmation emails.
What It Is Good For
This feature is suitable for generating a basic record of a form submission. It is a quick way to produce a document that contains the form data in a structured format, and it requires no external tools or additional subscriptions.
Its Limitations for Certificates
The Simple PDF and Advanced PDF features are not designed for certificates. The output is a formatted version of the form fields, not a designed document. You cannot control the visual layout in any meaningful way beyond adding a logo. There is no way to create a certificate that looks like a certificate, with a decorative border, a branded background, a signature line, or a design that communicates achievement. For anything a recipient would be proud to share, this feature falls short. Formstack's own documentation acknowledges this, noting that users who want custom PDFs should use Formstack Documents instead.
Method 2: Formstack Documents (The Native Document Generation Path)
Formstack Documents, formerly known as WebMerge, is Formstack's dedicated document automation product. It is the platform's recommended solution for generating professional documents from form submissions, including certificates.
How It Works
Formstack Documents uses a Word-document-based template system. You build your certificate template in Microsoft Word, Google Docs, or any word processor that supports .docx files, then insert merge field placeholders in the format {$FirstName}, {$CourseTitle}, and {$CompletionDate} wherever you want form data to appear. You upload the template to Formstack Documents, connect your Formstack Form via the native integration using an API key, map your form fields to the merge fields in the template, and configure email delivery. From that point, every new form submission triggers the document generation automatically.
Step-by-Step Setup
Step 1: Build your template in Word. Create your certificate design in Microsoft Word. Add your organization logo, set your layout, and insert merge field placeholders for dynamic content. Save the file as a .docx.
Step 2: Upload the template to Formstack Documents. Log into your Formstack Documents account, go to Documents, click New Document, and choose to upload your Word template. Formstack Documents will parse your merge fields automatically.
Step 3: Set the output format. Choose PDF for a non-editable certificate that recipients can download and share.
Step 4: Configure delivery. Under the Deliver tab in Formstack Documents, set up email delivery. Add the recipient's email address using a merge field such as {$Email}, customize the subject line and email body, and save.
Step 5: Connect to your Formstack Form. In your Formstack Form, go to Settings, then Integrations, search for Formstack Documents, and click Add. Enter your Formstack Documents API key and secret, select your template, and map your form fields to the corresponding merge fields. Run a few test submissions to verify everything populates correctly.
Step 6: Go live. Once your test submissions look correct, your workflow is live. Every new Formstack submission will now trigger a personalized certificate delivered by email.
Pricing
Formstack Documents starts at approximately $99 to $110 per month for the Starter plan, which includes 10 document templates. The Teams plan is approximately $220 per month and the Pro plan approximately $440 per month. There is no free plan, though a free trial is available. Formstack Documents is also included in the Formstack Suite plan, which bundles Forms, Documents, and Sign.
The Cons of Using Formstack Documents for Certificates
Based on community feedback from G2, Capterra, and direct user reviews, these are the most commonly reported limitations of using Formstack Documents for certificate issuance.
1. Initial setup is complex. Multiple G2 and Capterra reviewers describe the initial configuration as challenging, particularly the template building process and field mapping. Users frequently note that the platform becomes straightforward once configured, but the learning curve for non-technical users is steep. One G2 reviewer noted that some advanced features are "tricky to set up initially" and that hidden features occasionally appear without logical explanation.
2. Design is constrained by Word. Because templates are built in Microsoft Word, your certificate design is limited by what Word can produce. Achieving a visually impressive, design-forward certificate that rivals what a dedicated design tool produces is genuinely difficult. Users on Capterra have noted that "the designing of the templates could be more interchangeable" and that design flexibility is limited.
3. The template cap is restrictive. The Starter plan limits you to 10 document templates. For organizations managing multiple events, courses, or programs, each of which may require a different certificate design, this cap creates real constraints. Upgrading to the Teams plan to unlock more templates more than doubles the monthly cost.
4. The price is high for certificate-only use cases. At $99 to $110 per month for the Starter plan, Formstack Documents is priced as an enterprise document automation platform. For teams whose primary need is certificate issuance, the cost is difficult to justify, particularly when the certificate design output is limited by the Word template approach.
5. No credential-specific features. Formstack Documents generates a PDF. It does not add anything that makes that PDF a verifiable credential. There are no unique certificate IDs, no QR verification codes, no shareable verification links, and no recipient portal. A recipient who wants to prove their certificate is authentic has no way to do so through the document itself.
6. No engagement tracking. Once the certificate email is sent, visibility ends. You cannot see who opened the email, downloaded the certificate, or shared it on LinkedIn. For organizations that care about the downstream impact of their credentialing, this data does not exist.
7. Bulk sending to historical entries is not straightforward. If you have a backlog of past Formstack submissions that never received certificates, there is no simple one-click workflow to generate and send certificates to all of them. It requires exporting data and managing the process manually or building a custom integration.
Method 3: Zapier Plus a Third-Party Certificate Tool
For teams who need more design flexibility than Formstack Documents provides, or who find the pricing too high for their use case, connecting Formstack to a third-party certificate or document tool via Zapier is a common alternative.
Tools like Docmosis, PDFMonkey, Carbone, and similar document generation services connect to Formstack through Zapier. The workflow is the same in principle: a new Formstack submission fires a Zapier trigger, the data is passed to the document tool, a certificate is generated from a pre-built template, and delivery is configured through an additional Zap step.
This approach gives you access to a wider range of template options and pricing structures, but it adds another tool and another monthly subscription to your stack, and it still does not solve the credential-specific feature gap, since most general document tools do not include QR verification, certificate IDs, or recipient portals either.
Method 4: Automate Formstack Certificate Issuance with Wauld
For organizations that need professional-grade certificates with real credential features, delivered automatically from every Formstack submission, Wauld is purpose-built for this exact workflow.
What Wauld Is
Wauld is a digital credentialing platform that handles the full lifecycle of a certificate: design, generation, delivery, and tracking. Where Formstack Documents generates a PDF, Wauld generates a verifiable credential. Every certificate includes a unique certificate ID, a QR verification code, and a shareable verification link that any third party can use to confirm the certificate is authentic and has not been tampered with.
What Wauld Adds Over Formstack Documents
Wauld includes 900+ professionally designed certificate templates that you customize in a visual drag-and-drop editor, no Word document required. Recipients can download their certificate as a PDF or PNG, share it directly to LinkedIn in one click, or access it any time through their Wauld recipient portal. You can also add certificates to Apple Wallet.
From the Wauld dashboard, you track engagement in real time: who opened the delivery email, who downloaded the certificate, who shared it on LinkedIn, and who has had their certificate verified via QR scan. You can re-issue certificates to individual recipients with one click, and bulk generate certificates for historical Formstack entries using Wauld's batch processing tool. Wauld's free plan includes Zapier connectivity and supports up to 300 certificates, making it practical for most course cohorts, events, and community programs.
How to Connect Formstack to Wauld
Via Zapier: In Zapier, create a new Zap with Formstack as the trigger and "New Submission" as the event. Connect your Formstack account, select your form, and run a test to confirm all fields appear correctly. Set Wauld as the action, select "Generate Document," choose your certificate template, and map your Formstack field values to the corresponding Wauld merge tags. Add any additional delivery steps such as Gmail, Google Drive, or Slack, then turn on the Zap.
Via Webhook: In Wauld, go to Integrations, then Webhooks, and create a new endpoint. Copy the endpoint URL. In Formstack, navigate to your form's Settings, open the Integrations section, and add a new webhook pointing to the Wauld URL. Submit a test entry, confirm the payload arrived in Wauld, map your field names to your template merge tags, configure delivery, and you are live.
Via Pabbly Connect: In Pabbly Connect, create a new workflow with Formstack as the trigger and Wauld as the action. Pabbly's flat monthly pricing makes it a cost-effective alternative to Zapier for high-volume Formstack submissions.
Our Recommendation
Formstack is a capable platform for data collection and workflow automation. For certificate issuance, the native path through Formstack Documents works, but comes with a meaningful cost, a design ceiling rooted in Word-based templates, and no credential-specific features.
For organizations that need certificates that look genuinely professional, carry verifiable credentials, track recipient engagement, and scale without manual effort, connecting Formstack to Wauld via Zapier, webhook, or Pabbly Connect is the more complete solution.
