Free Ordination Certificate Templates

What Is a Certificate of Ordination?

An Ordination Certificate is a formal document prepared by a church leader to certify the individual named in writing has complied with the training and educational requirements to become a minister. To confirm a person was officially sanctioned to perform the duties of the minister, there must be a ceremony of ordination.

Once the ceremony is finished and the Certificate of Ordination is given to the newly ordained minister, they are allowed to teach religious beliefs in line with the position of their church or other religious institution, lead the religious services like baptisms, weddings, and funerals, and offer spiritual guidance to churchgoers and other members of the local community.

You can find a full list of Ordination Certificate templates in our library below.

How to Get an Ordination Certificate?

If you are not involved in the life of the local church or religious community and are not in contact with any pastors or ministers that can advise you personally and help you to meet the specific requirements of the religious institution you want to belong to, it is possible to obtain a Certificate of Ordination online. There are multiple websites that offer any willing individual an opportunity to get ordained - not only you will undergo the necessary training and receive the information about regulations in your state, but you will also get a certificate that proves you are permitted to perform various religious rites.

Depending on the ministry, you may be asked to pay a small fee or provide a donation. Wait for one or two weeks after you filed a request for ordination - you will receive the Ordination Certificate to the physical address you have indicated in your application. When you have the certificate, reach out to a county clerk in your state to ensure this certificate is legally recognized before you officiate any ceremonies or engage in religious teachings.

How to Fill Out a Certificate of Ordination?

To compose an Ordination Certificate for Ministers, you should follow these steps:

1. Indicate the title of the church or organization that is ordaining the individual in question on top of the certificate. You should use a large font, and while the document is official, it will not be harmful to add words in elegant calligraphy fonts since the minister will likely frame the certificate. It is up to you to choose decorations and ornaments but usually, a certificate of this kind is minimalistic and the only embellishment is the logo of the church - with or without a slogan, quote from the Bible, or simply a Bible verse number.
2. State the title of the document - "Certificate of Ordination" - and align the words centrally. The title should be the largest on the document but be careful not to run out of space for other details.
3. When it comes to the main Ordination Certificate wording, you may resort to the simple sentence that verifies the ordination - for instance, "This certificate was given to the [name of the person] to confirm [he or she] is a fully ordained pastor/minister of the [name of the church]". It may be a good idea to briefly list the duties of the minister or record the terms of their future activity - for example, you can say "The minister will conform to the guidelines and teachings of the church".
4. Enter the date of the ordination ceremony - if you need to prepare the certificate before the event takes place, leave this line blank and fill it out later.
5. To confirm the certificate is valid, sign the document - it should be signed by the church leader or head pastor and another important member of the church that serves as a witness to the ordination. While the rest of the document can be printed - and you should save a copy of the document for future ordinations - the signature needs to be authentic so make sure you leave some space for it when you draft a template.

Haven't found the template you're looking for? Take a look at the related templates below:

• Wedding Certificate Template;
• Certificate of Achievement Template;
• Baptism Certificate Template.