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Overview

:::info Source Sourced from services/certification-service/SERVICE_OVERVIEW.md in the documentation repo. :::

1. Purpose​

Issues verifiable certificates on course completion. Manages templates, JWS proof, verification tokens, revocation, offline issuance claims. Retention indefinite for verifiability.

2. Bounded Context​

Certification (Supporting). Ubiquitous language: Certificate, CertificateTemplate, IssuanceProof, RevocationRecord, VerificationToken, OfflineIssuanceClaim.

3. Responsibilities​

  • Listen for progress.completion.recorded.v1 → issue certificate.
  • Render PDF + PNG + OpenBadges 3.0 artifacts.
  • Expose public verification endpoint (unauthenticated, rate-limited).
  • Handle offline issuance claims (learner completes offline → local claim → verify + issue on reconnect).
  • Support revocation with reason + propagation.

4. Non-Responsibilities​

  • Does not grade (assessment); does not record completion (progress); does not store learner PII beyond name + enrollment ref.

5. Dependencies​

  • Upstream: progress-service (completion event), authoring-service (template refs).
  • Downstream: notification-service (issued cert notification), analytics-service, search-service (indexable).
  • External: (optional) blockchain anchors for tamper-evident cert.

6. Slices & Milestones​

  • S1 (M1): certificate stub (issue + verify).
  • S4 (M3): full templates + branding + OpenBadges.
  • S5 (M4): offline issuance claim flow; mobile wallet support.

7. Architectural Freeze Points​

  • F13 — Certificate proof JWS schema: frozen M3 start; additive fields only.
  • F14 — Verification token format: frozen M3 start.

8. Key Invariants​

  • One certificate per (enrollment, courseVersion) unless retake creates new attempt.
  • Certificate state: pending_offline_verification → issued → revoked.
  • JWS proof signed by tenant key; public key via JWKS on verification endpoint.
  • Verification token is ULID with HMAC fingerprint.