Yes, if you sell original Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art online, a certificate of authenticity (often called a COA) is one of the most useful things you can send with the work. It tells the buyer who made the piece, where it came from and that it is genuine. For an art centre, it is also simple to produce, because the details already live in your records.
Why a certificate matters for online buyers
When someone buys art in a gallery, they can see the work, meet staff and ask questions. Online, they are trusting a photo and a page of text. A certificate closes that gap. It gives the buyer something to keep, show an insurer or hand on if they ever resell the piece.
It also protects the artist and the art centre. Fake and unethical “Aboriginal style” products are a real problem in the market, and a clear record of where a work came from helps buyers tell the difference.
What a good certificate includes
Keep it to one page and make it easy to read. Most art centres cover these details:
- The artist’s name, and their language group or community where they are happy for it to be shared.
- The title of the work, the year it was painted, the medium and the size.
- A unique catalogue or inventory number that matches your records.
- A short description or story for the work, as approved by the artist.
- A photo of the finished piece, so the certificate clearly belongs to that work.
- The art centre’s name, contact details and a signature or stamp.
- The date of sale.
Check cultural protocols before publishing any story or image. Some artists, families or communities have rules about what can be shared and when, so the certificate should only include what the artist is comfortable with.
Paper, digital or both?
A printed certificate packed with the artwork feels special and is hard to lose in an inbox. A digital copy, sent in the order confirmation email, is a handy backup and arrives immediately. Doing both is easy and costs very little.
Whichever you choose, make sure the certificate does not rely on a link that might break later. A PDF attached to the email, plus a printed copy, will still be there in ten years.
How to make it part of your online store
The smoothest approach is to build the certificate from the same information that already sits behind your product pages. If your artist name, title, medium, size and catalogue number are recorded properly, the certificate can be generated from them rather than retyped for every sale. That saves time and avoids the small errors that creep in when details are copied by hand.
On a WooCommerce store, this can be as simple as a tidy PDF template that staff fill in at dispatch, or as automated as a certificate attached to the order email. Our WooCommerce development work often covers exactly this kind of practical add-on, and we are careful to keep it simple enough for a small team to run.
Mention it on the product page
Tell buyers up front that every work comes with a certificate. A single line near the price, such as “Each artwork is sold with a certificate of authenticity signed by the art centre”, builds confidence at the moment people decide whether to buy. It is also worth a mention in your shipping and returns information.
What a certificate cannot do
A certificate supports trust, but it is not a legal guarantee on its own, and it does not replace good record keeping. Keep your own copy of every certificate you issue, linked to the sale. If a buyer ever asks you to confirm a work, you will be able to answer quickly. For anything involving valuation, insurance or legal questions, check with a qualified professional.
Getting started
Start with a simple template and use it consistently for a month. You will quickly see what buyers appreciate and what you can leave out. If you are planning or rebuilding your online gallery, our page on websites for art centres and galleries explains how we approach the whole picture, and you can see examples in our work.
Want help adding certificates to your store? Call us on 02 9834 4119 or get in touch here.
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