Who this article is for: Service Providers (Testers)
Overview
Your certifications live in your Profile in SwiftComply. When you add, update, or delete a certification in MY CERTIFICATIONS, SwiftComply treats it as your master copy and pushes the change out to every authority that accepts your certifying agency and allows updates from service provider users. Each authority also keeps its own copy of your certifications on its side, which its admins can edit independently. Before you can submit test reports to an authority, that authority has to review and approve you. This article walks through the full workflow and how the multiple copies fit together.
How Certification Copies Work
This is the most important thing to understand about certifications. There isn't one global certification record — there are multiple copies, and changes are scoped by who makes them:
Your master copy lives in your profile under MY CERTIFICATIONS. You own it. This is the record you manage.
Each authority has its own copy of your certification. They see it under the tester's profile in their Service Providers section.
When you make a change to your master copy (add, update, or delete), SwiftComply automatically pushes the change to every authority that:
Accepts your certifying agency, and
Allows updates from service provider users
When an authority user (or SwiftComply admin on their behalf) makes a change on their side, it affects only that authority's copy. Your master copy doesn't change, and no other authority is affected.
💡 Because authority-side edits don't touch your master copy, the most reliable way to keep records consistent across all the authorities you work with is to update your certification from MY CERTIFICATIONS. That pushes your current version to every authority that accepts your updates.
Finding Your Certifications
Click your name or avatar in the top right of the app.
Select Profile from the menu.
Scroll down to the Certifications section on the Profile page.
Certifications has two tabs:
ORGANIZATION COPIES — each authority's copy of your certifications (read-only from this tab)
MY CERTIFICATIONS — your master copy. This is where you add, edit, and delete.
Understanding the Two Tabs
My Certifications (your master copy)
MY CERTIFICATIONS is your master copy. Changes you make here are sent to every authority that accepts your certifying agency and allows updates from service provider users.
Each certification appears as a card showing:
The certification title (for example, "Backflow Testing Certification #1") with a Valid status badge
Certification Number
Certifying Agency
Expiration Date
Certification Type
An image preview of the uploaded certificate
A pencil icon and a red trash icon sit in the top-right of each card.
Organization Copies (what each authority has on file)
ORGANIZATION COPIES shows the copy of your certification that a specific authority currently holds. These cards display a pencil-with-strikethrough icon — meaning you can't edit these records from this tab. The tooltip on the icon says: "This is an organization copy of your certification. Update your own copy in the 'My Certifications' tab to see changes reflected here."
The tab has two parts:
An Organization dropdown at the top — pick the authority whose copy you want to see.
A Required Certifications panel showing which certifications that authority requires (OR logic between options), with a green check next to ones you already satisfy.
Because each authority's copy can drift from your master (they may have made a local edit, or they may not accept tester updates), the ORGANIZATION COPIES tab is useful for spotting when something looks different on an authority's side than on yours.
Adding a Certification
Go to Profile → Certifications.
Click the MY CERTIFICATIONS tab.
Scroll down past any existing certifications and click Add Certification.
The New Certification form appears. Fill in:
Certification Number* — the unique identifier on your certificate
Certifying Agency* — pick from the dropdown. Options include TCEQ, ABPA, AWWA, ASSE, and Washington State.
Expiration Date* — use the date picker
Certification Type* — pick from the dropdown
Certificate Image* — click Choose File and select the file. Accepted file types: .jpg, .jpeg, .pdf, .png
Click Save.
The new certification appears in MY CERTIFICATIONS with a Valid status. It's also automatically pushed to every authority that accepts the selected certifying agency and allows updates from service provider users, where it will appear in their review queue as a new or updated cert.
Updating a Certification
Use this when you renew, get a new expiration date, or need to correct a detail.
Go to Profile → Certifications → MY CERTIFICATIONS.
Find the certification you want to update and click the pencil (edit) icon in the top-right of the card.
The card becomes an Edit Certification form with your current values pre-populated:
Certification Number*
Certifying Agency*
Expiration Date*
Certification Type*
Certificate Image* — the current uploaded image is shown on the right. To replace it, click Choose File and pick a new file.
Change whatever needs updating.
Click Update.
Your update is sent to every authority that accepts the certifying agency and allows updates from service provider users. You may see a confirmation dialog listing the specific organizations that will receive the change.
💡 The simplest way to handle a renewal is to update the existing certification with the new expiration date and upload the new certificate image — that way the update flows out to every authority automatically.
Deleting a Certification
Go to Profile → Certifications → MY CERTIFICATIONS.
Find the certification you want to delete and click the red trash icon in the top-right of the card.
A Delete Certification dialog appears, listing every organization that will receive the change.
Review the list of organizations. If you're comfortable proceeding, click Delete. Otherwise click Cancel.
💡 Your changes to this certification will be sent to all organizations that accept this certifying agency and allow updates from service provider users.
Deleting is permanent for your master copy and is pushed out to every listed authority that accepts tester updates.
Waiting for Authority Approval
Uploading a certification to MY CERTIFICATIONS is only the first step. Each authority you work with reviews your certifications and approves you before you can submit test reports to them. Until that approval is in place, the authority won't accept a test report from you.
The short version:
When you add a new certification, the authority needs to review and approve it before you can submit test reports to that authority.
When you update a certification (for example, a renewal with a new expiration date), the authority may need to re-review it. Your authority's Notifications tab has a Service Provider Users To Re-Review queue for exactly this.
Expired certifications block test report submission. Once a certification is past its expiration date, SwiftComply won't let you submit new test reports that are tied to that certification.
⚠️ If you try to submit a test report and SwiftComply blocks you because of a certification problem, first check that your certification isn't expired in MY CERTIFICATIONS. If it's current, the authority may not have approved you yet — reach out to them to confirm where you are in their review queue.
For the authority side of the review and approval process, see Managing Tester Certifications (Authority).
Why You Still Want to Manage Your Own Certifications
Even though authority users can edit their own copy of your certifications, keeping your own master copy current in MY CERTIFICATIONS is still the cleanest approach. Here's why:
Your master pushes to everyone. When you save a change in MY CERTIFICATIONS, it goes out to every authority that accepts your updates. You don't have to contact each authority separately.
Authority edits are local. If an authority edits their copy on their side, only their copy changes. Other authorities still have the older version, and your master is unchanged.
You keep one source of truth. Keeping your master up to date means your records are consistent regardless of what any individual authority has done on their side.
If you see an authority's copy looks wrong (check ORGANIZATION COPIES to confirm), the fastest fix is usually to re-save your master — that pushes your current version out and (if they accept updates) brings their copy back in sync.
FAQ
Q: An authority says my certification looks wrong on their end. What do I do?
A: First, check the ORGANIZATION COPIES tab for that specific authority to see what they have on file. If it differs from your MY CERTIFICATIONS copy, the most reliable fix is to open your certification in MY CERTIFICATIONS and click Update (even without changing anything) — saving pushes your current version to that authority if they accept updates. If that authority doesn't accept tester updates, or if their copy was intentionally edited on their side, ask the authority to correct their copy directly.
Q: An authority deleted my certification. Did I lose it?
A: No. The authority only deleted their copy. Your master copy in MY CERTIFICATIONS is unchanged, and every other authority still has their own copy. This is a recent change — previously, a delete by one authority could cascade to others. Now each copy is independent.
Q: Does every authority I work with automatically receive my updates?
A: Only the authorities that (1) accept your certifying agency and (2) allow updates from service provider users. When you save an edit or delete, SwiftComply shows you the full list of affected authorities in the confirmation dialog.
Q: Can I add multiple certifications from the same certifying agency?
A: Yes. Each certification is a separate card in MY CERTIFICATIONS. Keep in mind that saving a new certification with the same agency and type as an existing one may overwrite the existing record — if in doubt, edit the existing certification instead of adding a new one.
Q: What file formats can I upload for the Certificate Image?
A: .jpg, .jpeg, .pdf, and .png. The file is visible on the certification card after saving and is included in what each authority reviews.
Q: How do I see which certifications a specific authority requires from me?
A: Go to Profile → Certifications → ORGANIZATION COPIES, pick the authority from the Organization dropdown, and look at the Required Certifications panel. A green check next to a certification means you already satisfy the requirement.