# Certifications Certifications are most often awarded by industry organizations and are based on assessments of skills and knowledge. Licenses may be managed by local government agencies. A certification can have an external ID for linking to off-chain data. Certifications have an expiration date, which allows for requiring professionals to renew their certifications. A certification will have defined requirements (courses). Each course is made up of a **Module** (subject) and **Credits** (hours). Once the professional has met all the requirements they will receive that certification. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.vanward.io/overview/certifications.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.