Regenerating certificates after changing details¶
In short: When you correct a donor's details, their existing certificates still show the old values. Fix the donor record first, then run update all certificates for that donor — ActiveDonor copies the new details onto every certificate and regenerates each PDF. Certificates already submitted to SARS are locked; revoke and re-issue those instead.
Overview¶
When you correct a donor's details — address, email, phone, tax number, ID/registration number or donor type — the Section 18A certificates already issued to that donor still show the old details until their PDFs are re-generated. ActiveDonor can re-sync all of a donor's certificates to the donor's current details and regenerate every PDF in one step, so you don't have to fix each certificate by hand.
This is different from refreshing a single certificate, which only re-renders that one PDF from details already on the certificate — see Refreshing a certificate and removing SAMPLE text.
Before you start¶
You'll need:
- The Manage Certificates permission.
- The donor's details fixed first (address, email, phone, tax info, donor type) on the donor record — the re-sync copies from the donor, so correct the source before running it.
What gets updated on each certificate¶
When you re-sync a donor's certificates, ActiveDonor copies the donor's current values onto every certificate for that donor and regenerates each PDF. The fields it refreshes are:
- Recipient address (line 1, line 2, line 3) and post code.
- Recipient email and phone.
- Donor type.
- Identity type and country of issue.
- ID / registration number and tax number.
- Trading name and date of birth.
It then re-generates the PDF for each certificate.
⚠️ Important: Any previously uploaded signed PDF for those certificates is cleared, so the freshly generated PDF becomes the active file. Re-upload your signed files afterwards if you still need them — see Uploading your own certificate PDF.
Re-syncing a donor's certificates¶
Step 1: Correct the donor¶
Open the donor and correct the details that were wrong (address, contact details, tax number, ID/registration number, donor type, etc.).
Step 2: Update all certificates¶
Run update all certificates for that donor (re-sync). ActiveDonor updates every certificate belonging to the donor with the new details and regenerates the PDFs.
Step 3: Confirm¶
When it finishes you see "All certificates have been updated successfully."
Important: certificates already submitted to SARS¶
Re-syncing changes the certificate details and PDF in ActiveDonor. It does not notify SARS. If a certificate has already been included in an IT3(d) submission, you must not silently change what the donor will claim — the correct path for a certificate that's wrong and already with SARS is to revoke it and issue a new one (see Section 18A issued and revoked reports), then include the new certificate in the next IT3(d) file. The certificate form blocks editing of submitted certificates with: "This Section 18A cannot be edited as it has been submitted to SARS. Please revoke it and re-issue a new one."
Regenerate vs refresh vs edit¶
| Action | What it changes | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| Refresh (Re-generate PDF File) | Re-renders one certificate's PDF from its existing details/settings | Remove SAMPLE watermark; pick up new logo/signature/wording |
| Re-sync all certificates (this article) | Copies the donor's current details onto all their certificates and regenerates every PDF | After correcting a donor's address, contact or tax details |
| Edit certificate | Change one certificate's own details, then regenerate | Fix a detail specific to a single certificate |
Common issues & solutions¶
| What you see | What it means | How to fix it |
|---|---|---|
| A certificate still shows old details after re-sync. | The donor record wasn't corrected first, or the certificate is locked. | Confirm the donor itself was corrected (re-sync copies from the donor). If the certificate is with SARS, revoke and re-issue instead. |
| The uploaded signed PDF disappeared. | Re-syncing clears uploaded PDFs and regenerates the system PDF. | Re-upload the signed file — see Uploading your own certificate PDF. |
| Nothing happened for certificates already with SARS. | Submitted certificates can't be edited. | Revoke and re-issue them. |
FAQ¶
I fixed a donor's address — how do I update all their old certificates? Correct the donor record, then run update all certificates for that donor — see I corrected a donor's tax or ID number — how do I update all their Section 18A certificates? for the steps.
Will re-syncing change my hand-signed uploaded PDFs? Yes — it clears uploaded PDFs and regenerates the system version. Re-upload your signed copies afterwards.
What about certificates already sent to SARS? They're locked. Revoke and re-issue a corrected one rather than silently changing it.
Difference between refresh and re-sync? Refresh rebuilds one certificate's PDF from its own details. Re-sync copies the donor's current details onto all their certificates and rebuilds every PDF.
Related¶
- I corrected a donor's tax or ID number — how do I update all their Section 18A certificates?
- Refreshing a certificate and removing SAMPLE text
- Issuing a single Section 18A certificate
- Uploading your own certificate PDF
- Section 18A issued and revoked reports
- Generating the IT3(d) file for SARS