Free gift certificate template — print it today

Yes. The gift certificate template on this page — and the Christmas version and the tracking log — download free as a Word document and a PDF, with no email address and no sign-up. Edit the Word file in Word or any app that opens Word documents, or print the PDF and fill it in by hand.

Your business name and contact details; the value, as a dollar amount or a named service; who it's for and who it's from; a certificate number that never repeats; the issue date and any expiry date (or “Does not expire”); the terms — where it's redeemable, not redeemable for cash except where the law requires, replaceable from its number; and your signature or initials.

A gift certificate is the paper version: a printed voucher with a value written on it. A gift card is the same promise on a plastic card or as a digital code. In the US the law treats them differently — the federal gift card rule covers plastic and digital cards, while a paper-only certificate falls under state law (see the rules below). Day to day the difference is practical: a printed certificate costs nothing and is sold at the counter; a digital gift card is sold from your website, delivered by email, and tracks its own balance.

Number every certificate and write it in a log when you sell it: the number, the date, who bought it, who it's for and the value. When it's redeemed, write the date and any remaining balance on the same line. The tracking log on this page is that list — print it, or keep the same columns in a spreadsheet.

Yes, and for most small businesses it's the simplest answer. In the US, the federal five-year minimum covers plastic and digital gift cards, paper certificates fall under state law, and some states don't allow an expiry at all — a certificate that never expires sidesteps all of it. The trade-off is that the obligation stays on your books until it's redeemed.

Only if you print an expiry date — and then it depends what you sold. The federal gift card rule (Regulation E §1005.20) covers plastic and digital gift cards and requires at least five years from the date the card was issued (or last loaded); a certificate issued on paper only is exempt from it and falls under state law. Some states, California among them, don't allow expiry dates on most gift certificates at all, and the rule is different again in Canada, Australia and the UK — so check your state's rules before you print a date.

In the US, Canada and Australia, sales tax (or GST) is generally charged when the certificate is redeemed, not when it's sold — it's a payment for future goods or services. The UK is the exception: VAT on a single-purpose voucher is due when the voucher is sold. Rules vary by state and business type, so confirm the details with your accountant.

Not from a Word file — the buyer would still have to collect it. To sell online, the gift card has to be sold, paid for and delivered from your website. If your website is on Zarla, turn gift cards on and the site sells them for you: the buyer pays by card, the recipient gets a branded digital card by email, and every balance is tracked in your dashboard — on a paid plan, with Stripe connected.

Word if you'll type your details in and print a batch; PDF if you'd rather print blank certificates and fill them in by hand, or hand the file to a print shop. Both are the same certificate.

The templates here print at US Letter size (8.5 × 11 inches), landscape, one certificate per page — cut along the border, or leave the margin as a frame. For a smaller card, print two to a page from the PDF using your printer's “pages per sheet” setting.