THE Certificate issued to a Brother by the Grand Lodge is the official declaration that the person named therein is a regularly made Freemason, and is used by a Brother as documentary evidence to this effect.
The custom of issuing these Certificates commenced under the Grand Lodge of England in the year 1755, and under the Grand Lodge of Scotland about ten years later, but the possession of such a certificate was optional under the later Grand Lodge until the year 1862, when it was made imperative that every Master Mason should hold one.
Title
1918 - The Grand Lodge Certificate - V.W. Bro R. Partridge-Wall
