Who this is for: Affiliates using Hovn for class management and AHA certification issuance.
What Hovn does for you: Hovn handles your class scheduling, rosters, and certification issuance. Card ordering still happens through your Training Center — that doesn't change.
Total setup time: ~30 minutes
By the end of this guide, you'll have:
Your instructor profile complete with AHA credentials
Your AHA Card Bank connected and verified
Your first course created
A training location added
A session scheduled with students registered
Certifications issued
Steps 1–3: Help you connect to your AHA Card Bank
Steps 4–9: Help you create a course, roster, and issue cards
Before You Start
Before you begin, gather these three things. You'll need all of them during setup:
Your AHA Instructor ID — This is the numeric ID from your Atlas profile at atlas.heart.org.
Your Training Center ID — Provided by your Training Center. If you don't have it, ask your TC before starting.
Your AHA Requester Key — Generate this at ecards.heart.org/APIgateway. You must be logged into your own AHA account when you generate it. The key is tied to the person who generates it.
When you accept your admin invite and log in, you'll land on the Sessions page. It will be empty — that's expected. Follow the steps below in order.
Step 1: Add Yourself as an Instructor
Every instructor who appears on a roster needs a profile in Hovn with their AHA credentials. For most affiliates, you are both the admin and the instructor — so you'll invite yourself.
Your AHA Instructor ID must be entered here before you can connect your card bank in Step 2.
Send the invite:
Go to Instructors in the left sidebar.
Click + Invite Instructors.
In the Invite Staff modal, enter your own name and email.
Set the Role to Instructor.
Session Management toggle — turn this on if you want to create and edit sessions. Most solo operators will want this on.
Click Send Invitations.
Accept and complete your profile:
You'll receive an email from Hovn. Click View Invite, then Accept on the confirmation page.
Hovn walks you through a 4-step profile setup:
Step 1 of 4 — Contact Information: Name, email, phone, and address. Fill in what's needed and click Save & Continue.
Step 2 of 4 — Work Information: Profession, Role, Place of Work. This is optional — you can fill it in or click Skip.
Step 3 of 4 — Instructor IDs: This is critical.
Click Add your American Heart Association instructor ID (or click + Add Instructor ID).
Confirm Agency is set to American Heart Association.
Enter your Instructor ID — the numeric ID from your Atlas profile at atlas.heart.org.
Click Add.
⚠️ Do not skip this step. Your AHA Instructor ID is what Hovn sends to the AHA when submitting rosters and issuing certifications. If it's missing or wrong, issuance will fail — even if your card bank is connected. You'll also need this ID again in Step 2 when connecting your card bank.
Step 4 of 4 — Instructor Certifications: Add the certifications for the disciplines you teach.
Click + Instructor Certification.
Add your BLS Instructor certification (and any others — ACLS, Heartsaver, etc.).
Enter the certification code and expiration date.
Click Complete Setup.
⚠️ Do not skip this step. This tracks your instructor certification expirations and matches you to courses you're qualified to teach.
📹 Video: (Coming soon)
Step 2: Connect Your AHA Card Bank
Your AHA Card Bank links Hovn to your eCard inventory so you can issue certifications. This must be connected and verified before your TC will release cards.
Scroll to the bottom of the left sidebar and click Settings.
Go to Card Banks and click + Add (or Create).
Select AHA eCard API as the provider.
Name: Give it a clear name (e.g., "My AHA Cards")
If you use your own Instructor inventory:
AHA Training Center ID: Enter the TC ID provided by your Training Center.
AHA Inventory From: Select INSTRUCTOR.
AHA Requester Key: Enter the key you generated at ecards.heart.org/APIgateway.
AHA Instructor ID: Enter your numeric AHA Instructor ID (same one from your profile in Step 1).
AHA Training Site ID: Leave blank if your instructor inventory is aligned directly to the TC. Fill in your TS ID (starts with "TS") if your inventory is aligned to a Training Site.
If you use Training Site inventory:
Name: Give it a clear name (e.g., "BLS Cards — [Site Name]").
AHA Training Center ID: Enter the TC ID provided by your Training Center.
AHA Inventory From: Select TS.
AHA Requester Key: This must be generated by your TS Coordinator at ecards.heart.org/APIgateway.
AHA Training Site ID: Enter your TS ID (starts with "TS").
Below the bank configuration there is a table of users who will be able to issue cards from the bank. By default, all Admins will be able to issue cards.
If you want to add additional issuers, invite them as Staff and then select their name from the drop down.
Step 3: Verify Your Card Bank Connection
Before moving on, verify that your card bank is connected correctly. This confirms that Hovn can communicate with the AHA and pull your inventory.
Open the card bank you just created in Settings → Card Banks.
Scroll to the Verify Configuration section at the bottom.
Enter the product code for the course you teach. Common codes:
BLS Provider: 20-3001
BLS Provider Renewal: 25-3001
Heartsaver First Aid CPR AED: 20-3002
Click Verify.
If it returns a card count — your bank is connected correctly.
If it fails, double-check:
Your Requester Key was generated by the correct person (you, if Instructor inventory; your TS Coordinator, if TS inventory).
Your Training Center ID is correct.
Your Training Site ID is correct.
Your AHA Training Site ID is entered if your inventory is aligned to a TS.
For detailed troubleshooting, see: AHA eCard Connection Troubleshooting
Once verification passes, let your Training Center know your card bank is connected so they can verify and release additional cards.
Step 4: Create a Course
A Course in Hovn is a template — it defines what you teach. You'll schedule specific dates and times (Sessions) under it later.
From the Sessions page, click + Create Course — or go to Courses in the left sidebar and click + Create Course from there.
Select Standard Course (these are certified courses from agencies like AHA).
Click Continue.
Under Agency, select American Heart Association.
Under Course, select the course you teach (e.g., AHA BLS Provider Renewal).
Review the course details — format, duration, certification type, and product ID are pre-filled from the AHA catalog.
Click Create.
You'll land on the Course Settings page. A few things to review:
Name: Confirm or customize the course name.
Class Structure: Pre-filled from the catalog. Confirm the segment, duration, and modality look right.
Seats: Set the default number of seats per session (you can override this per session later).
Private: Toggle this on if you don't want the course visible on your Hovn page. Most affiliates will want this on if you're not running public bookings through Hovn.
Materials & Add-ons: Optional. You can add course materials to send to students when they register.
Price: $0.00 is fine if you're not collecting payments through Hovn.
In the blue dropdown in the top right, change the course status from "Draft" to "Published" so that you can use your course.
Click Save.
📹 Video: (Coming soon)
Step 5: Create a Location
You need at least one training location before you can schedule a session.
Go to Locations in the left sidebar.
Click + Add Location.
Enter the address where you teach. The map will confirm the pin.
Label: Give it a recognizable name (e.g., "Main Training Room" or the venue name).
Skip Client (leave as "No Client").
Discoverable will show the City/State on your Hovn page.
Click Add.
📹 Video: (Coming soon)
Step 6: Create a Session
A Session ties your Course to a specific date, time, location, and instructor. This is where your roster lives and where you'll issue certifications after class.
Go to Sessions in the left sidebar.
Click + New Session.
Course Offering: Select the course you created in Step 4.
Location: Select the location you created in Step 5.
Instructors: Click + Add Instructor and select yourself (or the instructor teaching this session).
Open Seats: Set the class size, or leave blank to use the default from the course.
Client: Leave as None.
Private session: Check this if you don't want this session on your public booking page.
Schedule: Set the session start date, time, and any cut-off or end times.
Click Create (or Save).
📹 Video: (Coming soon)
Step 7: Register Students
Students need to be registered on the session before you can issue certifications.
From the session detail page, go to the Bookings tab. You have two options:
Option A — Manual registration: Click + Add Booking and enter each student's name and email. They'll appear on the Bookings list with a Confirmed status.
Option B — Share a booking link: Click the Share button on the session to get a direct link. Send it to your students and they can register themselves.
Option C — Your Site: With a full Hovn account and Stripe connected students can discovery and register for classes through your Hovn page. Go to Settings » General find your Hovn site link.
Step 8: Enter Results & Issue Certifications
After your class is complete, come back to the session in Hovn to record results and issue certifications.
Go to the Certifications tab on the session.
Click Assign Cards.
On the Card Assignment page, review:
Course Information — course name, certification type, product code, date, and instructor (with Agency ID displayed). Confirm this looks right.
Use Inventory From — select the card bank you connected in Step 2. The available inventory count will display.
Send AHA email — Hovn automatically sends an email to the student. Check this if you want students to receive an additional email directly from the AHA with their certification.
Select Students for Certification — check the box for each student who passed.
Add your Signature.
Click Issue Certificates.
Hovn submits the roster to the AHA and issues certifications. Students receive their certification details by email, and the records are stored in the session.
Step 9: Find Issued Certifications
After issuing, you can find and review certifications at any time.
Optional: Confirm Your Business Information
Your service provider profile controls your public-facing identity in Hovn — your organization name, logo, address, and contact info. It's not required for issuing certifications, but it's good to complete when you have time.
Scroll to the bottom of the left sidebar and click Settings.
Go to General.
Update your business name, address, and contact information.
Click Save.
What's Next
You're set up. From here:
Enter your upcoming courses and sessions.
Invite additional instructors — each one needs to complete their own profile (Step 1).
For questions about card ordering, pricing, or your alignment, contact your Training Center.
For technical issues with the app, use the chat bubble in the bottom-right corner inside Hovn.