The quick answer
Go to Customization > Lists, Records, & Fields > Record Types > New, name the type Vendor Insurance Certificate, and save it. The Fields subtab only exists after that first save. Add an Expiration Date field (Type Date, Show In List checked) and a Vendor field (Type List/Record, List/Record Vendor, Record is Parent checked). Then open a vendor, find the certificate list, and click New Vendor Insurance Certificate. Each saved certificate shows up on its vendor with its expiration date.
A custom field on the vendor holds one value. A custom record holds a history: several certificates per vendor, each with its own dates, notes, and attached files. Making the vendor the parent puts those certificates on the vendor record, next to the vendor details AP already checks.
The example uses vendor Apex Roofing Contractors and a General Liability 2026-27 certificate that expires 06/30/2027. The person and operating-company names in the screenshots are fictional example data.
Before you start
The Custom Records feature must be on. It may already be. If it isn't, an administrator enables it at Setup > Company > Enable Features, on the SuiteCloud subtab. Turning the feature on doesn't give anyone access to your new record type. You also need a role that can create custom record types and fields. The example uses the Administrator role.
Plan who will use the certificates. People who only check them need view access to the Vendor Insurance Certificate record type. People who add them need create access, and edit or delete access if they maintain them. Everyone also needs access to the vendor. Without the right access, the list, its rows, or its New button may be missing for that user. You set this on the record type's Permissions subtab or in the role, depending on the record type's Access Type.
01. Create and save the record type
Go to Customization > Lists, Records, & Fields > Record Types and click New Type. Enter Vendor Insurance Certificate in Name. Keep Include Name Field, Allow Attachments, and Show Notes checked. Allow Attachments adds a Files subtab to each certificate, a place for the PDF. It doesn't make a file required. Show Notes adds a Notes subtab.
Look at the subtabs at the bottom. There's no Fields subtab on the new form, so you can't add fields yet. Click Save.
The saved record type opens with a Fields subtab and a New Field button. The example got the ID customrecord614. Your account will assign its own.
02. Add an Expiration Date field
On the Fields subtab, click New Field. Enter Expiration Date as the Label, set Type to Date, and check Show In List. Show In List makes the date a column in the vendor's certificate list, which is how the example shows it. Click Save.
03. Make the vendor the parent
Click New Field again. Enter Vendor as the Label, set Type to List/Record, and choose Vendor in List/Record. Check Record is Parent. That makes each certificate a child of the vendor it points to.
Once Record is Parent is checked, a Parent Subtab field appears on the Display subtab. It controls where the certificate list shows up on the vendor. The example leaves it blank, and step 04 finds the list on the vendor's Custom subtab. Check where it lands on your vendor form, or pick a subtab here that your vendor form actually shows. Click Save.
The record type also has Allow Child Record Editing, Allow Delete, and Show Remove Link. They control how people maintain certificates from the vendor's list. The example leaves Allow Child Record Editing and Allow Delete clear and still adds a certificate with the New button.
Back on the record type, the Fields subtab lists both fields: Expiration Date as a Date with Show In List Yes, and Vendor as a List/Record pointing at Vendor.
04. Add a certificate from the vendor
Go to Lists > Relationships > Vendors and open Apex Roofing Contractors. On the Custom subtab in this example, the Vendor Insurance Certificate list shows no records yet. On another vendor form, check the other subtabs if it isn't there. Click New Vendor Insurance Certificate.
Because you started from the vendor's list, the new certificate opens with Vendor already filled in as Apex Roofing Contractors. If you create a certificate some other way, pick the vendor yourself. Enter General Liability 2026-27 in Name and 06/30/2027 in Expiration Date, or the same date in your account's date format. You can attach the certificate PDF on the Files subtab if you have it. Click Save.
In the example, saving opens the saved certificate. Click its Vendor link, Apex Roofing Contractors, to get back to the vendor. If your account takes you somewhere else, open the vendor however you normally would.
Check the result
Open the vendor's Custom subtab again. The certificate list now has one row: General Liability 2026-27 with Expiration Date 06/30/2027.
You're done when all of these are true:
- The record type's Fields subtab lists Expiration Date and Vendor.
- The Vendor field has Record is Parent checked and points at Vendor.
- The vendor shows the certificate list where you expected it (the Custom subtab in this example), with Expiration Date as a column.
- A user in each role that works with vendors can see the list. If one can't, check that role's access to the record type.
Common questions
Why can't I add fields when I create a custom record type?
The new record type form has no Fields subtab. Save the record type first. The saved definition shows the Fields subtab with New Field, and you add fields from there.
What does Record is Parent do?
It makes the record selected in that List/Record field the parent of each custom record. Here, every certificate belongs to the vendor chosen in its Vendor field, and the vendor record lists its certificates. Creating a certificate from that list fills in Vendor for you. It doesn't add reminders, block payments, or enforce expiration dates.
Where does the certificate list show up on the vendor?
That depends on Parent Subtab, which appears on the field's Display subtab once Record is Parent is checked. In this example it's blank and the list shows up on the vendor's Custom subtab. If you want it somewhere specific, pick a subtab your vendor form shows, then check the vendor.
Why can't some users see the certificate list?
They probably don't have access to the custom record type. Seeing the vendor isn't enough. Give view access to people who check certificates and create access to people who add them, through the record type's Permissions subtab or the role, depending on its Access Type.
Why use a custom record instead of a custom field on the vendor?
A custom field holds one value per vendor. A custom record lets each vendor have several certificates, each with its own name, expiration date, notes, and files. When a certificate is renewed, you add a new one, and the old one stays on the vendor unless someone removes it.
Will NetSuite warn me when a certificate expires?
Not with this setup. It stores certificates and their expiration dates on the vendor. Alerts or blocking payment to a vendor with an expired certificate need something extra, such as a saved search or workflow, which this guide doesn't cover.