Before you can issue passes commercially you must have a certificate uploaded to your PassKit account.
Apple mandates that you enroll in the Apple Developer program. This allows you to generate certificates on behalf of all the brands/clients you are creating passes for.
These instructions are for adding a new certificate to your PassKit account.
If you are renewing a certificate please follow these instructions.
We recommend you generate a new certificate for every brand or campaign you are managing. This is so that:
Passes don't stack up behind one another (making it hard for the user to retrieve and see in their wallet app)
The icon that appears on the iPhone lockscreen is the correct one (if you share certificates, icon images may be incorrect as it may use the icon image for a previous campaign)
An Apple Developer account is US$99/year. You can enroll as an individual or a business from this link: https://developer.apple.com/programs/enroll/. It's fairly easy to set up and generating certificates is very quick too.
Once enrolled, please watch the video or follow the instructions below to generate and upload your Apple Pass certificate to your PassKit Account.
Step 1.
Log in to PassKit, and navigate to the account section in your dashboard and click on the certificate icon to access the certificate page.
Step 2.
Click on the plus button, and you will be presented a new window. Go ahead and click on the button to download the required CSR (Certificate Signing Request). The file will be named cert.certSigningRequest
Step 3.
Now open a new browser window (or tab) and log in to your Apple Developer account and navigate to the account area. Click on "Certificates, Identifiers and Profiles".
Step 4.
You will initially be presented with a list of all your certificates (if you already have certificates). Click on 'Identifiers' on the left hand side of your screen.
Step 5.
When in the Identifiers screen, click on the blue plus button.
Step 6.
Now choose the 'Pass Type IDs' and click 'Continue'
Step 7.
Identifiers are conventionally given in reverse domain format to ensure uniqueness. A certificate named membershipcard for example would have an identifier of pass.com.example.membershipcard. However, your identifier can be anything, providing the first five characters are "pass." and it is unique.
When you've entered your Pass Type ID Description and Identifier click on "Continue".
Step 8.
Check the information is correct and then click 'Register'.
Step 9.
You will now see the newly created identifier in your list.
Double click on this new identifier to be able to edit the configuration. You will see the following screen and you can now click on 'Create Certificate'.
Step 10.
Click on 'Choose File' and then select the CSR file you previously downloaded from app.passkit.com.
Step 11.
You can now download the certificate, by clicking on 'Download'. The filename will be pass.cer. Please take note which folder the file is downloaded to, as you will need it in the next Step.
Step 12.
Switch back to your app.passkit.com dashboard so you are looking at the same screen where you downloaded the CSR from.
Drag the pass.cer file into the box provided, when successful you will see the file name in the upload box.
Step 13.
Your certificate now appears in the certificates list.
You can view the full certificate details by clicking the search icon to the right.
Congratulations, you have now successfully uploaded your certificate
Final Step (DON'T FORGET):
A certificate must renewed every 12 months, so add a reminder in your calendar with a few days to spare. So you have the instructions ready at hand, copy this link - https://help.passkit.com/en/articles/4494780-how-to-i-renew-my-apple-certificate-in-my-passkit-account - in the calendar event.
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Getting stuck?
Please send us a message or click on the chat bubble with the statement that best suits your current situation:
I have an Apple Developer account already and can create Pass Certificates, When I am ready, I’ll create the pass certificate myself and upload to the PassKit platform following the instructions.
I have applied to the Apple Developer program and waiting for confirmation. Once approved I am confident I can create my own Pass certificate and upload to the PassKit portal following the instructions.
I have not applied to the Apple Developer program yet but I am confident I will be able to do this and upload to the PassKit portal following the instructions.
I have not applied to the Apple Developer program and I need help to get an Apple certificate; I would be interested if PassKit can help get one for me.
None of the above apply. Please share more details why you are not able to move from draft to production.
Thank you for taking the time to reply and we look forward to assisting you.