--- title: Creating iOS certificates for publishing to the App Store description: This article explains how to create the certificates needed to publish an app to the App Store and the bundle ID used to identify the app. --- [Skip to content](https://knowledge.conferencecompass.com/creating-ios-certificates-for-publishing-to-the-app-store#main-content) English Show submenu for translations ![floq-logo-by-cc-2-white@2x.png\]](https://knowledge.conferencecompass.com/hs-fs/hubfs/floq-logo-by-cc-2-white@2x.png?height=40&name=floq-logo-by-cc-2-white@2x.png) Open main navigation Close main navigation - English Show submenu for translations - www.conferencecompass.com www.conferencecompass.com Hello. How can we help you? - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. 1. [CC Knowledge Base](https://knowledge.conferencecompass.com/?hsLang=en) 2. [Publish apps on the stores](https://knowledge.conferencecompass.com/publish-apps-on-the-stores?hsLang=en) 3. [Create app certificates and keys](https://knowledge.conferencecompass.com/publish-apps-on-the-stores?hsLang=en#create-app-certificates-and-keys) # Creating iOS certificates for publishing to the App Store ## This article explains how to create the certificates needed to publish an app to the App Store and the bundle ID used to identify the app. For an app to be published to the App Store, some certificates and profiles must be created on the Apple Developer Program. This article explains how to create each certificate: - **iOS Distribution Certificate** - Apple requires the app to be signed with a valid iOS distribution certificate. You can sign all your apps with a single certificate. - **Bundle ID** - The Bundle ID is used to identify the app. - **Push Notification Certificate** - To configure the Push notifications, you will use the tool One Signal. This requests a certificate from Apple to identify the app to send the notifications to. This certificate will be created on the Apple Developer Program. - **Provisioning profile** - The provisioning profile saves the configuration of the apps for different devices and must be used together with the distribution certificate and bundle ID to sign the app. The following steps must be performed on a MacOS machine, as the Keychain application is used to create the certificates. The files will be used in the *Sign* step while building the app. Log in to your account on the Apple Developer Program at [developer.apple.com](http://developer.apple.com). After being logged in, choose *Account* on the top menu bar, and then select *Certificates* in the section *Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles*. ![Screenshot 2024-11-26 at 16.56.57](https://knowledge.conferencecompass.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screenshot%202024-11-26%20at%2016.56.57.png?width=688&height=536&name=Screenshot%202024-11-26%20at%2016.56.57.png) ### iOS Distribution Certificate To build and publish the app to the store, an iOS Distribution Certificate must be created. This file has the extension ***.p12*** and contains the certificates necessary to sign the app during its construction. This certificate is valid for **one year** and can be used for all your apps. In the table title, click the plus button to create a new Distribution Certificate.  ![Screenshot 2023-05-22 at 14.39.21](https://knowledge.conferencecompass.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screenshot%202023-05-22%20at%2014.39.21.png?width=688&height=266&name=Screenshot%202023-05-22%20at%2014.39.21.png) When prompted about the type of certificate, choose *Apple Distribution* and click *Continue*. ![Screenshot 2024-11-26 at 16.59.48](https://knowledge.conferencecompass.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screenshot%202024-11-26%20at%2016.59.48.png?width=688&height=346&name=Screenshot%202024-11-26%20at%2016.59.48.png) On the next page, you will need to upload your *Certificate Signing Request (CSR)*. Open the Keychain application (available on any MacOS) and follow the steps described on the page. A file with the extension *.certSigningRequest* will be saved to your computer. Click *Choose file*, select the generated *.certSigningRequest* file and click *Continue* again.  ![Screenshot 2023-05-22 at 14.38.44](https://knowledge.conferencecompass.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screenshot%202023-05-22%20at%2014.38.44.png?width=688&height=266&name=Screenshot%202023-05-22%20at%2014.38.44.png) Now your certificate is ready and you can download the file named *apple\_distribution.cer*  to your computer. Open the *apple\_distribution.cer*  file. It will be automatically added to the Keychain application, and you should be able to see it in the list as *Apple Distribution: \ (\)*. Right click the row and select *Export 'Apple Distribution: \[...\]'*. You can now save a .p12 file on your computer. During the export, you will be asked for a password. If you don't want to set one you can leave the field empty and click OK. ![Screenshot 2024-11-26 at 17.01.06](https://knowledge.conferencecompass.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screenshot%202024-11-26%20at%2017.01.06.png?width=688&height=286&name=Screenshot%202024-11-26%20at%2017.01.06.png) This file will be necessary while building the app. You will have to upload it on the *Certificates* step, at the 'P12 file' field. ### Bundle ID The Bundle ID is used by Apple to identify the app among all others in the App Store. Each app requires a unique Bundle ID to be published. Do not add any special characters, including hyphens. **Note:** In a later stage you will have to add your project on Google Firebase **using the same Bundle ID**, and it is very important to know that while Apple allows us to create Bundle IDs using hyphens, Google does not. This includes special characters, including hyphens. On the page *Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles*, from the menu on the left, choose *Identifiers*. In the table title, click the plus button create a new App ID. ![Screenshot 2023-05-22 at 14.40.26](https://knowledge.conferencecompass.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screenshot%202023-05-22%20at%2014.40.26.png?width=688&height=293&name=Screenshot%202023-05-22%20at%2014.40.26.png) In the new screen, choose *App IDs*, then click on *Continue:* ![Screenshot 2024-11-26 at 17.04.09](https://knowledge.conferencecompass.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screenshot%202024-11-26%20at%2017.04.09.png?width=688&height=271&name=Screenshot%202024-11-26%20at%2017.04.09.png) Under *Register a new identifier*, choose *App*, then *Continue*: ![Screenshot 2024-11-26 at 17.05.43](https://knowledge.conferencecompass.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screenshot%202024-11-26%20at%2017.05.43.png?width=688&height=271&name=Screenshot%202024-11-26%20at%2017.05.43.png) The fields must be filled in as it follows: - **Description**: the name of your app - **Bundle ID:** select the *Explicit* option. Apple recommends using a reverse-domain name style (for example, if your website is *conferences.cc*, the Bundle ID should be *cc.conferences.myapp.* - **Capabilities**: The services to be used by the app. You must enable the *Associated Domains* service and *Push Notifications*. ![](https://knowledge.conferencecompass.com/hubfs/Knowledge%20Base%20Import/downloads.intercomcdn.comio246120376f53653cd39b8d98adcfad46fScreenshot+2020-09-15+at+10.19.07.png) Click *Continue*, check all the information entered and then click to *Register* the app. Now your app should appear on the list of iOS App IDs. ### Push Notifications For your app to support push notifications, it must be signed with the specific certificate. Each app should have its own unique certificate. To create one, select the app on the list at the *iOS App IDs* page (*Identifiers* \> *App IDs*) and click *Configure*. In the window that opens, click *Create Certificate* below the section *Production SSL Certificate.* ![](https://knowledge.conferencecompass.com/hubfs/Knowledge%20Base%20Import/downloads.intercomcdn.comio1297211633469733f31b4fc2e926fa27910.png) Upload the same *.certSigningRequest*  file you exported from the Keychain when creating the iOS distribution file and click *Continue*. Now your certificate is ready and you can download a file named *aps.cer*  to your computer. Open the *aps.cer*  file. It will be automatically added to the Keychain application, and you should be able to see it on the list as *Apple Push Services: \, for example '*Apple Push Services: cc.conferences.appname'. Right click the row and select *Export 'Apple Push Services: \[...\]'*. You can now save the .p12 file to your computer.  ![](https://knowledge.conferencecompass.com/hubfs/Knowledge%20Base%20Import/downloads.intercomcdn.comio4657856871a2f3c6150a7a794ad280d6Screen+Shot+2018-01-25+at+15.47.06.png) The .p12 file just generated will be required in order to activate the push notifications at the One Signal setup. ### Mobile provision The app needs to be configured to be able to launch on devices and use services. This process is called *Provisioning*. These configurations are saved in the *provisioning profile,* which exports to a file with extension *.mobileprovision.* This file is combined with the certificates and bundle ID to sign the app. On the page *Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles*, select *Profiles* from the menu on the left. In the table title, click the plus button to create a new provisioning profile.  ![Screenshot 2024-01-15 at 13.28.12](https://knowledge.conferencecompass.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screenshot%202024-01-15%20at%2013.28.12.png?width=688&height=202&name=Screenshot%202024-01-15%20at%2013.28.12.png)   When prompted about the type of certificate you need, choose *App Store* under the *Distribution* section. ![](https://knowledge.conferencecompass.com/hubfs/Knowledge%20Base%20Import/downloads.intercomcdn.comio129962564b8213d81945aeadcbd49e14d15.png) On the next screen, select the App ID that is going to use the provisioning profile and click *Continue*. On the following screen, select the distribution certificate. Keep in mind that the certificate selected in this step should be used together with the provisioning profile when building the app. On the last step, enter a name for the provisioning profile. You can use the name of the app, or *\\_store* for example.  Click *Continue* and download the file to your computer. You will need it when [building the app](https://25003360.hs-sites-eu1.com/knowledge/build-your-app?hsLang=en). 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