{"id":44,"date":"2023-09-05T06:02:54","date_gmt":"2023-09-05T06:02:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blognew\/install-root-and-intermediate-certificates-on-yubikey\/"},"modified":"2026-07-24T13:39:04","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T13:39:04","slug":"install-root-and-intermediate-certificates-on-yubikey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/install-root-and-intermediate-certificates-on-yubikey","title":{"rendered":"Steps to Install Root and Intermediate Certificates on YubiKey"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 ez-toc-wrap-right counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/install-root-and-intermediate-certificates-on-yubikey\/#A_Complete_Step-by-Step_Guide_on_How_to_Install_Root_and_Intermediate_Certificates_on_YubiKey\" >A Complete Step-by-Step Guide on How to Install Root and Intermediate Certificates on YubiKey<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/install-root-and-intermediate-certificates-on-yubikey\/#Where_to_Get_Root_and_Intermediate_Certificates_in_YubiKey\" >Where to Get Root and Intermediate Certificates in YubiKey?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-lg-12 mb-3 p-2\">\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"A_Complete_Step-by-Step_Guide_on_How_to_Install_Root_and_Intermediate_Certificates_on_YubiKey\"><\/span>A Complete Step-by-Step Guide on How to Install Root and Intermediate Certificates on YubiKey<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Adding root and intermediate certificates to your YubiKey is an important step in boosting its security and trustworthiness. In this guide, we&#8217;ll provide a streamlined walkthrough of the entire certificate installation process using Yubico&#8217;s ykman command-line tool.<\/p>\n<p>While you can manage your YubiKey without these extra certificates, taking the time to install them will maximize the device&#8217;s capabilities and your protection when using it for cryptographic operations. The ykman utility offers a quick and easy method to get your certificates configured.<\/p>\n<p>Whether you&#8217;re new to YubiKey or simply need a refresher, this step-by-step tutorial will help you get your root and intermediate certificates set up rapidly. By following our guide, you&#8217;ll gain the knowledge to enhance your YubiKey setup in just a few simple steps. Let&#8217;s get started!<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Where_to_Get_Root_and_Intermediate_Certificates_in_YubiKey\"><\/span>Where to Get Root and Intermediate Certificates in YubiKey?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In order to browse your root and intermediate certificates and to install it by using YubiKey manager. Follow the below steps to accomplish the navigation and installation of root and intermediate certificates from YubiKey manager.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Step 1:<\/strong> The first step is to <strong>download the YubiKey Manager software<\/strong> from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yubico.com\/support\/download\/yubikey-manager\/\">Yubico&#8217;s website.<\/a> Be sure to select the right version for your operating system &#8211; Windows, Linux or MacOS.<\/p>\n<p><strong>NOTE:<\/strong> We&#8217;ll actually just be using the ykman command line tool included in the Manager download rather than the graphical interface.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Step 2:<\/strong><strong>Obtain the root and intermediate certificate files<\/strong> that correspond to your specific code signing or <a href=\"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/ev-code-signing-certificates\">EV code signing certificate<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>If your cert uses an RSA key and came on a FIPS 140-2 approved USB device, these certificates should have been provided by your certificate authority.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Step 3:<\/strong><strong>Open a terminal or command prompt<\/strong> and navigate to the YubiKey Manager installation directory using the appropriate command:<\/p>\n<p><strong>On Windows:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>cd C:Program FilesYubicoYubiKey Manager<\/p>\n<p><strong>On Linux:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>cd \/usr\/share\/yubikey-manager<\/p>\n<p><strong>On MacOS:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>cd \/Applications\/YubiKey Manager.app\/Contents\/Resources<\/p>\n<p><strong>Step 4<\/strong>: Use these commands to install the root and intermediate certificates from Step 2 onto your YubiKey, replacing the capitalized placeholders with your actual certificate paths and management key:<\/p>\n<p>ykman piv certificates import &#8211;subject 82 -m MANAGEMENT_KEY_HERE ROOT_CERT_PATH_HERE<\/p>\n<p>ykman piv certificates import &#8211;subject 83 -m MANAGEMENT_KEY_HERE INTERMEDIATE_CERT_PATH_HERE<\/p>\n<p>You can use any slot from 82-95 if needed for additional certificates. Omit -m if using default management key.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Step 5<\/strong>: Finally, verify the certificates installed properly by running:<\/p>\n<p>ykman piv certificates list<\/p>\n<p>This will display all the certificates currently loaded onto your YubiKey. Confirm your new root and intermediate certificates are present in slots 82 and 83.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Step 6:<\/strong> Now your YubiKey is ready to go! Your new certificates will automatically be utilized during cryptographic operations like code signing for enhanced security and validation.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-lg-12 mt-5 mb-4\">\n<h4 class=\"text-primary mb-4 pb-2 border-bottom\">Related Articles<\/h4>\n<div class=\"row g-4\">\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Complete Step-by-Step Guide on How to Install Root and Intermediate Certificates on YubiKey. Adding root and intermediate certificates to your YubiKey is an important step in boosting its securit<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-code-signing"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How to Install Root and Intermediate Certificates on a YubiKey<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Step-by-step guide to installing root and intermediate CA certificates on a YubiKey to complete your code signing chain of trust.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/install-root-and-intermediate-certificates-on-yubikey\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Install Root and Intermediate Certificates on a YubiKey\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Step-by-step guide to installing root and intermediate CA certificates on a YubiKey to complete your code signing chain of trust.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/install-root-and-intermediate-certificates-on-yubikey\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"CodeSignCert\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/codesigncert\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-09-05T06:02:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-07-24T13:39:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jessica Foster\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@codesigncert\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@codesigncert\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jessica Foster\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/codesigncert.com\\\/blog\\\/install-root-and-intermediate-certificates-on-yubikey#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/codesigncert.com\\\/blog\\\/install-root-and-intermediate-certificates-on-yubikey\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jessica Foster\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/codesigncert.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9af8cbd9dd564d4534f25cd63a48d02d\"},\"headline\":\"Steps to Install Root and Intermediate Certificates on YubiKey\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-09-05T06:02:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-24T13:39:04+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/codesigncert.com\\\/blog\\\/install-root-and-intermediate-certificates-on-yubikey\"},\"wordCount\":478,\"articleSection\":[\"Code Signing\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/codesigncert.com\\\/blog\\\/install-root-and-intermediate-certificates-on-yubikey\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/codesigncert.com\\\/blog\\\/install-root-and-intermediate-certificates-on-yubikey\",\"name\":\"How to Install Root and Intermediate Certificates on a YubiKey\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/codesigncert.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-09-05T06:02:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-24T13:39:04+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/codesigncert.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9af8cbd9dd564d4534f25cd63a48d02d\"},\"description\":\"Step-by-step guide to installing root and intermediate CA certificates on a YubiKey to complete your code signing chain of trust.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/codesigncert.com\\\/blog\\\/install-root-and-intermediate-certificates-on-yubikey#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/codesigncert.com\\\/blog\\\/install-root-and-intermediate-certificates-on-yubikey\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/codesigncert.com\\\/blog\\\/install-root-and-intermediate-certificates-on-yubikey#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/codesigncert.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Steps to Install Root and Intermediate Certificates on YubiKey\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/codesigncert.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/codesigncert.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"CodeSignCert\",\"description\":\"All in One Code Signing Certificate Store\",\"alternateName\":\"Code Sign Cert\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/codesigncert.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/codesigncert.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9af8cbd9dd564d4534f25cd63a48d02d\",\"name\":\"Jessica Foster\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/540326c0491587e08522922cbd7c078549e5cafa48300998cdd9613a30e2fec4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/540326c0491587e08522922cbd7c078549e5cafa48300998cdd9613a30e2fec4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/540326c0491587e08522922cbd7c078549e5cafa48300998cdd9613a30e2fec4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jessica Foster\"},\"description\":\"Jessica Foster is a contributing writer for the CodeSignCert blog, covering code signing, software security, and certificate management topics. She has 10 years of experience helping developers and businesses secure their software through code signing and related PKI solutions.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/codesigncert.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/codesigncert.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/jessicafoster\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to Install Root and Intermediate Certificates on a YubiKey","description":"Step-by-step guide to installing root and intermediate CA certificates on a YubiKey to complete your code signing chain of trust.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/install-root-and-intermediate-certificates-on-yubikey","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to Install Root and Intermediate Certificates on a YubiKey","og_description":"Step-by-step guide to installing root and intermediate CA certificates on a YubiKey to complete your code signing chain of trust.","og_url":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/install-root-and-intermediate-certificates-on-yubikey","og_site_name":"CodeSignCert","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/codesigncert","article_published_time":"2023-09-05T06:02:54+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-07-24T13:39:04+00:00","author":"Jessica Foster","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@codesigncert","twitter_site":"@codesigncert","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jessica Foster","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/install-root-and-intermediate-certificates-on-yubikey#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/install-root-and-intermediate-certificates-on-yubikey"},"author":{"name":"Jessica Foster","@id":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9af8cbd9dd564d4534f25cd63a48d02d"},"headline":"Steps to Install Root and Intermediate Certificates on YubiKey","datePublished":"2023-09-05T06:02:54+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-24T13:39:04+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/install-root-and-intermediate-certificates-on-yubikey"},"wordCount":478,"articleSection":["Code Signing"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/install-root-and-intermediate-certificates-on-yubikey","url":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/install-root-and-intermediate-certificates-on-yubikey","name":"How to Install Root and Intermediate Certificates on a YubiKey","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-09-05T06:02:54+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-24T13:39:04+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9af8cbd9dd564d4534f25cd63a48d02d"},"description":"Step-by-step guide to installing root and intermediate CA certificates on a YubiKey to complete your code signing chain of trust.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/install-root-and-intermediate-certificates-on-yubikey#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/install-root-and-intermediate-certificates-on-yubikey"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/install-root-and-intermediate-certificates-on-yubikey#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Steps to Install Root and Intermediate Certificates on YubiKey"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/","name":"CodeSignCert","description":"All in One Code Signing Certificate Store","alternateName":"Code Sign Cert","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9af8cbd9dd564d4534f25cd63a48d02d","name":"Jessica Foster","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/540326c0491587e08522922cbd7c078549e5cafa48300998cdd9613a30e2fec4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/540326c0491587e08522922cbd7c078549e5cafa48300998cdd9613a30e2fec4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/540326c0491587e08522922cbd7c078549e5cafa48300998cdd9613a30e2fec4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jessica Foster"},"description":"Jessica Foster is a contributing writer for the CodeSignCert blog, covering code signing, software security, and certificate management topics. She has 10 years of experience helping developers and businesses secure their software through code signing and related PKI solutions.","sameAs":["https:\/\/codesigncert.com"],"url":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/author\/jessicafoster"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":93,"href":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44\/revisions\/93"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}