Issue access badges
Put staff door badges in Apple Wallet and Google Wallet through HID — design the badge, choose its keyset, publish, invite holders and manage their credentials.
An access badge is an employee credential in the phone's wallet, read by HID door readers the way a badge card would be. It is a different object from a pass template, with a Configure tab and a Users tab.
EnterpriseBefore you start#
- Access badges are switched on for your account. The Access type in the create dialog is then available.
- Your doors have HID readers, and someone can stand next to each one with a phone to configure it.
- You have a logo and a background image for the badge. Both are required to publish.
- For Apple Wallet, you have links to your privacy policy and terms of service, and a support email address or phone number.
Create the badge#
Go to Templates, click Create, choose the Access type, give the badge a name — for example Harbour Staff — and confirm. The badge opens on its Configure tab, which walks through three steps.
Configure the badge#
- Design the badge
The first step is the badge designer. Under Front, set the name, colours, logo and background image. Under Back, add the links and contact details holders see on the back of the badge — see Fill in the back of the badge. Until the required parts are in place, the step says what is Still needed to publish.
- Choose the keyset
On Set up the readers, pick the Keyset your door readers accept. The keyset is fixed when you publish: changing it afterwards would give new staff badges that your readers refuse.
- Configure each reader
Install HID Reader Manager from the App Store or Google Play. It configures each reader over Bluetooth, from a phone held next to it, so the reader listens for your badges.
- Publish
Click Publish badge. The badge works in Google Wallet as soon as it is published. Publishing also registers the design with Apple, which HID and Apple review on their own schedule; until it is approved the header reads Published · Apple pending.
- Send yourself a test badge
On Issue the badges, click Send next to Send test badge. The invite form opens with your own email address filled in; create the invite and add the badge to your phone. A test badge is a real one and uses a credential, so revoke it from Users when you are done.
The header button says Publish changes when you edit a published badge, and the status reads Unpublished changes until you do.
Fill in the back of the badge#
The designer's Back sections hold what a holder finds behind the badge in their wallet — links and whom to contact — and the app it belongs to, if you have one. None of them is needed to publish, but Apple registration needs the organisation name, a support contact, and the privacy policy and terms links.
| Section | Fields | What they do |
|---|---|---|
| Links | Website URL, Privacy policy URL, Lost & found URL, Registration URL, Terms of service URL | Links on the back of the badge. |
| Contact | Organisation name, Organisation address | Who the badge belongs to. Left blank, the name falls back to the badge name, but Apple registration needs it filled in. |
| Contact | Support phone, Support email, Support display name | The Call and Email buttons on the back, for a holder who needs help. Apple registration needs a phone number or an email address. |
| App | Android package name | Leave it blank unless your own Android app embeds the HID Mobile Access SDK. Any other app stops the credential activating. |
| App | App launch URL, App URL scheme, App Store IDs, App IDs | Link the badge to your own iPhone app. App Store IDs are comma-separated; App IDs take the form TEAMID.com.example.app. |
Choose how badges are issued#
The Issue the badges step lists the ways to give staff their badges. Inviting people one by one from Users always works; the others issue badges without anyone doing it by hand.
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Connect identity provider | Your IT administrator connects your staff directory. Joiners are sent a badge, leavers have theirs revoked. Connect directory opens a setup page for them. Add SSO is optional, for a shared link where staff sign in to claim their own badge. |
| Connect a middleware tool | A trigger in a system you already run — a new hire, a new row — issues the badge, through Zapier. See Zapier. |
| Connect an AI assistant | Issue badges from Claude or Cursor. See AI assistants. |
| Call the API directly | Your own system issues badges with an API key. See access badges over the API. |
Invite a holder#
- Open Users
Open the badge and go to its Users tab. Click New user.
- Enter the person
Fill in First name, Last name and Email. The email is optional if you send the link by text message instead; then fill in Phone number.
- Choose how to send the link
Leave Email the link on, turn on Send the link by message, or turn both off to copy the link yourself.
- Create the invite
Click Create and send, or Create link if you are sending nothing. The dialog shows Their badge link.
The person appears in the list marked Invited. The link expires after 30 days; when they open it and add the badge to their wallet, the badge appears under their name. Each invitation adds the badge to one wallet. If someone changes phone or loses theirs, select them and click Send new badge.
To withdraw an invitation that has not been used, select the person and click Cancel invite. The link stops working.
Find a badge's card number#
Select a holder to see their badges. Each badge shows its status, when it last changed, the wallet it is in, and the values an access or locker system enrols a credential by:
| Value | What it is |
|---|---|
| Card number | The credential's number, with a copy button |
| Facility code | The facility code of the keyset |
| Format | The card format and its bit length |
| Wiegand (hex) | The same credential as a raw Wiegand frame, for systems that take bits |
The number belongs to the badge, not the person. A badge sent again with Send new badge gets a new number, so update any system you enrolled the old one in.
Suspend, resume or revoke a badge#
Open the menu next to a badge. What it offers depends on the badge's status:
| Status | Actions |
|---|---|
| ACTIVE | Suspend, Refresh in wallet, Revoke |
| SUSPENDED | Resume, Revoke |
| CREATED, ISSUE_INITIATED, ISSUING | Revoke |
| REVOKED, CANCELLED, EXPIRED | None |
- Suspend blocks the badge at the reader. Resume restores it.
- Refresh in wallet pushes your latest badge design to the holder's phone.
- Revoke stops the badge opening doors for good and removes it from the wallet. The holder needs a new invitation to get another one.
HID applies these changes within a short time; the list shows the new status when it has.
Rename or remove a holder#
Select the holder and click Rename to correct their name. Their badge updates in their wallet shortly after.
Click Remove to take someone off the account entirely — when they leave, for example. Every badge they hold on this account is revoked first and any open invitation is withdrawn. Removing cannot be undone.
If something goes wrong#
"Publish this badge before inviting anyone". Invitations, test badges included, work only after the badge is published.
Publish badge is greyed out. Hover over it: the message, for example Add a logo and a background image before publishing, names what is missing — a name, a logo, a background image or a keyset.
The badge is in the wallet but the door does not react. The reader is not configured for this badge's keyset. Run HID Reader Manager at that reader again.
Apple Wallet users cannot add the badge. Apple registration is still pending. Google Wallet users are unaffected.
"Published. Apple registration still needs …". The badge is live in Google Wallet, but Apple registration was not sent. Add what the message names — for example Support contact or Privacy policy and terms URLs, which go on the back of the badge — then click Publish changes.