Accepting an Initial Callsign Certificate

These instructions assume that your Callsign Certificates reside in the folder C:\MyLoTWCertificates (if you've stored them in a different folder, adjust the instructions accordingly).

1.You will receive email from the ARRL containing a message and an attached file named YourCallsign.tq6
   1.aThe attached file contains your Initial Callsign Certificate -- save it into the folder C:\MyLotWCertificates
   1.bThe message will contain a Web Account Username and a Web Account Password; be sure to record these, as they are required to view your uploaded QSOs and LoTW-generated confirmations via https://p1k.arrl.org/lotwuser/default
2.To proceed, the YourCallsign.tq5 file must be present in C:\MyLotW\Certificates ; if you deleted this file, or initiated the request from a different computer, you'll have to start over by requesting a new Callsign Certificate from the ARRL
3.Start the application TQSLCERT; the tQSL Certificates dialog will appear
   3.aIn the tQSL Certificates dialog, select the File:Load Certificate File menu item; the Load Certificate File dialog will appear
   3.bIn the Load Certificate File dialog, set the type of certificate to TQSL (.tq6)Next button; the Select Certificate File dialog will appear
   3.cIn the Select Certificate File dialog, select the file YourCallsign.tq6 in your C:\MyLotWCertificates folder, and click the Open button; a small Install Certificate dialog will appear
   3.dIn the Install Certificate dialog, you'll be asked if its okay to install a trusted root certificate; click the Yes button
   3.eIn the Load Certificate File dialog, click the Finish button
   3.fThe tQSL Certificates dialog should now show an entry for your Callsign Certificate, with a yellow medal icon: . Save your new Callsign Certificate in a Certificate Container file, which can be copied to a thumb drive or external hard drive, or to another computer:
       3.f.1.Click on the entry for your Callsign Certificate to select it
       3.f.2.Create a Certificate Container file by selecting the Certificate:Save menu item; the Enter PKCS#12 file to save to dialog will appear
       3.f.3.In the Enter PKCS#12 file to save to dialog, set the Save in folder to C:\MyLotWCertificates, set the File name to YourCallsign.p12, and click the Save button; a PKCS#12 Password dialog will appear
       3.f.4.If you're using a shared computer or storage devices, then in the PKCS#12 Password dialog, enter the same password in both textboxes, and click the OK button; be certain to remember this password, as you'll be asked to present it should you ever need to recover your Callsign Certificate from the Certificate Container file. If you control access to the computer and storage devices you're using, then in the PKCS#12 Password dialog, leave both textboxes empty, and click the OK button; no password will be required to recover your Callsign Certificate from the Certificate Container file.
   3.gTerminate tQSL Certificates by selecting its File:Exit menu item
4.Configure your Backup and Restore application to include YourCallsign.p12 in the list of files it backs up
5.At the completion of this phase, the folder C:\MyLotWCertificates will contain
   *the Certificate Request file YourCallsign.tq5 -- request sent to ARRL (no longer needed)
   *the Certificate file YourCallsign.tq6 -- contains your actual Callsign Certificate, but in a form that cannot be moved or copied
   *the Certificate Container file YourCallsign.p12 -- contains your Callsign Certificate in a form that can be moved, backed-up, and recovered; be sure to make a backup copy! You can use the tQSL Certificates application to extract YourCallsign.tq6 from YourCallsign.p12 if needed

A table illustrating the icons used by Windows to designate the above-mentioned LoTW file types in Windows Explorer is provided here.