Back Up EFS Certificate

To back up a certificate, open the MMC console and add the Certificates snap-in. From here it is possible to browse certificates associated with a user or computer. In this case, the personal store is browsed.

1. Right-click a certificate to back up, then select All Tasks > Export.

2. Certificate Export Wizard appears. Click Next
3. Select Yes, export the private key option.

4. Select the format to export in. When exporting the private key, the .PFX format is generally a standard in Windows. If the certificate would be the only thing exported, you could export it in a .CER format instead.

5. As the private key must remain secure, create a password for the file.

6. Select the location and name for the exported file.

7. Check your settings, then click Finish to complete the process.

Once the procedure is completed, a pop-up notification appears. The created .pfx file contains the exported certificate and the private key in the location specified.