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.

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

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

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

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

Select the location and name for the exported file.

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.

You can also back up a certificate with PowerShell using the Export-Certificate cmdlet.