Introduction
If a digital certificate error message appears when you try to retrieve RPNs or submit a Payroll Submission, please check the following four items:
- That you can access your payroll data using ROS.ie
ROS.ie also uses a copy of your digital certificate to access data. It can be a good test to see if the certificate is working. If you are unable to log into ROS.ie, or see your data in ROS.ie, you will need to contact Revenue for them to fix this.
- You are using the same digital certificate in Payback that you are for ROS.ie
It is possible that the digital certificate you are using in payback is different to the digital certificate you are using in ROS.ie. This is the most common cause of digital certificate problems. To complicate matters, Revenue can also expire your digital certificate early, or change permissions. If you can access data in ROS, but not Payback, then you are using different digital certificates.
- Make sure that you are using the correct digital certificate in Payback
Try reloading your digital certificate from ROS following our Digital Certificate Guide, or for tax agents TAIN digital certificates.
When downloading the certificate from ROS, be careful that you do not mix it up with an old digital certificate that you previously downloaded. This is a common problem. You might need to clear your browser cache and rename the certificate file to stop this from happening.
- Check that the Employer Number and Password are both correct
The Employer No. (found in the Contact Tab of the Company screen) Must be entered and be correct for the certificate to work. It is made up of seven numbers followed by one, or two letters. An example is 5266273H. Check the Password is correct. This is the same password you use to log into ROS.ie. Note that you may have recently changed this password, especially if Revenue have recently expired your certificate. If you are a Tax Agent and have a TAIN digital certificate, ensure that the TAIN is also correct, and that you have permission to access all of your clients in ROS.ie
If you have followed the four steps above, and are still getting an error message, then you will need to contact Revenue for them to fix this for you.