How to add a PDF ticket to Apple Wallet on your iPhone

Your concert ticket, museum entry, conference badge or train ticket came as a PDF. You'd rather open it from Apple Wallet than dig through your email at the gate. This guide shows how to add a PDF to Apple Wallet on iPhone. It starts with the official way, for when the seller offers one, and then covers what you can do when the PDF is all you have.

Some background first. Apple Wallet works with passes. A pass shows the barcode that gets scanned, plus details like the date, venue and seat. A PDF ticket isn't a pass on its own, so you have two ways to go: get the real pass from whoever issued the ticket, or make a pass from the ticket's barcode.

First, check for an official Add to Apple Wallet option

The best pass is the one the issuer makes. It carries the exact barcode they expect to scan. It may also get updates if the issuer sends them, for example a new time or gate. Apple's own advice is to look for "Add to Apple Wallet" in an app, email, message or web page.

In the ticket email

1. Open the confirmation email on your iPhone.
2. Scroll through the whole email. The Add to Apple Wallet badge (usually black, with the Wallet icon) is often next to the barcode or near the bottom, below the PDF link.
3. Tap it. A preview of the pass opens.
4. Tap Add.
5. Open the Wallet app to check the pass is there.

Look at the attachments too. A file ending in .pkpass is a Wallet pass, not a document. Tap it in Mail and the same preview opens with an Add button. A .pkpass link opened in Safari works the same way.

On the seller's website or in its app

1. Open the website where you bought the ticket in Safari and log in, or open the seller's app.
2. Go to your orders or tickets.
3. Look for Add to Apple Wallet next to each ticket. Tap it, then tap Add.

Some sellers put the Wallet button only in their app, not in the email. For flights, the PDF is often just the print-at-home version. Many airlines offer the boarding pass as a Wallet pass in their app or on their online check-in page.

Tickets that live only in the organiser's app

Some tickets only show up in the organiser's app, with a barcode that changes every few seconds. In that case, use the organiser's app at the gate. A screenshot of a rotating barcode won't scan, and no third-party app can turn it into a working pass. Apple warns about this too: a pass made from a photo of a code that expires won't work.

If there's no option at all

Apple's advice is to contact the company that issued the ticket and ask whether they support Apple Wallet passes. It's worth a quick look at their help pages before you make a pass yourself.

When the PDF is all you have

Lots of tickets only ever arrive as a PDF: small venues, museums, local events, some rail and bus operators, conferences. You can still use it as it is. You open the file and show the barcode. The trouble is that it's buried in your email or Files at the moment you need it.

The other choice is to make your own pass from the ticket's barcode. Before you do, it helps to know what that pass can and can't do:

• It carries the same barcode as the PDF. That's all. It doesn't add any validation the venue would check.
• It won't update. If the time, gate or platform changes, the pass you made won't change with it. Check with the organiser, airline or rail company.
• Organiser rules still apply. If the terms say you must use their app, or they check tickets against your ID, a Wallet pass doesn't change that.
• One ticket, one pass. A ticket's barcode is normally meant to get one person in. Make passes only for tickets you actually hold.

How to add a PDF to Apple Wallet yourself

There are two main ways to do this on iPhone. One is built into Wallet on newer phones. The other uses an app that reads the PDF for you.

Option 1: Wallet's own pass creation (iOS 27)

In iOS 27, Wallet can make a pass from a photo or screenshot of a barcode. Apple lists these requirements: an iPhone 15 Pro or later that's compatible with Apple Intelligence, the latest version of iOS, and Visual intelligence turned on. Apple Intelligence isn't available in all languages or regions.

1. Open the PDF in Mail or Files. Zoom in so the barcode is sharp and fills a good part of the screen.
2. Take a screenshot by pressing the side button and the volume up button together.
3. If Wallet detects the code, an Add Pass to Wallet button appears. Tap it.
4. If you miss the button, open the screenshot in Photos, then tap the Info button or swipe up. The same button appears if the code is detected.
5. Follow the steps on screen and check the details before you add the pass.

You can change a pass you've made later. In Wallet, tap the pass, tap the More button, then tap Edit Pass. From there you can change colours, add or remove fields, or edit details. There's also a manual route: in Wallet, tap Add Card, then Create a Pass, then Create Pass Manually, and choose a template.

A few limits are worth knowing. Apple names three templates: standard, membership and event. It doesn't mention a boarding pass style. Apple also doesn't document which barcode formats the photo method can detect. Apple's pages don't describe importing a PDF directly, so this method starts from the screenshot.

Option 2: import the PDF into Kardin

Kardin is an iPhone app that reads the PDF itself. It's a new app, coming soon to the App Store. It runs on iOS 16.4 or later and doesn't need Apple Intelligence, which helps if your iPhone is older than an iPhone 15 Pro. It also has flight, train, bus and event pass styles.

1. In Mail, tap the PDF attachment to open it, tap Share, and choose Kardin. You can also open Kardin and import a PDF from Files.
2. Kardin reads the first page of the PDF. It takes the text from the PDF's text layer and decodes the barcode with the iPhone's built-in barcode reading. Nothing about the barcode is guessed or generated.
3. It picks a kind of pass from the text: flight, train, bus, event, card or other. Change it if it's wrong.
4. It fills in the fields it finds. For an event, that's the event name, date, time, venue, gate, section, row and seat. For a flight or train, it's from and to, the flight or train number, passenger, date, departure time, gate or platform, coach and seat.
5. Check everything on the review screen, which shows a live preview. Reading the details is best-effort. Small, rotated or messy text can be missed or misread, so compare the date, time and seat with the PDF. You can edit every field.
6. Create the pass. Apple's own Add to Apple Wallet screen opens. Tap Add to confirm.

If Kardin can read the date and time, the pass carries them, so Wallet can suggest it on your Lock Screen around that time.

What gets sent: Kardin reads the PDF on your iPhone and never uploads the file. Apple requires every Wallet pass to be signed, and the signing key has to stay on a server. So Kardin sends only the pass's content to its server: the field labels and values, the barcode value and format, the colours, and the date for the Lock Screen. The server signs the pass, sends it straight back and doesn't store it. There's no account. See how Kardin handles your data for details.

Limits to know:

• Kardin reads only the first page of a PDF. A PDF with several tickets gives you one pass, from page one.
• You need an internet connection to create a pass. Once it's in Wallet, it works offline.
• QR, PDF417, Aztec and Code 128 barcodes stay in their original format. Other 1D barcodes are re-encoded as Code 128 with the same number. Most scanners read that, but not all, so test it before you rely on it.
• Passes are signed, so they can't be edited once they're in Wallet. To fix a mistake, use Edit as new pass in Kardin and add the corrected copy.

Other apps

Other iPhone apps also say they turn PDFs into Wallet passes. As of November 2026, NeatPass, Walletsmith and MakePass all mention PDFs in their App Store listings. They handle processing and privacy in different ways, so read each app's listing and privacy policy before you choose one.

Which method to use

	Official button or .pkpass	Wallet's Create a Pass (iOS 27)	Kardin	Keep the PDF
Starts from	The issuer's email, website or app	A screenshot or photo of the barcode, or manual entry	The PDF (first page), a photo, a screenshot or a scan	The file itself
What you need	An issuer that offers it	iPhone 15 Pro or later, Apple Intelligence, latest iOS	iPhone with iOS 16.4 or later; internet to create the pass	The file downloaded to your iPhone
Pass styles	Whatever the issuer chose	Standard, membership, event	Boarding pass (plane, train, bus), event, store card, generic	Not a pass
Updates on changes	Only if the issuer sends them	No issuer updates; you can edit it yourself	No; you make a corrected copy	No
Works offline	Yes	Yes	Yes, once added	Yes, if it's saved on the device
Main limit	Not every issuer offers it	Supported barcode formats aren't documented; not in every region	Only the first page; it's a new app	Hard to find in a hurry

Keep the PDF as a backup

Even with a pass in Wallet, keep the original PDF where you can get to it offline:

1. In Mail, tap the PDF attachment, then tap Share.
2. Choose Save to Files, then pick On My iPhone so it's stored on the device.
3. Do this the day before, not in the queue.

If something goes wrong at the gate and you have no signal, open the Files app, find the PDF, turn up the brightness in Control Center and zoom in on the barcode.

Mistakes to avoid

• Screenshotting a rotating barcode. It won't scan. Use the organiser's app.
• Skipping the official button. Scroll the whole email and check the seller's app before you make your own pass.
• Not checking the details. Compare the date, time, venue and seat on your pass with the PDF.
• Deleting the email or PDF. Keep it in case you need it as a backup or to make a corrected pass.
• Expecting live updates. A pass you made won't show delays, gate changes or cancellations.
• Leaving it until the last minute. Making a pass in Kardin needs internet. Add your tickets at home and open Wallet once to check they're there.
• Ignoring the organiser's rules. If they require their app or ID checks, bring what they ask for.

The short version

• Look for an Add to Apple Wallet button or a .pkpass file first, in the email, on the seller's website or in its app.
• If the PDF is all you have, make a pass from its barcode. Use Wallet's own pass creation on iOS 27 (iPhone 15 Pro or later), or an app such as Kardin that reads the PDF on your iPhone.
• Check every detail before you add the pass. A pass you made won't update, so watch for changes from the organiser.
• Rotating barcodes and app-only tickets have to stay in the organiser's app.
• Save the original PDF to Files on your iPhone as an offline backup.