About PennKey Setup Codes

PennKey Setup Codes are temporary identifiers used to log in to the PennKey registration application in order to register a PennKey and password or reset a forgotten PennKey password. Please review Warning about Setup Codes so you don't inadvertently freeze your PennKey or nullify a Setup Code you requested.

To Register a PennKey and Password

• If you are new at Penn and don't yet have a PennCard, you will be issued a PennKey Setup Code when you get your PennCard.

• However, if you are a new student, a PennKey Setup Code will be automatically mailed to you.

• All others who are eligible for a PennKey should visit a PennKey administration station and obtain a Setup Code on the spot, or call the automated Setup Code Request Line and have one sent to your address of record via U.S. Mail.

To Reset a Forgotten Password

You can obtain a Setup Code

• At a PennKey administration station

• Via U.S. Mail
  Call the automated Setup Code Request Line to have a Setup Code sent to your address of record. If your Setup Code does not arrive in a timely manner, send a followup query to pennkey@isc.upenn.edu rather than requesting a second Setup Code.

Note: If you are enrolled in Challenge-Response you don't need to obtain a Setup Code to reset your password unless you can't answer your Challenge-Response questions.

Warning about Setup Codes

• Requesting a Setup Code is analogous to reporting a lost credit card. For security purposes, a Setup Code request immediately deactivates a registered PennKey. Once you've requested a Setup Code you must use it to reset your password and reactivate your PennKey. That means, for example, that if you remember your old password after you've called the Setup Code Request Line, you won't be able to use your PennKey again until you reset your password using the Setup Code you requested. It also means you must use any Setup Code you obtain online through Challenge-Response, even if you were just "testing" Challenge-Response to see if you could get a Setup Code.

• If you request a second Setup Code during the time a previously requested Setup Code is unexpired, the second request will nullify the first Setup Code . The following example illustrates this point. Suppose you call the Setup Code Request Line and your Setup Code is delayed for some reason. You then call the Request Line again and the following day the first Setup Code arrives. The second request nullifies the first Setup Code, and you will need to wait for the second Setup Code to arrive. If a Setup Code is taking an unusually long time to arrive, send email to pennkey@isc.upenn.edu rather than requesting a second Setup Code.

• A PennKey Setup Code expires in 60 days or when you have completed the procedure for which the Setup Code was issued, whichever comes first.