What counts as an "active pass"?
Updated June 29, 2026
"Active pass" is the unit your plan is measured in, so it's worth knowing precisely what counts. The good news is the definition is strict in your favor: a pass only counts once it's genuinely in someone's wallet.
The definition
A pass counts as active when all three of these are true:
- It's a live pass, not a test pass.
- It hasn't been voided.
- It's installed in at least one wallet (Apple Wallet or Google Wallet).
If any of those isn't true, the pass doesn't count.
What this rules out
- Test passes never count. Build and experiment freely; none of it touches your bill. See test mode vs live mode.
- Issued-but-not-installed passes don't count. A pass you created that nobody has added to their wallet yet isn't active. You're billed for passes people actually carry, not for links you sent.
- Voided passes stop counting. Once you void a pass, it drops out of the active count.
- A pass that was removed from every wallet stops counting. If the holder deletes it, it's no longer active.
One person, one pass, counted once
If someone installs the same pass on two devices, it still counts as a single active pass. If a pass is added to both Apple Wallet and Google Wallet, it counts once, not twice. The count is per pass, not per device or per platform.
This is why your billed active-pass count can be lower than the number of passes you've issued. Issuance is just the first step; activity is measured by what people install and keep. The journey from issued to active is the install funnel.
For what happens as you approach your plan's limit, see active pass limits and overages.