---
title: "Partner subscriptions workflow"
source_url: https://dev.digicert.com/partner-subscriptions-api/partner-subscription-workflow.html
---

Use this workflow to create a customer subaccount and provision an ACME subscription for that customer.

## Workflow

1. Create a subaccount for the end customer.
2. Create an ACME contract for the subaccount and configure auto-renewal.
3. Configure the ACME client with the directory URL and External Account Binding (EAB) credentials.
4. Manage cancellation or renewal behavior.

## Step 1: Create a subaccount for the customer

Use `POST /account/subaccount` with a parent account Partner Subscriptions API key. For more information, see [Create subaccount with API key](https://dev.digicert.com/md/partner-subscriptions-api/account-management/create-subaccount-with-api-key.md).

DigiCert recommends creating a separate subaccount for each end customer to keep subscriptions organized by customer.

The response includes the subaccount API key. Use this key for ACME contract operations for that customer.

## Step 2: Create an ACME contract and configure auto-renewal

Use `POST /acme` with the subaccount Partner Subscriptions API key. For more information, see [Create ACME contract](https://dev.digicert.com/md/partner-subscriptions-api/acme-contract-management/create-acme-contract.md).

When creating the ACME contract, configure the subscription’s renewal behavior in the same request.

To keep the subscription active after the current coverage term, set `auto_renew` to `true`.

If `auto_renew` is omitted, the contract uses the account’s `auto_renew_subscription` setting. If no account setting is configured, `auto_renew` defaults to `false`.

The response includes the ACME directory URL and External Account Binding (EAB) credentials required to configure the ACME client.

## Step 3: Configure the ACME client

Use the ACME directory URL and EAB credentials returned in the create contract response to configure the ACME client for the customer’s subscription.

## Step 4: Cancel or stop renewal

Within the first 30 days, use `DELETE /acme/{acme_contract_id}` to cancel the subscription. For more information, see [Cancel ACME contract](https://dev.digicert.com/md/partner-subscriptions-api/acme-contract-management/cancel-acme-contract.md).

After the first 30 days, cancellation is no longer available. To stop the subscription from renewing, use the [Partially update ACME contract](https://dev.digicert.com/md/partner-subscriptions-api/acme-contract-management/partial-update-acme-contract.md) endpoint and set `auto_renew` to `false`. The subscription remains active until the end of the current term.