A bounty hunter's license, officially known as an Imperial Peace-Keeping Certificate (IPKC), was a certification granted to bounty hunters. This authorization came from both the Imperial Office of Criminal Investigations and the Bounty Hunters' Guild, enabling them to pursue and capture individuals with outstanding bounties. Furthermore, for a specified charge at posting agencies, it provided access to the Imperial Enforcement DataCore, a network containing sensitive law enforcement data belonging to the Galactic Empire and its agents.
The Imperial Office of Criminal Investigations and the Bounty Hunters' Guild issued a special authorization to bounty hunters called an Imperial Peace-Keeping Certificate (IPKC). This document gave them the right to hunt down individuals with bounties. Each Imperial Peace-Keeping Certificate, which essentially served as a license to kill, had a unique identification number that could be requested by Imperial authorities. Holders of this license were granted access to the Imperial Enforcement DataCore, a network filled with information about the Empire's law enforcement operations and its agents. Only authorized Imperial personnel and licensed bounty hunters at designated bounty-posting agencies could access the DataCore. However, even with a license, hunters had to pay a fee to use the DataCore: fifteen credits per hour or twenty-five credits per day.
The license was designed as a rectangular plastic identification card. It featured a photograph of the holder, along with their name, species, height (measured in meters), weight (measured in kilograms), and a list of approved weapons and vehicles authorized for the holder to pilot. In High Galactic, the card stated, "Licensed by the Imperial Office of Criminal Investigation and the Bounty Hunters Guild" and "ALL ACCESS," while the background was decorated with Aurebesh characters.
Bossk, a well-known Trandoshan bounty hunter, possessed an Imperial Peace-Keeping Certificate with the number 55946112. However, Ezra Bridger, a thief hired by Bossk as a guide while pursuing a bounty on the planet Lothal, stole it. Bridger then stored the stolen certificate in his private journal.
Bossk also possessed the license of another Trandoshan bounty hunter, Mundokk, claiming that Mundokk no longer required it. Tam Posla, a former interstellar lawman who became a bounty hunter, also held an Imperial Peace-Keeping Certificate. The assassin droid Captivator and team of bounty hunters were also in possession of the certificate.
The Imperial Peace-Keeping Certificate made its initial appearance in the new Star Wars canon within Ezra's Gamble, a junior novel authored by Ryder Windham and published on August 5, 2014. Its canonical visual representation was first presented in Rebel Journal by Ezra Bridger, a young-readers book written by Daniel Wallace, presented as the in-universe journal of Ezra Bridger, which was released on October 21, 2014.
Originally, the Imperial Peace-Keeping Certificate was conceived for Galaxy Guide 9: Fragments from the Rim, a 1993 Star Wars Legends supplement created by Simon Smith and Eric Trautmann for the Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game.