Create an account

A Hedera account is required to interact with any network service, since every transaction and query fee is paid from an account. You can create a previewnet or testnet account on the Hedera Developer Portal, or use a third-party wallet to generate a free mainnet account. This page covers programmatic account creation with AccountCreateTransaction(). The transaction must be signed and paid for by an existing account. To obtain the new account ID, request the receipt of the transaction. For a complete list of account properties, see the accounts overview.

Recommended default for EVM compatibility: Create accounts with an ECDSA key and set the EVM Address from Public Key at creation. This enables native compatibility with EVM wallets, JSON-RPC tooling, and smart-contract interactions. Use setECDSAKeyWithAlias() (or setKeyWithAlias() with an ECDSA key) to do this in a single call.

Transaction fees and signing

The account paying for the transaction fee is required to sign the transaction.
The sender also pays the maxAutoAssociations fee and the rent for the first auto-renewal period.
See the transaction and query fees table for the base transaction fee.
Use the Hedera fee estimator to estimate cost.

Constructor

Constructor	Description
`new AccountCreateTransaction()`	Initializes the `AccountCreateTransaction` object

Methods

Exactly one of setKey, setKeyWithAlias, setECDSAKeyWithAlias, or setKeyWithoutAlias is required. See Setting the key and alias for which to use.

Method	Type	Key type accepted	Requirement
`setKey(<key>)`	Key	PublicKey or PrivateKey	Sets the account key with no EVM Address from Public Key. Accepts ED25519 or ECDSA.
`setKeyWithAlias(<key>)`	Key (ECDSA)	PublicKey or PrivateKey	Sets the key and the EVM Address from Public Key. Java’s one-argument recommended form; in other SDKs this is the two-argument overload `setKeyWithAlias(key, aliasKey)`.
`setECDSAKeyWithAlias(<key>)`	Key (ECDSA)	PrivateKey only in Rust, C++, Swift; PublicKey or PrivateKey elsewhere	Recommended for EVM use cases. Sets the key and the EVM Address from Public Key in one call. Not available in Java, which uses the one-argument `setKeyWithAlias` instead.
`setKeyWithoutAlias(<key>)`	Key	PublicKey or PrivateKey	Sets the key with no EVM Address from Public Key (the account falls back to its EVM Address from Account ID). Use if you plan to rotate keys later.
`setAlias(<alias>)`	EvmAddress	—	Explicitly sets the `alias` bytes. Pair with `publicKey.toEvmAddress()` to set the EVM Address from Public Key.
`setInitialBalance(<initialBalance>)`	Hbar	—	Optional
`setReceiverSignatureRequired(<booleanValue>)`	boolean	—	Optional
`setMaxAutomaticTokenAssociations(<amount>)`	int	—	Optional
`setStakedAccountId(<stakedAccountId>)`	AccountId	—	Optional
`setStakedNodeId(<stakedNodeId>)`	long	—	Optional
`setDeclineStakingReward(<declineStakingReward>)`	boolean	—	Optional
`setAccountMemo(<memo>)`	String	—	Optional
`setHighVolume(<highVolume>)`	boolean	—	Optional
`setAutoRenewPeriod(<autoRenewPeriod>)`	Duration	—	Disabled

EVM address from public key

Setting an ECDSA-derived EVM address at creation makes the account natively addressable from EVM wallets, JSON-RPC, and Solidity (msg.sender). The address is the rightmost 20 bytes of the Keccak-256 hash of the ECDSA public key. To enable this behavior, use the one-argument key-with-alias method for your SDK (setECDSAKeyWithAlias() in most SDKs, setKeyWithAlias() in Java). See Setting the key and alias for the full breakdown.Immutability: The EVM address is bound to the original ECDSA public key and does not change if you later rotate keys via CryptoUpdateTransaction. Integrations keyed to that EVM address (smart-contract permissions, address-based access lists) will continue to reference the original address.If key rotation is required: Use setKeyWithoutAlias() instead. The account will fall back to its EVM Address from Account ID (the long-zero form).Recovery model: If keys are compromised or must be replaced, create a new account with a new ECDSA key, then migrate assets and state. Do not rely on key rotation to preserve the same EVM identity.

High-volume entity creation

This transaction supports high-volume entity creation (HIP-1313). Setting setHighVolume(true) routes the transaction through dedicated high-volume throttle capacity with variable-rate pricing. Always pair this with setMaxTransactionFee() to cap your costs.

Maximum auto-associations

The maxAutoAssociations property determines how many automatic token associations an account allows.

Value	Behavior
`0`	Automatic token associations and token airdrops are not allowed. Tokens must be manually associated. This also applies when the value is less than or equal to `usedAutoAssociations`.
`-1`	Unlimited automatic token associations. This is the default for accounts created via auto account creation and for hollow accounts that have been completed. The sender still pays the association fee and initial rent for each new token.
`> 0`	Automatic token associations are limited to the specified number.

Reference: HIP-904.

Setting the key and alias

AccountCreateTransaction provides three ways to set the account key and the EVM address. Which one you choose depends on whether you want EVM compatibility and whether you plan to rotate the account key later. The method names below use the JavaScript SDK; see the per-SDK quick reference for the equivalent in each language.

Pattern	Method	What it does	Use when
Key with matching EVM address (recommended)	`setECDSAKeyWithAlias(key)`	Sets the account key and derives the EVM Address from Public Key from the same ECDSA key. Accepts a private or public ECDSA key.	You want a standard EVM-compatible account. The signing key and the EVM address are backed by the same ECDSA key, so `msg.sender`, EVM wallets, and JSON-RPC all resolve correctly.
Key with a separate alias key	`setKeyWithAlias(key, aliasKey)`	Sets the account (signing) key to one key and derives the EVM address from a different ECDSA key. Both keys must sign the transaction.	The account is controlled by one key (for example an Ed25519 key, or a different ECDSA key) but you want the EVM address derived from a separate ECDSA key.
Key without an alias	`setKeyWithoutAlias(key)`	Sets only the account key, with no EVM Address from Public Key. The account falls back to its EVM Address from Account ID (long-zero form).	You plan to rotate or update the account key later. The EVM Address from Public Key is immutable once set, so omit it if the key is not final.

To assign a specific, pre-computed EVM address instead of deriving one from the key, combine setKeyWithoutAlias(key) with setAlias(evmAddress). This is the HIP-583 pattern, useful when you already hold the target EVM address (for example, when migrating an existing EVM address).

Private or public key input

Whether the one-shot method accepts a public key or requires a private key depends on the SDK (see the per-SDK quick reference):

JavaScript, Java, Python, and Go accept either a public or a private ECDSA key. The EVM address is derived from the public component, so the choice is only about what key material you hand the builder. Pass a public key when the private key is held externally (a hardware wallet, HSM, or another party); the create transaction must still be signed by the corresponding private key.
Rust, C++, and Swift accept a private key only. If you hold just a public key (HSM or external-signer flows), use the manual path instead: set the key without an alias and set the alias explicitly from the derived address, for example setKeyWithoutAlias(publicKey) with setAlias(publicKey.toEvmAddress()). See the HSM-signing tutorials.

In the JavaScript SDK, the four derive variants are:

Variant	Call
Derived EVM address from a private account key	`setECDSAKeyWithAlias(privateKey)`
Derived EVM address from a public account key	`setECDSAKeyWithAlias(publicKey)`
Derived EVM address from a private alias key	`setKeyWithAlias(accountKey, privateAliasKey)`
Derived EVM address from a public alias key	`setKeyWithAlias(accountKey, publicAliasKey)`

(In Java, the one-argument forms use setKeyWithAlias(key) rather than setECDSAKeyWithAlias.) When you use a separate alias key, both the account key and the alias key must sign the transaction.

Per-SDK quick reference

SDK	One-shot method	Accepts `PublicKey`?	`PublicKey.toEvmAddress()` returns	`AccountId.toEvmAddress()`
JavaScript	`setECDSAKeyWithAlias(key)`	Yes	`string` (hex, no `0x`)	Yes
Java	`setKeyWithAlias(key)` (1-arg)	Yes	`EvmAddress`	Yes
Python	`set_key_with_alias(key)`	Yes	`EvmAddress`	Yes
Rust	`set_ecdsa_key_with_alias(key)`	No, `PrivateKey` only	`Option<EvmAddress>`	Use `to_solidity_address()`
C++	`setECDSAKeyWithAlias(key)`	No, `PrivateKey` only	`EvmAddress` (on `ECDSAsecp256k1PublicKey`)	Use `toSolidityAddress()`
Swift	`keyWithAlias(_ privateKeyECDSA:)`	No, `PrivateKey` only	`EvmAddress?`	Yes (`throws`)
Go	`SetECDSAKeyWithAlias(key)`	Yes	`string` (hex, no `0x`)	Yes

Java naming: setKeyWithAlias(key) with one argument is Java’s equivalent of setECDSAKeyWithAlias(key) in other SDKs. The two-argument overload setKeyWithAlias(key, ecdsaKey) is used when the account key and the alias-derivation key differ.Long-zero address parallel: Rust and C++ do not expose toEvmAddress() on AccountId. They expose to_solidity_address() / toSolidityAddress() instead, which returns the same long-zero form (the EVM Address from Account ID). Functionally equivalent, just a naming difference.Swift throws: Swift’s AccountId.toEvmAddress() is declared throws, so call sites need try (e.g., try accountId.toEvmAddress()).

Example

// Create new ECDSA key
const ecdsaPublicKey = PrivateKey.generateECDSA().publicKey;

// Create the transaction
const transaction = new AccountCreateTransaction()
    // Sets the EVM Address from Public Key (recommended for EVM compatibility)
    .setECDSAKeyWithAlias(ecdsaPublicKey)
    // Use .setKeyWithoutAlias(ecdsaPublicKey) if you plan to rotate keys soon after creation
    .setInitialBalance(new Hbar(1));

// Sign the transaction with the client operator private key and submit to a Hedera network
const txResponse = await transaction.execute(client);

//Request the receipt of the transaction
const receipt = await txResponse.getReceipt(client);

//Get the account ID
const newAccountId = receipt.accountId;

console.log("The new account ID is " + newAccountId);

// v2.84.0

Deriving the EVM address (`toEvmAddress` helper)

If you call setAlias(...) directly instead of a one-shot key-with-alias method, derive the EVM address from the ECDSA public key with the SDK helper:

// publicKey.toEvmAddress() returns the EVM Address from Public Key (hex, no 0x prefix)
const evmAddress = ecdsaPublicKey.toEvmAddress();

const transaction = new AccountCreateTransaction()
  .setKeyWithoutAlias(ecdsaPublicKey)
  .setAlias(evmAddress)
  .setInitialBalance(new Hbar(1));

In most cases, prefer setECDSAKeyWithAlias(publicKey), which sets the key and derives the alias in one call. Use the toEvmAddress helper when you need the value separately (for logging, validation, or pairing with setAlias).

Note on overloading: toEvmAddress is also exposed on AccountId in some SDKs. AccountId.toEvmAddress() returns the EVM Address from Account ID (the long-zero form), not the EVM Address from Public Key. For EVM compatibility, you want the PublicKey variant. AccountId.toEvmAddress() is not implemented in Rust and is named toSolidityAddress() in C++.

Verifying the EVM address

After creating an account, confirm the EVM Address from Public Key was set correctly using either the SDK or the mirror node.

Using the SDK

const info = await new AccountInfoQuery()
  .setAccountId(newAccountId)
  .execute(client);
console.log(`EVM address: 0x${info.contractAccountId}`);

If the account was created with setKeyWithoutAlias(...), contractAccountId returns the EVM Address from Account ID (long-zero form, starting with 24 zero hex characters). If it was created with setECDSAKeyWithAlias(...) or equivalent, it returns the EVM Address from Public Key.

Using the mirror node REST API

# Look up by account ID
curl https://mainnet.mirrornode.hedera.com/api/v1/accounts/0.0.1234

# Look up by EVM address
curl https://mainnet.mirrornode.hedera.com/api/v1/accounts/0xab...cd

The evm_address field in the response is the canonical EVM address for the account.

Common pitfalls

Creating an ECDSA account with setKey() only. The account is valid and can hold HBAR, but it has no EVM Address from Public Key. It falls back to its EVM Address from Account ID (long-zero form), which means:

It is not natively addressable from MetaMask or other EVM wallets keyed to the public-key EVM address.
Solidity contracts that compare msg.sender against the expected EVM address will not match.
JSON-RPC tooling expecting an ECDSA-derived address sees an unexpected long-zero address.

Use setECDSAKeyWithAlias(publicKey) (or setKeyWithAlias(publicKey) with an ECDSA key) instead.

Using deprecated PrivateKey.generate(). This helper silently returns an ED25519 key, which cannot be used to derive an EVM address. Use PrivateKey.generateECDSA() for new accounts.

Common consensus errors

Error code	Cause	Resolution
`INVALID_ALIAS_KEY`	Alias is not derivable from the supplied key (typically an ED25519 key was used in an ECDSA alias flow).	Use `PrivateKey.generateECDSA()` (or the equivalent in your SDK).
`INVALID_SIGNATURE`	Two-key form (`setKeyWithAlias(key, ecdsaKey)`) was not signed by both the account key and the alias key.	Sign the transaction with both keys before submitting.
`ALIAS_ALREADY_ASSIGNED`	The EVM address is already in use by another account (for example, a hollow account previously received funds at this address).	Generate a fresh ECDSA key, or complete the existing hollow account by signing a transaction from it.
`ACCOUNT_ID_DOES_NOT_EXIST`	A query referenced an EVM address with no associated account.	Confirm the account was created and the receipt returned `SUCCESS`.

Get transaction values

Method	Type	Description
`getKey()`	Key	Returns the public key on the account
`getInitialBalance()`	Hbar	Returns the initial balance of the account
`getAutoRenewPeriod()`	Duration	Returns the auto-renew period on the account
`getDeclineStakingReward()`	boolean	Returns whether the account declined staking rewards
`getStakedNodeId()`	long	Returns the staked node ID
`getStakedAccountId()`	AccountId	Returns the staked account ID
`getReceiverSignatureRequired()`	boolean	Returns whether the receiver signature is required
`getHighVolume()`	boolean	Returns whether this transaction uses high-volume throttles

​Transaction fees and signing

​Constructor

​Methods

​EVM address from public key

​High-volume entity creation

​Maximum auto-associations

​Setting the key and alias

​Private or public key input

​Per-SDK quick reference

​Example

​Deriving the EVM address (toEvmAddress helper)

​Verifying the EVM address

​Using the SDK

​Using the mirror node REST API

​Common pitfalls

​Common consensus errors

​Get transaction values

Transaction fees and signing

Constructor

Methods

EVM address from public key

High-volume entity creation

Maximum auto-associations

Setting the key and alias

Private or public key input

Per-SDK quick reference

Example

Deriving the EVM address (`toEvmAddress` helper)

Verifying the EVM address

Using the SDK

Using the mirror node REST API

Common pitfalls

Common consensus errors

Get transaction values