diff --git a/lib/server.js b/lib/server.js
index 6a2f9c9f1..822d23d76 100755
--- a/lib/server.js
+++ b/lib/server.js
@@ -168,6 +168,12 @@ exports.Server = Server = function (host, port, options, routes) {
             cert: Fs.readFileSync(this.settings.tls.cert)
         };
 
+        //if certs need a password ...
+        if( this.settings.tls.passphrase ) {
+
+            tls.passphrase = this.settings.tls.passphrase;
+        }
+
         this.listener = Https.createServer(tls, listenerEntryFunc);
     }
     else {