{"id":18717,"date":"2026-02-24T09:58:22","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T14:58:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/?p=18717"},"modified":"2026-02-24T10:22:33","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T15:22:33","slug":"ssl-certificate-validity-is-dropping-to-200-days","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/ssl-certificate-validity-is-dropping-to-200-days\/","title":{"rendered":"Reminder: SSL Certificate Validity Is Dropping to 200 Days"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-certificate-validity-periods-are-getting-shorter-is-your-team-ready-to-keep-up-with-the-new-demands-two-options-for-managing-shorter-certificates\">Certificate validity periods are getting shorter \u2014 is your team ready to keep up with the new demands? Two options for managing shorter certificates&#8230;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There\u2019s no way around it \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/47-day-ssl-certificate-validity-by-2029\/\">certificate lifespans are getting significantly shorter<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Validity periods for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/products\/ssl.aspx\">SSL\/TLS certificates<\/a> will be nearly halved from 398 days to 200 days before March 15, 2026.<\/strong> This move is coming slightly sooner than expected, with some <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/what-is-a-certificate-authority-ca-and-what-do-they-do\/\">certification authorities<\/a> (CAs) implementing their shifts to 200-day validity as soon as Feb. 24.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Validation data reuse periods will also be reduced.<\/strong> Certification authorities will have to re-verify your information significantly more frequently.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Just to be clear, this does NOT mean that you\u2019ll need to purchase twice as many SSL certificates \u2014 you\u2019ll just need to reissue (which is free) and reinstall your SSL certificate twice as often.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here\u2019s what you need to know about the coming changes, and what new SSL certificate automation tools we\u2019re rolling out to help you.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Let\u2019s hash it out.<span id=\"newline\"><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A Quick Review of Planned SSL Certificate Validity Reductions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here\u2019s a quick overview of what the reduced certificate validity phases look like, based on the <a href=\"https:\/\/cabforum.org\/2025\/04\/11\/ballot-sc081v3-introduce-schedule-of-reducing-validity-and-data-reuse-periods\/\">CA\/Browser Forum\u2019s mandated maximum certificate validity periods&#8217;<\/a> effective dates:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Certificate Lifespans (Max # of Days)<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Certificate Renewals\/Re-Issues (# Per Year)<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>398 days (current)<\/td><td>~1<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>200 days (starting February\/March 2026)<\/td><td>~2<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>100 days (starting March 15, 2027)<\/td><td>~4<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>47 days (starting March 15, 2029)<\/td><td>~8<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you\u2019d like to dig into more details on why these changes are being made, check out our blog post, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/47-day-ssl-certificate-validity-by-2029\/\">Industry to Shift to 47-Day SSL\/TLS Certificate Validity by 2029<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"565\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/shrinking-ssl-validity-renewal-frequency-v4-1024x565.png\" alt=\"A graph illustrating the concept of shortening SSL\/TLS validity periods (i.e., the number of days a certificate is valid) compared to the rising number of required certificate reissuances\" class=\"wp-image-18750\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/shrinking-ssl-validity-renewal-frequency-v4-1024x565.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/shrinking-ssl-validity-renewal-frequency-v4-300x166.png 300w, https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/shrinking-ssl-validity-renewal-frequency-v4-768x424.png 768w, https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/shrinking-ssl-validity-renewal-frequency-v4-1536x848.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/shrinking-ssl-validity-renewal-frequency-v4.png 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Image caption: A graph illustrating the changing SSL\/TLS certificate validity landscape, as validity periods shrink and the number of required certificate renewals increases over the next few years.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As is typical with changes to industry requirements, certificate authorities are implementing slightly more restrictive rules to prevent unexpected issues. Here\u2019s a quick breakdown of how the changes will unfold for <strong>DigiCert<\/strong> &amp; <strong>Sectigo<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>CA<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Certificate Validity Changes<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Domain Validation Data Reuse Changes<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Effective Date<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.digicert.com\/faq\/tls-ssl-certificate-validity\">DigiCert<\/a><\/td><td>Certificate validity drops to a <strong>199<\/strong>-day maximum<\/td><td><a href=\"https:\/\/knowledge.digicert.com\/alerts\/domain-validation-reuse-changes-in-2026\">Domain validation (DV) reuse period<\/a> drops to <strong>199<\/strong> days<\/td><td>For certificates issued on or after <strong>Tuesday,<\/strong> <strong>Feb. 24, 2026<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sectigo.com\/dcv-industry-compliance-changes\">Sectigo<\/a><\/td><td>Certificate validity drops to a <strong>199<\/strong>-day maximum<\/td><td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sectigo.com\/knowledge-base\/detail\/DCV-Reuse-Reduction-to-200-Days-Implementation-Guidance-for-Partner-customers-and-Retail-Customers\">DCV data reuse<\/a> drops to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sectigo.com\/dcv-industry-compliance-changes\"><strong>198<\/strong> days<\/a><\/td><td>For certificates issued on or after <strong>Thursday, March 12,<\/strong> <strong>2026<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Two Options for Managing Shorter Certificates<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Essentially, there are two ways to deal with the decreasing certificate lifespans:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Reissue + Reinstall Certificates Manually Every Six Months<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You can continue purchasing the same SSL\/TLS certificates you do now. For example, you can still purchase one- and three-year coverage for each certificate. However, you\u2019ll have to manually reissue and reinstall each certificate (at no additional cost) every 199 days (~six months).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So, what\u2019s this process look like? Let\u2019s re-hash them:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Generating and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/knowledgebase\/ssl-generate\/cetificate-signing-request-overview\/\">submitting a certificate signing request<\/a> (CSR)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Completing the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/knowledgebase\/ssl-validation\/domain-validation\/\">domain-<\/a> and\/or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/knowledgebase\/ssl-validation\/ov-ssl-validation-made-simple\/\">organization validation<\/a> process(es)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Retrieving the SSL\/TLS certificate<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Installing the SSL\/TLS certificate<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Renewing the certificate before it expires<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you choose this manual approach, ensure your reissuance notifications are enabled. While the inundation of notifications may drive you a bit crazy, it\u2019s still better than having your certificates expire and cause outages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Let SSL Automation Handle It<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thesslstore.com\/products\/ssl-automation.aspx\">SSL\/TLS certificate automation<\/a> solutions handle your certificate reissuances, renewals, and installations (and everything in between). You can set up your SSL\/TLS certificate once and not worry about it again, even as validity periods continue to decrease over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4 Options for SSL Automation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We offer multiple certificate automation solutions that can help you eliminate manual tasks and streamline your SSL lifecycle management, whether you have one certificate or 100:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td>&nbsp;<\/td><td><strong>AutoInstall SSL<\/strong><strong>\u00ae for Linux and Windows<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>AutoInstall SSL<\/strong><strong>\u00ae for Web Hosts<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>ACME-Enabled SSL Certificates<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Certificate Lifecycle Management Platforms<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Who It\u2019s For<\/td><td>Website owners using cloud\/VPS\/ dedicated Linux and Windows servers<\/td><td>Web hosting providers<\/td><td>Website owners who use a variety of environments<\/td><td>Website owners managing complex environments and custom integrations<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Compatible Platforms<\/td><td>Linux (Apache &amp; NGINX) and Windows IIS<\/td><td>cPanel, DirectAdmin, Plesk, and WHMCS<\/td><td>cPanel, Kubernetes, Linux, Plesk, Windows IIS, and other major servers<\/td><td>Supports a wide variety of environments<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Features<\/td><td><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP\/\/\/wAAACH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==\"><math xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1998\/Math\/MathML\"><semantics><mo>\u2713<\/mo><annotation encoding=\"text\/plain\">\u2713<\/annotation><\/semantics><\/math> Full lifecycle automation<br><br><math xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1998\/Math\/MathML\"><semantics><mo>\u2713<\/mo><annotation encoding=\"text\/plain\">\u2713<\/annotation><\/semantics><\/math>Built-in monitoring &amp; email alerts<br><br><math xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1998\/Math\/MathML\"><semantics><mo>\u2713<\/mo><annotation encoding=\"text\/plain\">\u2713<\/annotation><\/semantics><\/math>One-time installation (auto-renews 28 days before expiration after that) <br><br><math xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1998\/Math\/MathML\"><semantics><mo>\u2713<\/mo><annotation encoding=\"text\/plain\">\u2713<\/annotation><\/semantics><\/math>Intuitive user interface <br><br><math xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1998\/Math\/MathML\"><semantics><mo>\u2713<\/mo><annotation encoding=\"text\/plain\">\u2713<\/annotation><\/semantics><\/math>Easy setup wizard<\/td><td><math xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1998\/Math\/MathML\"><semantics><mo>\u2713<\/mo><annotation encoding=\"text\/plain\">\u2713<\/annotation><\/semantics><\/math> Full lifecycle automation <br><br><math xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1998\/Math\/MathML\"><semantics><mo>\u2713<\/mo><annotation encoding=\"text\/plain\">\u2713<\/annotation><\/semantics><\/math> Built-in alerts <br><br><math xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1998\/Math\/MathML\"><semantics><mo>\u2713<\/mo><annotation encoding=\"text\/plain\">\u2713<\/annotation><\/semantics><\/math> Multi-year SSL reissuances <br><br><math xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1998\/Math\/MathML\"><semantics><mo>\u2713<\/mo><annotation encoding=\"text\/plain\">\u2713<\/annotation><\/semantics><\/math> WYSIWYG interface for your customers<\/td><td><math xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1998\/Math\/MathML\"><semantics><mo>\u2713<\/mo><annotation encoding=\"text\/plain\">\u2713<\/annotation><\/semantics><\/math> End-to-end SSL automation <br><br><math xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1998\/Math\/MathML\"><semantics><mo>\u2713<\/mo><annotation encoding=\"text\/plain\">\u2713<\/annotation><\/semantics><\/math> Built on the globally trusted ACME protocol <br><br><math xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1998\/Math\/MathML\"><semantics><mo>\u2713<\/mo><annotation encoding=\"text\/plain\">\u2713<\/annotation><\/semantics><\/math> Fast and easy setup with ACME agents available for most servers &nbsp;<\/td><td><math xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1998\/Math\/MathML\"><semantics><mo>\u2713<\/mo><annotation encoding=\"text\/plain\">\u2713<\/annotation><\/semantics><\/math> Automated certificate discovery, issuance, deployment, renewal, and revocation that eliminates manual management <br><br><math xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1998\/Math\/MathML\"><semantics><mo>\u2713<\/mo><annotation encoding=\"text\/plain\">\u2713<\/annotation><\/semantics><\/math> Centralized interface for managing certificates <br><br><math xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1998\/Math\/MathML\"><semantics><mo>\u2713<\/mo><annotation encoding=\"text\/plain\">\u2713<\/annotation><\/semantics><\/math> Advanced management tools &amp; controls &nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Pricing<\/td><td>Starting at $18.96\/year<\/td><td>Available for Partners<\/td><td>Starting at $75\/year<\/td><td>Starting at $2,500\/year<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>&nbsp;<\/td><td><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/products\/ssl-automation.aspx#automationProGrid\">Learn More<\/a><\/strong><\/td><td><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/autoinstall-ssl.aspx\">Learn More<\/a><\/strong><\/td><td><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/products\/ssl-automation.aspx#acmecertgrid\">Learn More<\/a><\/strong><\/td><td><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/solutions\/certificate-management.aspx\">Learn More<\/a><\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-central-palette-2-background-color has-text-color has-background wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/products\/ssl-automation.aspx\" style=\"border-radius:3px;color:#ffffff\">Shop Certificate Automation Solutions<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Be sure to monitor your certificates as well. Installing certificates won\u2019t do you (or your customers) any good if you don\u2019t bother ensuring they\u2019re active and issue-free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">It\u2019s Time for a Little Exercise&#8230;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">How much does manually managing your SSL\/TLS certificates cost your business?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"975\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ssl-shortening-validity-FINAL-1024x975.png\" alt=\"An infographic that illustrates how SSL certificate validity changes will affect your certificate management workload\" class=\"wp-image-18718\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ssl-shortening-validity-FINAL-1024x975.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ssl-shortening-validity-FINAL-300x286.png 300w, https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ssl-shortening-validity-FINAL-768x731.png 768w, https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ssl-shortening-validity-FINAL-1536x1462.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ssl-shortening-validity-FINAL-2048x1949.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What all of this means is that by March 2029, you\u2019ll have to dedicate a minimum of <strong><em>2.5 eight-hour workdays every year<\/em><\/strong> strictly to reissuing and installing 10 SSL\/TLS certificates. And that number is provided you don\u2019t have other compounding factors, such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>having more than 10 certificates to manage, and\/or<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>dealing with additional SSL reissuances or revocations throughout the year.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Imagine what you could do with all of that time if your organization had chosen to automate these tedious tasks\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Certificate validity periods are getting shorter \u2014 is your team ready to keep up with the new demands? Two options for managing shorter certificates&#8230; There\u2019s no way around it \u2014&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":18723,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","tve_updated_post":"","tve_custom_css":"","tve_user_custom_css":"","tve_globals":{},"tcb2_ready":0,"tcb_editor_enabled":0,"tve_landing_page":"","_tve_header":"","_tve_footer":""},"categories":[13107,17],"tags":[583,179],"class_list":["post-18717","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-beyond-hashed-out","category-industry-lowdown","tag-certificate-validity","tag-ssl-certificates","post-with-tags"],"views":2898,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/shortening-validity-announcement-feature-v2.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18717","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18717"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18717\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18717"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18717"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18717"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}