Mac users can generate a certificate signing request (CSR) in Keychain Access to use for personal authentication certificates. Please follow this collection guide if you placed your certificate order using a CSR that was created in Keychain Access.
Collect and Reformat Certificate File
There are two ways to collect your certificate after issuance. For both methods, there is an extra step to re-format the certificate so that it can be installed on your Mac.
Sectigo Collection – Download PKCS#7
Once the certificate is issued, Sectigo Certificate Authority will email you a link to collect the certificate. You can download the certificate as a PKCS#7 (P7B) file here, which includes the CA chain certificate files.
Download CRT From Order Dashboard
You can download you certificate from your SSL Store order dashboard. The certificate is saved in a zip folder. Go into the sub-folder named CER – CRT Files and locate the .crt file which has a string of numbers as the file name. Extract this file from the zip folder.
Reformat Certificate
The downloaded certificate (whether P7B or CRT) is not automatically compatible with Mac OS. You can easily reformat the file using the using the CertLogik Certificate Decoder tool.
First, open your P7B or CRT file in TextEdit. Select and copy all of the text.
On the CSR decoder page, paste the certificate text and click Decode.
The certificate will be reformatted and include the necessary headers and footers. You should get a block of text like this:
-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
(big block of encrypted certificate code)
-----END CERTIFICATE-----
Copy all of the reformatted text, including the header and footer, and paste it over the old certificate in TextEdit, and then save the file.
Import Certificate in Keychain
Once the certificate is correctly formatted, you can double-click the file to import it into Keychain. Alternatively, in Keychain, click File, then Import Items, and select the certificate to import.
The certificate should then be installed in Keychain.
Known Errors
Error: -26276
This error is often a false alarm and may occur when the certificate is successfully imported. You may be able to locate the certificate by searching for the user email address in Keychain’s search bar.
Contents Cannot Be Retrieved
If the certificate file is not formatted correctly, you may encounter “An error has occurred. Unable to import an item. The contents of this item cannot be retrieved.”
Please open the certificate file in TextEdit to check the formatting. If the error persists, please open a ticket with our support team by sending the details of the issue along with your order number to support@thesslstore.com.