How to Renew SSL Certificate

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificates are the backbone of secure web communication. They encrypt data between a user’s browser and a server, ensuring sensitive information—such as login credentials, payment details, and personal data—remains protected from interception. Without a valid SSL certificate, modern browsers display warning messages that deter visitors, harm trust, and negatively impact search engine rankings. An expired SSL certificate is not merely a technical oversight; it’s a critical security vulnerability and a reputational risk. Renewing your SSL certificate before it expires is not optional—it’s essential for maintaining website integrity, compliance, and user confidence.

This guide provides a comprehensive, step-by-step walkthrough on how to renew an SSL certificate, covering the entire lifecycle from preparation to post-renewal validation. Whether you manage a small business website, an e-commerce platform, or a large enterprise application, understanding the renewal process ensures seamless security continuity. We’ll also explore best practices, recommended tools, real-world examples, and answers to common questions to equip you with the knowledge to handle SSL renewals confidently and efficiently.

Step-by-Step Guide

Renewing an SSL certificate involves a sequence of well-defined tasks. Skipping or misordering any step can lead to service disruption, browser warnings, or failed validation. Below is a detailed, actionable guide to renew your SSL certificate correctly.

1. Check the Expiration Date

Before initiating any renewal process, verify the current expiration date of your SSL certificate. Most web servers and control panels display this information in their security or certificate management sections. For Apache, Nginx, or IIS servers, you can use command-line tools to inspect the certificate:

For OpenSSL (Linux/macOS):

openssl x509 -in /path/to/your/certificate.crt -noout -enddate

For Windows PowerShell:

Get-ChildItem -Path Cert:\LocalMachine\My | Where-Object {$_.Subject -like "*yourdomain.com*"} | Select-Object Subject, NotAfter

Alternatively, use online tools like SSL Labs’ SSL Test (ssllabs.com) or Why No Padlock? to analyze your site’s certificate status remotely. These tools will show you the expiration date, issuer, and any configuration issues.

Set a reminder at least 30 days before expiration. Many Certificate Authorities (CAs) send renewal notifications, but relying solely on email can be risky due to filtering or outdated contact details.

2. Generate a New Certificate Signing Request (CSR)

Even if you’re renewing an existing certificate, you must generate a new Certificate Signing Request (CSR). A CSR is an encoded file that contains your public key and organizational details. It’s submitted to the CA to request a new certificate.

On Linux/Unix systems using OpenSSL:

openssl req -new -newkey rsa:2048 -nodes -keyout yourdomain.com.key -out yourdomain.com.csr

This command creates both a private key (yourdomain.com.key) and a CSR (yourdomain.com.csr). The private key must be kept secure and never shared. During generation, you’ll be prompted to enter:

• Country Name (e.g., US)
• State or Province
• Locality (city)
• Organization Name
• Organizational Unit (e.g., IT Department)
• Common Name (your domain, e.g., www.yourdomain.com)
• Email address
• Optional: Challenge password

Ensure the Common Name matches your domain exactly. For wildcard or multi-domain certificates, include all relevant subdomains (e.g., *.yourdomain.com or additional domains like shop.yourdomain.com).

On Windows servers using IIS:

1. Open Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.
2. Select your server in the left panel.
3. Double-click “Server Certificates.”
4. Click “Create Certificate Request” in the Actions panel.
5. Fill in the required details (ensure Common Name is correct).
6. Choose a cryptographic provider and bit length (2048-bit minimum).
7. Save the CSR file to your local machine.

For cloud platforms like AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud, use their respective console tools or CLI to generate a CSR or request a certificate directly through their certificate managers.

3. Choose the Right Certificate Type

Before submitting your CSR, confirm the type of SSL certificate you need:

• Domain Validation (DV): Basic encryption; validates only domain ownership. Ideal for blogs and small sites.
• Organization Validation (OV): Validates domain ownership and organization details. Suitable for businesses needing enhanced trust.
• Extended Validation (EV): Rigorous validation process; displays organization name in the browser’s address bar. Required for financial institutions and high-security portals.
• Wildcard: Secures a domain and all its first-level subdomains (e.g., *.yourdomain.com).
• Multi-Domain (SAN): Secures multiple domains with one certificate (e.g., yourdomain.com, shop.yourdomain.com, yourdomain.net).

If your current certificate was a Wildcard or SAN, ensure your renewal request includes the same domains. Adding or removing domains may require revalidation and additional costs.

4. Submit the CSR to Your Certificate Authority

Log in to your Certificate Authority’s portal (e.g., DigiCert, Sectigo, Let’s Encrypt, GlobalSign, or GoDaddy). Locate the “Renew Certificate” or “Reissue” option. Upload your newly generated CSR.

Some CAs automatically pre-fill details from your previous certificate. Verify all information—especially domain names and organization details—is accurate. Any mismatch will delay issuance.

If you’re switching CAs, you may need to cancel your existing certificate and purchase a new one. Ensure the new CA supports your server type and offers the same validation level.

For Let’s Encrypt (free, automated certificates), use Certbot or another ACME client to automate renewal. The process is typically:

sudo certbot renew

This command checks all installed certificates and renews those expiring within 30 days. Automate it with a cron job:

0 12 * * * /usr/bin/certbot renew --quiet

5. Complete Domain and Organization Validation

After submitting the CSR, the CA initiates validation:

Domain Validation (DV): The CA will send an email to an administrative address associated with the domain (e.g., admin@yourdomain.com, webmaster@yourdomain.com). Alternatively, you may be asked to upload a verification file to your website’s root directory or add a DNS TXT record.

For DNS validation:

• Log into your domain registrar’s DNS management panel.
• Add the TXT record provided by the CA.
• Wait 5–30 minutes for DNS propagation.
• Click “Verify” in the CA portal.

Organization Validation (OV) and Extended Validation (EV): These require additional documentation:

• Business registration documents (e.g., Articles of Incorporation)
• Proof of physical address (utility bill or bank statement)
• Verification of organizational phone number

Submit these documents through the CA’s secure portal. Processing time can take 1–5 business days. Ensure your business information is consistent across all official records.

6. Download and Install the New Certificate

Once validation is complete, the CA will issue your new SSL certificate. Download it in the correct format for your server:

• Apache/Nginx: Usually a .crt or .pem file, plus a CA bundle (.ca-bundle or .pem)
• IIS: .pfx or .p12 file (includes private key)
• Cloud services: Often auto-deployed or available via API

For Apache:

1. Copy the certificate file and CA bundle to your server’s SSL directory (e.g., /etc/ssl/certs/).
2. Update your virtual host configuration:

<VirtualHost *:443>
ServerName yourdomain.com
SSLEngine on
SSLCertificateFile /etc/ssl/certs/yourdomain.com.crt
SSLCertificateKeyFile /etc/ssl/private/yourdomain.com.key
SSLCertificateChainFile /etc/ssl/certs/ca-bundle.crt
</VirtualHost>

For Nginx:

server {
listen 443 ssl;
server_name yourdomain.com;
ssl_certificate /etc/ssl/certs/yourdomain.com.crt;
ssl_certificate_key /etc/ssl/private/yourdomain.com.key;
ssl_trusted_certificate /etc/ssl/certs/ca-bundle.crt;
}

For IIS:

1. Open IIS Manager.
2. Select “Server Certificates.”
3. Click “Complete Certificate Request.”
4. Browse to your downloaded .crt or .pfx file.
5. Assign a friendly name (e.g., “Renewed SSL 2024”).
6. Bind the certificate to your site under “Site Bindings.”

Always back up your old certificate and private key before replacing them. Keep a copy offline in a secure location.

7. Test the Installation

After installation, verify the certificate is working correctly:

• Visit your site using https://yourdomain.com. Look for the padlock icon.
• Use SSL Labs’ SSL Test (ssllabs.com/ssltest) to analyze your configuration. Aim for an A+ rating.
• Check for mixed content warnings (HTTP resources on HTTPS pages).
• Test across multiple browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge).
• Verify certificate chain completeness—missing intermediate certificates are a common cause of trust errors.

If errors appear, common fixes include:

• Ensuring the CA bundle is correctly installed
• Restarting the web server: sudo systemctl restart apache2 or sudo systemctl restart nginx
• Clearing browser cache or testing in incognito mode

8. Update Internal Systems and Dependencies

SSL renewal affects more than your website. Update:

• Email servers (SMTP, IMAP, POP3)
• API endpoints and microservices
• Mobile apps that communicate with your backend
• CDNs (Cloudflare, Akamai, Fastly)
• Load balancers and reverse proxies

For Cloudflare, re-upload the certificate under “Origin Certificates” or use their Universal SSL if enabled. For CDNs, ensure they’re pulling the updated certificate from your origin server.

9. Monitor and Automate Future Renewals

Manual renewal is error-prone. Implement automation:

• Use Certbot for Let’s Encrypt certificates (auto-renews every 60 days).
• Set calendar reminders 45 days before expiration.
• Use monitoring tools like UptimeRobot, Pingdom, or custom scripts to alert you of certificate expiration.
• Integrate certificate management into your DevOps pipeline using tools like HashiCorp Vault or Venafi.

Document the entire process for your team. Include server locations, credential storage, and contact details for your CA.

Best Practices

Adopting industry-standard best practices ensures your SSL certificates remain secure, compliant, and hassle-free.

Renew Early, Not Last Minute

Never wait until the last 24 hours. Certificate issuance can take hours or days due to validation delays, especially for OV and EV certificates. Renewing 30–45 days in advance gives you a buffer for unexpected issues.

Use Strong Key Lengths

Always generate CSRs with a minimum of 2048-bit RSA keys. Prefer 4096-bit for long-term security. Avoid 1024-bit keys—they are deprecated and insecure. For elliptic curve cryptography (ECC), use ECDSA with P-256 or P-384 curves.

Keep Private Keys Secure

Your private key is the foundation of SSL security. Never share it. Store it with restricted permissions (chmod 600 on Linux). Use hardware security modules (HSMs) or key management services for enterprise environments.

Use Certificate Transparency

Let’s Encrypt and most CAs now log certificates in public CT logs. This prevents fraudulent issuance and increases accountability. Ensure your certificate is logged—tools like crt.sh allow you to search for your domain’s certificate history.

Avoid Self-Signed Certificates in Production

Self-signed certificates are useful for testing but trigger browser warnings in production. They do not provide trust and are not recognized by browsers or mobile apps. Always use certificates from trusted CAs.

Consolidate with Multi-Domain or Wildcard Certificates

Managing multiple individual certificates is inefficient. Use a single SAN certificate to cover your main domain and key subdomains (e.g., www, mail, api, shop). Wildcard certificates simplify management for sites with many subdomains.

Document Everything

Create a certificate inventory: domain names, expiration dates, CA, CSR location, installation path, and responsible personnel. Use a spreadsheet or asset management tool. Update it after every renewal.

Plan for Certificate Revocation

If a private key is compromised, revoke the certificate immediately through your CA’s portal. Then issue a new one. Never reuse a compromised key.

Stay Compliant

Follow industry standards such as PCI DSS (for payment processing), HIPAA (healthcare), and GDPR (data privacy). These regulations mandate valid, up-to-date SSL certificates. Non-compliance can result in fines or audits.

Monitor Expiry with Alerts

Use automated monitoring tools:

• UptimeRobot: Free SSL expiry monitoring
• SSL Checker by SSL Shopper: Manual or API-based checks
• Prometheus + Blackbox Exporter: For advanced DevOps teams
• Custom Bash/Python scripts: Poll certificates weekly and send email/SMS alerts

Tools and Resources

Several tools simplify SSL certificate management, from generation to monitoring. Below are essential resources categorized by function.

Certificate Generation and Management

• OpenSSL: The industry-standard toolkit for generating CSRs and managing certificates. Available on all major platforms.
• Certbot: Automates Let’s Encrypt certificate issuance and renewal. Supports Apache, Nginx, and standalone modes.
• EasyRSA: For managing PKI infrastructure, especially useful for VPNs and internal certificate authorities.
• Windows Certificate Manager (certlm.msc): Built-in GUI for managing certificates on Windows servers.

Validation and Testing

• SSL Labs SSL Test (ssllabs.com/ssltest): Comprehensive analysis of certificate chain, protocol support, and vulnerabilities.
• Why No Padlock? (whynopadlock.com): Identifies mixed content and insecure resources on HTTPS pages.
• Digicert SSL Installation Diagnostics Tool: Checks for common installation errors.
• Browser Developer Tools (F12): Inspect the certificate under the Security tab.

Monitoring and Alerting

• UptimeRobot: Free tier includes SSL expiry monitoring with email/SMS alerts.
• Cloudflare: Offers free SSL and automatic renewal for sites proxied through their network.
• Let’s Encrypt + Certbot Cron: Fully automated renewal for compatible servers.
• Venafi: Enterprise-grade platform for managing certificates across hybrid environments.
• HashiCorp Vault: Securely stores and rotates certificates in cloud-native environments.

Certificate Authorities (CAs)

• Let’s Encrypt: Free, automated, open-source CA. Ideal for most websites. Valid for 90 days.
• DigiCert: Enterprise-grade, high-trust certificates with excellent support and EV options.
• Sectigo (formerly Comodo): Cost-effective with wide browser compatibility.
• GlobalSign: Strong focus on security and compliance.
• GoDaddy: Popular for small businesses; integrates with their hosting platform.
• Amazon ACM: Free certificates for AWS resources (ELB, CloudFront, API Gateway).

Documentation and Learning

• MDN Web Docs – HTTPS: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Security/HTTPS
• Let’s Encrypt Documentation: https://letsencrypt.org/docs/
• OWASP SSL Configuration Guide: https://owasp.org/www-project-web-security-testing-guide/latest/4-Web_Application_Security_Testing/05-Identity_Management_Testing/05-Test_SSL-TLS
• NIST Cybersecurity Framework: Guidelines for cryptographic key management.

Real Examples

Real-world scenarios illustrate how SSL renewal impacts businesses and how to handle them effectively.

Example 1: E-Commerce Store with Expired Certificate

A small online retailer using a DigiCert OV certificate received an automated email notification that their certificate would expire in 14 days. They delayed renewal, assuming the hosting provider would handle it.

On the expiration date, customers reported “Your connection is not private” warnings. Sales dropped 70% within 24 hours. Google Search Console flagged the site as insecure, and organic traffic plummeted.

They rushed to renew, but validation took 48 hours due to incomplete documentation. During this time, the site remained inaccessible via HTTPS. They lost $18,000 in revenue and had to run emergency ads to regain trust.

Lesson: Automate reminders and never assume third parties will act on your behalf.

Example 2: SaaS Platform Using Let’s Encrypt

A startup running a SaaS application on AWS used Certbot to automate Let’s Encrypt certificates across 12 microservices. They configured a cron job to run weekly and integrated certificate status into their monitoring dashboard.

When certificates rotated automatically every 60 days, users never noticed. Their uptime remained at 99.99%. The DevOps team saved 15+ hours per quarter by eliminating manual renewal tasks.

Lesson: Automation reduces risk and operational overhead.

Example 3: Enterprise with Multi-Domain Certificate

A global corporation managed 47 domains under a single Sectigo SAN certificate. During renewal, their IT team forgot to include a newly acquired domain (marketing2024.com). The certificate was issued without it.

Two weeks later, a marketing campaign failed because the landing page triggered a certificate error. The team had to request a reissue, which delayed the campaign by 72 hours.

They implemented a certificate inventory system and now use a script to validate all domains before submitting CSRs.

Lesson: Maintain a master list of domains and validate it before renewal.

Example 4: Migration to a New CA

A university migrated from GoDaddy to DigiCert to improve EV certificate support for their student portal. They generated a new CSR, submitted it, and completed OV validation. However, they forgot to update the certificate binding on their load balancer.

The site intermittently served the old, expired certificate from a cached backend server. Users experienced random security warnings.

After a 3-day investigation, they discovered the load balancer was still pointing to the old certificate file. They updated the configuration and restarted the service.

Lesson: Renewal isn’t complete until every system using the certificate is updated.

FAQs

Can I renew an SSL certificate before it expires?

Yes. Most Certificate Authorities allow renewal up to 90 days before expiration. Renewing early does not shorten the validity period of your new certificate. For example, if your certificate expires in 60 days and you renew now, the new certificate will still be valid for 12 or 24 months from its issue date—not from the old expiration date.

Do I need to generate a new CSR every time I renew?

Yes. A new CSR must be generated for each renewal. Even if your domain and organization details haven’t changed, a new public/private key pair is required for security best practices. Reusing an old CSR may compromise security and is often rejected by CAs.

What happens if I don’t renew my SSL certificate?

If your SSL certificate expires:

• Browsers will display “Not Secure” or “Your connection is not private” warnings.
• Visitors may leave your site, reducing conversions and trust.
• Search engines like Google may demote your site in rankings.
• APIs, mobile apps, and automated scripts may fail to connect.
• Compliance violations may occur under PCI DSS, HIPAA, or GDPR.

Is SSL renewal free?

It depends on the Certificate Authority. Let’s Encrypt offers free certificates with 90-day validity. Commercial CAs like DigiCert, Sectigo, and GoDaddy charge annual fees ranging from $50 to $1,000+ depending on validation level and features. Renewal costs are typically the same as the original purchase.

Can I use the same private key when renewing?

Technically, yes—but it’s not recommended. Best practices dictate generating a new private key with each renewal to reduce the risk of compromise. If the old key was exposed (e.g., through a server breach), reusing it puts your site at risk.

How long does SSL renewal take?

It varies:

• DV certificates: Minutes to hours (if DNS/email validation is fast)
• OV certificates: 1–3 business days
• EV certificates: 3–7 business days
• Let’s Encrypt: Automated—usually under 5 minutes

Does renewing an SSL certificate affect SEO?

Yes—negatively if delayed. An expired certificate triggers security warnings, which increase bounce rates and reduce dwell time. Google considers HTTPS a ranking signal. A site with an expired certificate may be temporarily demoted in search results until the issue is resolved. Prompt renewal restores SEO health.

How do I know if my certificate is being renewed automatically?

For Let’s Encrypt with Certbot, run:

sudo certbot certificates

This lists all certificates and their expiration dates. Check your cron jobs with:

crontab -l

If you see a line like 0 12 * * * /usr/bin/certbot renew --quiet, renewal is automated. For commercial CAs, check your account dashboard for auto-renewal settings.

What’s the difference between reissuing and renewing?

Renewing: Extends the validity period of your certificate. Requires a new CSR and often new validation.

Reissuing: Replaces a certificate due to key compromise, domain changes, or misconfiguration—without extending validity. Often free and faster than renewal.

Conclusion

Renewing an SSL certificate is not a one-time task—it’s an ongoing responsibility critical to the security, performance, and credibility of your online presence. The process, while technical, is straightforward when approached systematically: check expiration, generate a new CSR, validate ownership, install the certificate, test thoroughly, and automate future renewals.

Failure to renew leads to broken trust, lost traffic, compliance violations, and financial loss. Conversely, proactive renewal demonstrates technical competence, prioritizes user security, and reinforces brand integrity. By adopting best practices—such as using strong keys, documenting configurations, and automating processes—you eliminate risk and reduce administrative burden.

Whether you manage a single blog or a global enterprise platform, the principles remain the same: prepare early, verify accurately, install correctly, and monitor continuously. The tools and resources available today make SSL management more accessible than ever. Leverage them.

Remember: A secure website isn’t just about having an SSL certificate—it’s about keeping it current. Renew on time, and your users will never know the difference—except that they can trust you.