Question:

Can I order multi year SSL Certificates? How does this work technically?

Answer:

Starting from March 12, 2026 any newly issued SSL certificate will have a maximum lifespan of approximately 199 days.

This applies to
• New orders
• Renewals
• Reissues

What will happen with active certificates?

Certificates issued before this date remain valid until their original expiration date unless they are revoked.

Impact on reissues

During the validity period of a certificate, you can always apply for a reissue.

The validity period of certificates re-issued after March 12, 2026 will then be limited to 199 days. This does not mean that the certificate has lost its initial validity period, because if you reissue again at a later time it will be matched to the initial validity period. For example, a one year SSL product issued after March 12, 2026 will first be issued as a certificate valid for up to 199 days. When it expires a new certificate will be reissued for the remaining time. If 30 days remain the reissued certificate will be valid for 30 days.

Options for a longer validity term

Customers can continue to purchase one year and multi year SSL products. The commercial term does not change and there is no loss of paid time.

What changes is how certificates are issued during that term.

Instead of a single long certificate multiple certificates will be issued over the lifetime of the order.

Example:
A one year SSL product issued after March 12, 2026 will first be issued as a certificate valid for up to 199 days. When it expires a new certificate will be reissued for the remaining time. If 30 days remain the reissued certificate will be valid for 30 days.

Refunds

There will be no refunds, in case after completion of 199 days the client does not want to extend the certificate to second year anymore.

How will it work?

Effective March 12, 2026 all 2-year orders will be processed as 2-year subscriptions. The Openprovider API functionality will remain unchanged; however, when ordering a 2-year certificate, you will receive a 199 days certificate initially. The certificate will be automatically renewed, and you will be notified accordingly. It is the user's responsibility to install the renewed certificate. 

What do you need to do?

• Re-installation:

As the initial certificate expires after 199 days, it is very important to install the new certificate that you will receive after 199 days is installed on your server timely.

You can find more information about the changes in this article.

Note: Above rules are subject to change and are requirements set by CA.