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SSL Certificate Reissuance Guide

This document will explain how to re-sign an issued SSL certificate.

Note

If the certificate has entered the Pending Re-issuance status (domain unchanged, certificate re-issuance only), you can follow the 《Certificate Pending Re-issuance Operation Guide》 directly.

Reasons for Re-issuance​

First, let's understand the reasons why you need to re-issue an SSL certificate:

  1. Multi-year certificates

    • Reason: When submitting the first order for a multi-year SSL certificate, a re-issuance is required after the first year's certificate expires to prevent the certificate from expiring.
    • Action: Re-issue within 1 month before expiration to ensure timely certificate replacement and a seamless transition.

  2. Security incidents

    • Private key leakage: If the private key is compromised (e.g., due to a server breach), the old certificate must be revoked immediately, and a re-issuance is required.
    • Certificate revocation: When the CA revokes a certificate due to security vulnerabilities or violations, the certificate must be re-issued.

  3. Information changes

    • Domain changes: Changing the primary domain or adding subdomains (requires re-issuance if the existing certificate does not support them).
    • Organization information changes: Changes to company name, address, etc. (these affect the information displayed on OV/EV certificates).
    Note
    • GeoTrust OV SSL certificates (International version) do not support changing the organization name.
    • GeoTrust OV SSL certificates support changing the organization name (the current order's organization name is A; this is only possible if Company A was a former name of Company B).

  4. Technical upgrades

    • Encryption standard upgrades: E.g., upgrading from SHA-1 to SHA-256 or supporting more secure TLS protocols.
    • Key strengthening: Upgrading the RSA key length from 2048 bits to 4096 bits requires submitting a new CSR.

  5. Compliance and remediation

    • Security vulnerability remediation: E.g., replacing affected certificates after vulnerabilities like Heartbleed.
    • Compliance requirements: Mandatory certificate updates to comply with new industry standards (e.g., PCI DSS).
Note
  • Seamless transition: Keep the old certificate before deploying the new one to avoid service interruptions.
  • Verify configuration: After the update, check that the HTTPS service is functioning properly.
  • Monitoring alerts: Set up certificate expiration reminders to avoid expiration issues.

Below is a detailed guide on how to perform an SSL certificate re-issuance in the system backend:

The operation steps are as follows​

Logging in to Your Account​

  1. Enter https://www.racent.com/ on the Racent official website

  2. Click "Login" as shown in the image

    buysslstepbystep

  3. After logging into the Racent Console, click the SSL Certificate option in the upper left corner

    buysslstepbystep

Select a Certificate Order​

  1. In the SSL certificate list, select the issued SSL certificate that requires re-signing

  2. Click the Details option behind the order

    buysslstepbystep

Reissuing Certificates​

  1. After entering the certificate details, click the Change Domain option

    buysslstepbystep

  2. If the domain has not changed, but there is only an algorithm change or you simply need to generate a new certificate, you can click Submit directly

    buysslstepbystep

    Note

    If the domain or company name has changed, please refer to the change rules: Can a re-issued certificate within the validity period have its domain changed?

If you have any questions, please contact our customer service team for assistance.

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