SSL Certificate Renewal Time Explanation

SSL certificate validity periods are shortening year by year. Currently, according to CA/B Forum regulations, the maximum validity period of an SSL certificate cannot exceed 398 days. For multi-year certificates purchased, the multi-year certificate will be issued in multiple installments, and the validity period of each issuance cannot exceed 398 days. This article explains in detail the SSL certificate renewal time window and the renewal logic of different brands.

Validity Period Connection and Renewal Rules

I. Core Renewal Rules

1. Renewal Time Window

   • Existing customers on the Racent platform can initiate a renewal request and have a new certificate issued as early as 1 month in advance
   • It is recommended to complete the renewal process at least 14 working days in advance

2. Validity Period Connection Logic

   Brand Type	Renewal Feature
   Seamless Connection Type	sslTrus/Sectigo/Digicert can seamlessly connect the time between old and new certificates
   Long-cycle Issuance Type	Globalsign/sslTrus can issue 13-month certificates
   Standard Renewal Type	Brands such as CFCA calculate the validity period based on the new issuance date

II. Renewal Rules for Existing Racent Customers

Brand	Product Series	Renewal Rule
sslTrus	sslTrus Basic sslTrus Pro	Renew within one month in advance, can be issued for 13 months
Sectigo	Sectigo PositiveSSL	Renew within one month in advance, can be issued for 13 months
Digicert	Basic SecureSite	Renew within one month in advance, the expiration date is extended by 1 year from this year's expiration date
GeoTrust	GeoTrust RapidSSL	Renew within one month in advance, the expiration date is extended by 1 year from this year's expiration date
Globalsign	Globalsign	Renew within one month in advance, can be issued for 13 months
CFCA	China Root China Root Pro	Renew within one month in advance, the expiration date is extended by 1 year from this year's expiration date

Information

CFCA requires application materials + the original certificate .crt file or DN number

Tip

The certificate renewal operation is: Log in to the Racent backend -> Click Order Details -> Click the Renew button -> Click Submit

III. Important Notes

Warning

• The validity period of all certificates starts from the day of issuance, so certificate renewal cannot directly extend the validity period of the previous certificate, but instead issues a new certificate.
• White-label certificates must follow the original manufacturer's rules

Reissue with Domain Change and Certificate Billing

• Rules for Reissuing a Certificate with a Domain Change
  SSL certificate reissue refers to the process of reissuing an existing certificate. Generally, if a customer's private key is lost or compromised, or certificate information needs to be changed, a reissue will be requested. Reissuing a certificate does not incur fees, and customers can reissue an SSL certificate an unlimited number of times within the certificate's validity period, but changing the domain name is generally not supported. To learn about the rules for changing the domain name through reissue, see "Can the Domain Name Be Changed When Reissuing an SSL Certificate Within Its Validity Period?".

• Certificate Billing
  To learn about certificate billing rules and the relationship with validity periods, see "SSL Certificate Billing Overview"