Order your client certificate
Important
DigiCert's publicly trusted S/MIME-related client certificates (Premium, Email Security Plus, Digital Signature Plus, and Client 1 S/MIME) are compliant with the new Baseline Requirements for the Issuance and Management of Publicly‐Trusted S/MIME Certificates.
However, DigiCert recommends moving to our new Secure Email S/MIME certificate products at your earliest convenience: Secure Email for Individual, Secure Email for Business, and Secure Email for Organization.
Before you begin
CSR requirement
You must provide a certificate signing request (CSR) before DigiCert can issue your client certificate. You can include a CSR with your request. Or, after submitting your request, you can generate it in the browser.
Provide a CSR now.
You can only add a CSR when you place your request. After submitting your order, you cannot add or update a CSR.
Client certificates support the following algorithms and key lengths:
RSA 2048, 3072, and 4096
ECC p-256 and p-384
We only use the public key embedded in the CSR to create your certificate. All other fields in the CSR are ignored. Learn how to Create a CSR (Certificate Signing Request).
Provide a CSR later.
After DigiCert processes your order and you complete the necessary email address validation, we send instructions to the email recipient for generating the CSR and certificate in their browser.
For browser-generated certificates, we use an RSA algorithm, SHA256 signature hash, and a 2048-bit key length CSR. Learn how to Generate your client certificate using DigiCert's KeyGen tool.
Organization validation
Before we can issue a client certificate to an employee or company representative, DigiCert must validate the organization for SMIME – SMIME Organization Validation. Organization validation is valid for 825 days. See How we validate your organization.
Use one of the following options to validate your organization:
Prevalidate the organization
CertCentral features an organization prevalidation process that allows you to validate your organization before ordering certificates. Completing the organization validation ahead of time allows for quicker certificate issuance. See Submit an organization for prevalidation.
Validate the organization as part of the order process
If you add a new organization or an organization with expired S/MIME validation, DigiCert will complete the S/MIME organization validation as part of the order process.
Email address domain requirement
Before DigiCert can issue your client certificate, you must demonstrate control over the domains in the email addresses on the certificate order. In other words, if you add john.doe@example.com, you must complete the domain control validation (DCV) for the email address domain example.com.
Important
Industry standards prevent Certificate Authorities (CAs), such as DigiCert, from issuing a secure email-type certificate until domain control validation is completed for the email address on the certificate.
Use one of the following domain validation options to demonstrate control over the email address domain:
Prevalidate the domain
CertCentral features a domain prevalidation process that allows you to validate your domains before ordering certificates. See Domain prevalidation: Domain control validation (DCV) methods.
Completing the domain validation ahead of time allows for quicker certificate issuance. You can also use any supported DCV method to complete the domain validation: Email, DNS CNAME, DNS TXT, and HTTP Practical Demonstration.
Validate the domain as part of the order process
If you add an email address with a new domain or a domain with expired validation, you can complete the domain validation as part of the order process.
When ordering a client certificate, you must use the Email DCV method to demonstrate control over the "unvalidated" email address domains on the order. Currently, this is the only supported DCV method for completing the domain validation during the order process.
To validate the email domain, an email recipient follows the instructions in a confirmation email sent for the domain. The confirmation process consists of visiting the link provided and following the instructions on the page.
Organization attestation requirement
By adding a recipient name, your organization attests the individual is a valid employee or company representative and is included in official company registries. In other words, your organization is the registration authority for the individuals ordering these certificates. DigiCert only validates your organization, not the individuals.
Order client certificate
In the left main menu, hover over Request a certificate. Then, under Client certificates, select the client certificate you want to order.
On the Request a client certificate page, under Certificate settings, provide your certificate details:
Organization
In the dropdown, select the organization you are requesting the client certificate for. If you can't find the organization you are looking for, contact your manager.
Note: The organization name appears on your client certificate.
Signature hash
In the dropdown, select a signature hash.
Validity period
Select a validity period for the certificate: 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, custom expiration date, or custom length.
Order options
Under Order options, in the Automatic renewal dropdown, select how often you want the certificate to be automatically renewed.
Certificate(s) to request
Under Certificate(s) to request, you can include an email address or the recipient's name as the common name on the certificate per new industry standards,
Email address as the common name
Select Email.
Under Recipient email, enter the address you want to secure and use for the common name on the certificate.
Recipient name as the common name
Select Name.
Under Recipient name (Common name), enter the recipient's name.
Under Recipient email, enter the address you want the certificate to secure.
Important
Only include email addresses with domains owned/controlled by your organization.
To include email addresses from public email service providers such as Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, Hotmail, MSN, etc., order a Secure Email for Individual certificate.
To include an email address from a public email service provider you control, you must prevalidate the email address domain.
Add your CSR
You can add your CSR now or generate it in your browser after DigiCert processes your order, and we are ready to issue it.
Generate CSR in the browser
To generate the CSR and your certificate via the browser, select Generate CSR in the browser. For this option, we send instructions to the email recipient for using the DigiCert KeyGen tool to generate the CSR and certificate in their browser.
Add CSR
To include a CSR with your request, select I have my CSR. Upload or paste your CSR in the box.
Important
Your CSR must include the
-----BEGIN NEW CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----and-----END NEW CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----tags.
Additional order options
Additional emails (optional)
Enter the email addresses (comma separated) for the people you want to receive the certificate notification emails with information such as certificate issuance and certificate renewals.
These recipients don't manage the order. They only receive all the certificate-related emails.
Select payment method
Under Payment information, select a payment method to pay for the certificate:
Pay with credit card
Don’t have a contract or don’t want to use the contract to pay for this certificate? Use a credit card to pay for the certificate.
Note: We authorize the card when the request is made. However, we only complete the transaction once we issue your certificate.
Pay with contract terms
Have a contract and want to use it to pay for the certificate? Use the contract to pay.
Note: When you have a contract, it is the default payment method.
Pay with account balance
Don’t have a contract or don’t want to use the contract to pay for this certificate? Bill the cost to your account balance.
To deposit funds, click the Deposit link.
Note: Selecting the Deposit link takes you to another page inside your CertCentral account. Any information entered in the request form will not be saved.
Master Services Agreement
Read through the Master Services Agreement. Note that by selecting Submit Request, you agree to the Master Service Agreement.
Select Submit Request.
By selecting Submit Request, you agree to the Master Service Agreement.
What's next
Before we can issue your certificate, these tasks must be completed:
Demonstrate control over the domains on your order
Complete the domain validation for the email address domains on the order (demonstrate control over the domain).
Complete organization validation
DigiCert must validate and authenticate your authority to order a certificate for the organization on your certificate order. To do this, we will call a verified phone number to speak with someone who represents you, the certificate requestor, such as the organization or technical contact.
To get organization consent for your certificate order:
Answer the organization/validation phone call (preferred method)*
After you submit your certificate order, ensure that the organization contact, technical contact, and company receptionist know you’ve ordered a DigiCert client certificate.
Let them know DigiCert will call a verified phone number to speak with one of them to complete organization validation/authentication.
This phone call usually takes place within 24 hours of the order being placed.
Respond to the organization consent message
If the DigiCert validation agent can’t reach someone who represents you at the verified phone number, they will leave a message with a call-back phone number and a verification code.
Make sure that the organization or technical contact responds to the message and provides the verification code.
Getting your client certificate
Generate CSR in the browser
After all email addresses are validated, a link will be sent to the first email address on the list so the recipient can generate the CSR and client certificate via the browser. See Generate your client certificate.
Included a CSR with your request
If you submitted a CSR with your request, the client certificate will be attached to the "client certificate issued" email. You can also download a copy from your account.