Validate domains before or during certificate orders
CertCentral supports two domain validation workflows. Choose the one that fits your certificate type and operational timing.
Before you begin
Add the organization you want to associate the domain with before adding it for prevalidation. The organization must exist in your account so it appears in the Organization menu when you add the domain. See Create an organization.
Domain prevalidation
Use domain prevalidation to demonstrate control over a domain before submitting a certificate request. Prevalidating a domain ahead of time allows for faster certificate issuance because DigiCert has already confirmed domain control before the order is placed.
For immediate certificate issuance on OV and EV certificates, domain and organization prevalidation must be complete before submitting the certificate request.
Notice
DV certificates do not support domain prevalidation. For DV certificates, validate domains as part of each order.
Validate domains during a pending certificate order
Validate domains during the certificate request process when:
The domain is not prevalidated
The previous validation period has expired
You add a new domain to an existing certificate order
When placing a certificate request, select a DCV method for each domain and complete validation from the Order details page. The certificate order remains pending until domain validation is complete for all domains on the order.
Validation reuse
OV and EV certificates support domain validation reuse within the allowed reuse period. When a domain is already validated and within the reuse period, DigiCert does not require additional validation and the certificate request proceeds without interruption.
DV certificates do not support validation reuse. Each DV certificate order requires domain validation regardless of previous validation status.
The CA/Browser Forum has set a schedule for further reducing certificate validity and domain validation reuse periods. .
Timeline | Certificate validity | Domain reuse period |
|---|---|---|
Until March 15, 2026 | 397 days | 397 days |
As of March 15, 2026 | 199 days | 199 days |
As of March 15, 2027 | 99 days | 99 days |
As of March 15, 2029 | 46 days | 9 days |
Notice
DV certificates do not support domain validation reuse. Each DV certificate order requires validation regardless of the schedule above.
For details about validation periods and reuse timing, see Domain validation requirements and reuse periods.
What happens when domain validation expires
Expired domain validation does not affect certificates that have already been issued. However it affects the following:
Renewals and reissues: DigiCert checks domain validation when you renew or reissue a certificate. If validation has expired, the order enters a pending state until revalidation is complete.
Duplicate certificates: Duplicate certificates are issued immediately and require valid domain validation. If domain validation has expired, reissue the certificate first. The reissue process includes domain revalidation steps. After revalidation, you can request the duplicate.
What's next
Validate domains using email validation methods to use an email-based approach when DNS and web server access are not available