Order your Secure Email for Individual certificate
With Secure Email for Individual certificates, secure emails from public email service providers such as Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, Hotmail, and MSN and on your email domains.
Use Secure Email certificates to sign and encrypt your emails. Signing authenticates your emails as coming from you, adding an extra level of assurance for recipients, while encryption protects sensitive email data.
Before you begin
You must provide a certificate signing request (CSR) before DigiCert can issue your Secure Email for Individual certificate. You can include a CSR with your request. Or, after submitting your request, you can generate it in the browser.
Secure Email certificates support the following algorithms and key lengths:
RSA 2048, 3072, and 4096
ECC p-256 and p-384
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.
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. Learn how to Generate your client certificate using DigiCert's KeyGen tool.
Order a Secure Email for Individual certificate
In the left main menu, go to Request a Certificate > Secure Email Certificates > Secure Email for Individual.
On the Request Secure Email for Individual Certificate page, in the For menu, select the division to manage the certificate.
The For menu only appears if your account uses Divisions.
Certificate validity
On the Request Secure Email for Individual Certificate page, under Certificate validity, do the following:
Validity period
Select a validity period for the certificate: 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, custom expiration date, or custom length.
Auto-renew
To set up automatic renewal for this certificate, check Auto-renew order 30 days before expiration.
With auto-renew enabled, DigiCert automatically submits a request to renew the order thirty days before it expires. This option is not available if you pay with a credit card.
You must charge the order to the account balance to use the automatic renewal option. To configure your account's finance settings, in the left main menu, go to Finances > Settings.
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.
I have my CSR
You can only add a CSR when placing your request. After submitting your order, you cannot add or update a CSR.
Use your CSR to specify the algorithm (RSA or ECC) and key size (e.g., 2048 (RSA) or p-256 (ECC)) for your certificate.
To include a CSR with your request, select I have my CSR.
Then, upload or paste your CSR in the box.
Your CSR must include the
-----BEGIN NEW CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----and-----END NEW CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----tags.
Certificate email
Common name (email)
In the box, enter the recipient email address you want to secure, and appear as the common name on the certificate.
Additional recipient email address(es)
In the box, enter any additional email addresses you want to secure with the certificate. You can leave this box empty.
Additional certificate options
Certificate key size
When using the generate in browser option, you can select the algorithm and key size for generating your certificate.
In the menu, select the algorithm and key size for generating your CSR.
RSA 2048, 3072, or 4096
ECC p-256 or p-384
DigiCert recommends using RSA 2048 unless you have specific reasons for using a different key size (e.g., company policy requires a 3072-bit key size).
Certificate use
By default, DigiCert Secure Email certificates are dual use for signing and encryption. However, you can update the certificate usage to meet your needs.
RSA options
To view and use the RSA options, add an RSA CSR to the request form or generate the CSR via the browser and select an RSA key size.
Dual use - email signing and encryption
Additional certificate usages:
Non-repudiation
Data encipherment
Client authentication
Email signing only
Additional certificate usages:
Non-repudiation
Client authentication
Email encryption only
Additional certificate usages:
Data encipherment
Client authentication
ECC options
To view and use the ECC options, add an ECC CSR to the request form or generate the CSR via the browser and select an ECC key size.
Dual use - email signing and encryption
Additional certificate usages:
Non-repudiation
Client authentication
Restrict key agreement
Encipher only
Decipher only
Email signing only
Additional certificate usages:
Non-repudiation
Client authentication
Email encryption only
Additional certificate usages:
Client authentication
Restrict key agreement
Encipher only
Decipher only
Signature Hash
By default, DigiCert issues RSA certificates with a SHA-256 signature hash and RSA signing algorithm. DigiCert recommends using the default RSA settings unless you have specific reasons for using a different key size or signing algorithm (e.g., company policy requires a 3072-bit key size or an RSASSA-PSS signature).
In the menu, select the signature hash and signing algorithm you want DigiCert to use for your certificate:
SHA-256 with RSA
SHA-384 with RSA
SHA-512 with RSA
SHA-256 with RSASSA-PSS
SHA-384 with RSASSA-PSS
SHA-512 with RSASSA-PSS
With ECC certificates, there is a one-to-one correlation between the signature hash and the signing algorithm.
When using the ECC p-256 key size, your certificate includes a SHA-256 signature hash with ECDSA signing algorithm.
When using ECC p-384 as the key size, your certificate includes a SHA-384 signature hash with ECDSA signing algorithm.
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The industry does not support issuing ECC certificates with an RSASSA-PSS signing algorithm. If you require an RSASSA-PSS signature, get an RSA certificate instead.
Additional order options
Expand Additional order options and add information as needed.
The information in this section is not required to issue your certificate. Adding comments and messaging are optional.
Additional Renewal Message (optional)
To create a renewal message for this certificate, type a renewal message with information that might be relevant to the certificate’s renewal.
Comments and renewal messages are not included in the certificate.
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
We authorize the credit card when you make the request. However, we only complete the transaction once we issue your certificate.
Pay with contract terms
When you have a contract, it is the default payment method.
Pay with account balance
Bill the cost to your account balance. To deposit funds, select the Deposit link. Selecting the 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.
Select Submit Request.
By selecting Submit Request, you agree to the Master Service Agreement.
What's next
CertCentral takes you to the certificate’s Order # details page, where you can see the status of the email address verifications.
DigiCert sends an email containing a link to each email address listed in the certificate request so the recipient can validate that they own that email address. If the certificate recipient loses a validation email, you can resend it; see How to resend an email validation for DigiCert "client certificate" email.
Getting your Secure Email for Individual 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 Secure Email certificate via the browser. See Generate your client certificate.
Included a CSR with your request
After all email addresses are validated, the client certificate will be attached to the "client certificate issued" email. You can also download a copy from your account.