The rules around SSL certificates are changing across the whole internet. The good news is that for most customers, very little will change on your side.
This is an industry-wide update, and we’ll handle the practical bits wherever we manage your SSL.
What is changing?
From 15 March 2026, newly issued SSL certificates will only be able to remain technically active for up to 200 days at a time, which is just under seven months.
Right now, most SSL certificates can last up to 398 days.
Any certificates issued before 15 March 2026 will remain valid until their normal expiry date. Nothing changes for those.
Why is this happening?
This change comes from the CA/Browser Forum, the industry group that sets security standards for browsers and certificate authorities.
Shorter certificate lifetimes improve security. If a certificate or encryption key were ever compromised, a shorter lifetime limits how long it could be used. It also encourages better automation and more frequent verification.
Put simply, the industry is moving towards SSL that is renewed and re-verified more often, ideally automatically.
What does this mean for you?
For most customers, this will be largely invisible.
Your website will still be protected by SSL and visitors will still see the familiar padlock in their browser.
The main difference is that, within an annual SSL subscription, your certificate may need to be re-verified once during the term to meet the new 200 day rule.
Where Heart Internet manages your domain’s DNS, we will handle this re-verification automatically using a DNS verification record. Your certificate stays active and your site stays secure.
You may occasionally receive an automated email from the certificate issuer to your domain’s admin contact email address. This is expected and usually does not require a response, but it is worth making sure your admin contact email is up to date.
If you manage your SSL certificates or DNS settings outside of Heart Internet, you may need to complete the re-verification yourself. We will provide guidance in advance if this applies to you.
More changes are planned
The move to 200 days is the first step. The industry plans to shorten certificate lifetimes further over the next few years:
- 2026: maximum certificate lifetime 200 days
- 2027: maximum certificate lifetime 100 days
- 2029: maximum certificate lifetime 47 days
This may sound dramatic, but the long-term goal is for SSL renewal and re-verification to be fully automated, so most website owners never have to think about it.
How Heart Internet helps
At Heart Internet, we aim to keep things simple.
Where we manage your SSL, we will take care of the re-verification process for you. Your billing cycle, renewal date and subscription terms remain unchanged. We’re simply doing a bit more work in the background to keep everything compliant and running smoothly.
If you have any questions, our support team is here to help.
