SSL certificates are shrinking

Matt Date
Jul 14
2 min read

Here’s what you need to know

The maximum lifespan of public SSL/TLS certificates is being cut back - from 398 days today to just 47 days by 2029.

This change is backed by the CA/B Forum, whose members include Google, Apple, Mozilla, Microsoft, and the major certificate authorities (CAs).

It’s a significant shift - and if you’re running secure websites, APIs, or email landing pages, it affects you.

What’s changing, and when?

Date	Max Certificate Lifespan	Domain Validation Reuse Period
Now	398 days	398 days
March 2026	200 days	200 days
March 2027	100 days	100 days
March 2029	47 days	10 days

Shorter certificate lifespans reduce risk and encourage better automation. But they also mean you’ll need to rethink how certificates are managed - especially if you’re still doing it manually.

Why it matters

Better security - Less time for stolen or misused certificates to be exploited.
Less manual risk - Monthly renewals are too frequent to manage by hand.
Industry standard - This is being driven by the biggest players in the ecosystem.

How UbiQuity helps

If you’re using UbiQuity, we can manage this using Amazon Certificate Manager (ACM), which takes care of:

Automated certificate renewals
Seamless updates with no service disruption
End-to-end security for all UbiQuity-hosted landing pages, forms, surveys and events

All that’s needed is a simple change in your DNS to ensure that you stay secure and compliant.

What to do next

If you also manage certificates outside UbiQuity, now’s the time to:

Identify all active certificates you control
Review how they’re renewed - especially if it’s manual
Plan for automation - ACME or other lifecycle tools
Avoid expiry risks - missed renewals could cause downtime or security issues