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All Certificate Authorities (CAs) that issue trusted SSL/TLS certificates are bound by the requirements set by the CA/Browser Forum - the Industry Governing Board. The CA/Browser Forum dictates approved methods for validation of Domain Control, Organization Registration, and Order Verification.
Since Extended Validation (EV) SSL/TLS Certificates require a higher level of vetting, the process required to issue an EV certificate is standard across all CAs and no matter who you order an EV certificate from, that CA are required to complete the same rigorous process of vetting and documentation when issuing the certificate.
Per the guidelines defined by the CA/Browser Forum, CAs may issue EC certificates to Private Organizations, Government Entities, and Business Entities that satisfy the requirements specified below:
The CA may issue EC certificates to Business Entities that do not qualify under the criteria listed for Private Organizations above but that do satisfy the following requirements:
There are three major steps for the vetting of an EV certificate:
The CA will validate that the Organization listed on the EV certificate order is both registered and in good standing with the Local Registration Authority. Also, as part of this step the CA must find a phone listing for the Organization in an approved third party directory, such as Dun & Bradstreet or Google Business, for the exact name and address of the organization as listed in the Organization’s Registration. The approved directories vary by country and location and all include vetted information for their listings.
The CA will require that the Organization demonstrate Domain Control for all domains listed on the certificate. Domains must be legally registered and Domain Control Validation can be demonstrated in several methods including email, DNS CNAME or TXT entry, and File Authorization methods. For a more detailed description of these methods please see this page.
When enrolling the EV Certificate order you will list a Company Contact. The CA will use the phone number vetted during the Organization Validation process to contact the Company Contact for a final order verification to ensure that the order has been placed by the Organization. The Company Contact does not need to be technical in function or skill but must have knowledge that the order has been placed and be a full time employee of the Organization listed on the certificate. Also as part of the verification call, the CA will send an email to the contact to accept the required Acknowledgement of Agreement (AA) document. The AA documents the terms and obligations for the CA and Organization regarding the EV certificate.
No documentation is required to be submitted with an order for an EV certificate. When enrolling the order please make certain that you list the Organization using the official legal name and address for the Organization that matches the listing with the local Registration Authority. This will help avoid delays in validating the Organization where the CA has to have the Company Contact verify the Name and Address of the Organization. The CA can normally find all information required through online data sources, and if any questions arise, or online data is not available, they will contact the Company Contact listed on the order with instructions for submitting information to complete the vetting.
Also, as part of the order enrollment process you will choose the Domain Control Validation (DCV) method for the domain(s) listed on the order. The DCV method may be updated after the order is in process if necessary.
GeoCerts is happy to help throughout the process to make sure that your EV certificate is issued as quickly as possible. The normal turnaround time is 2-3 business days. This time can be longer if the CA must wait for the return of information they ask the customer to submit. If you are a reseller enrolling an order for your customer, please make sure that the Full Time Employee of the Organization you list as the Company Contact is aware that the CA may be contacting them for additional information and to complete the Order Verification Phone Call. And as always, please feel free to contact us for any help and support you need.
Please contact our support team if you have any additional problems or questions.