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What is a reissue, and why might I need one?

Reissuing a certificate takes place when the issued certificate is lost, corrupted or certain aspects of it are wrong. Reissues are provided free throughout the lifespan of the certificate.

A reissued certificate must have the same details as the old certificate, and will have the same expiry date as the old certificate.

You can get a reissue if;

  • The machine on which your existing certificate is installed is corrupted, hacked, crashes or is physically destroyed.
  • The original certificate had the wrong server name on it (e.g. www.example.co.uk rather than secure.example.co.uk). Note that this does not apply if the wrong domain name was used (e.g. www.example.com rather than www.example.co.uk) unless your certificate was a fully-authenticated certificate and was issued less than 30 days ago.
  • You have ordered the certificate for the wrong software.
  • You are moving hosting companies and the old hosting company will not release the private key or password to you. (See also Can I move my certificate to a different ISP?)
  • You have lost or forgotten the password which allows access to the certificate on your machine.
  • The original certificate has been otherwise lost, corrupted or rendered unusable.

You cannot get a reissue if;

  • The wrong product has been ordered (e.g. you ordered a one-year rather than a two-year certificate, or you ordered a standard certificate rather than a SuperCert).
  • The wrong domain name has been specified (except as noted above).
  • The wrong company name has been specified.
  • The original certificate has expired.

How do I get a reissue?

You will need the password which you used to protect the certificate page when you signed up for it initially. (This is not the same as any password you used to protect the certificate data on your server - this is the password you gave to Thawte to protect the certificate status page.) If you do not have that password, please contact us and tell us the order code for the certificate - we will then be able to mail the password out to the Corporate Contact, the Technical Contact, or both. If you do not know your order code, contact us with as much detail as possible about the certificate (organisation for whom it was requested, and/or the server name for which it was requested).

Once you have the password for the certificate, you will be able to reissue the certificate through this page if you originally bought your certificate through that link, or through www.thawte.com if you bought the certificate directly from that page originally. You'll need to select the 'Reissue' option for the type of product you need to reissue - SuperCert, SSL Web Server certificate, SSL123 certificate or developer certificate.

If you originally purchased your certificate through one of Thawte's ISP/reseller partners, you'll usually need to do your reissue through them. If you're not sure where to start, contact us.

If you are reissuing a SuperCert, an SSL Web Server certificate or an SSL123 certificate, you will need to provide us with a new CSR, as that will give us the new key information to issue you a new certificate. You will not need to provide a new CSR for a developer certificate.

Does requesting a reissue do anything to my original certificate?

Yes, it does; it will revoke your original certificate, which means that the original certificate will no longer be considered valid. (Since a reissue is often needed because the old certificate has been lost or corrupted, this is not necessarily as much of a problem as it sounds.) Any browser which is set up to check the validity of a certificate will spot this and, if you are using the Thawte Trusted Site Seal, the Seal will start to show the "invalid certificate" graphic. (We recommend that you remove or hide the Site Seal on your site if you are intending to reissue your certificate.)

If you need to replace your certificate, have a currently-valid certificate and absolutely cannot afford the (usually) few hours without a valid certificate that a reissue will involve, then you may wish to consider requesting a new certificate and then having the old certificate revoked. Contact us if you need to know how to go about this.

Will I need to send in any more paperwork for a reissue?

Generally not, unless relevant data have changed since the original request was processed -- for instance, if the domain's ownership has changed. Please see the sections on paperwork for renewals.

I have my reissue; now what?

You will need to install the reissued certificate on your server. If you're using the Thawte Trusted Site Seal, you'll want to reactivate that for the reissued certificate with your new order code and password.

I'm so confused! Where can I get help?

Here! Or you can phone us on +44 (0) 20 8394 2288, or fax on +44 (0) 20 8394 2888. You can also contact Thawte's technical support team through this page if you need help outside of UK office hours - they are available 24 hours a day, Monday to Friday.

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Last updated: March 24th 2008
Last checked: March 24th 2008

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