Required CA Information

Before you start the request process, make sure you know what information your CA requires. The format of the requested information varies by CA, but you might typically be asked to provide the information listed below. Most of this information is usually not required for certificate renewals.

• Requestor name. The name under which the certificate will be issued.

• Telephone number. The telephone number of the requestor.

• Common name. The fully qualified host name used in DNS lookups, for example, www.example.com.

• Email address. The business email address used for correspondence between you and the CA.

• Organization. The official, legal name of your company, educational institution, organization, and so on. Most CAs require that this information be verified with legal documents, such as a copy of a business license.

• Organizational unit. A description of an organizational unit within your company.

• Locality. A description of the city, principality, or country where the organization is located.

• State or Province. The state or province in which the business is located.

• Country. The two-character abbreviation of your country name in ISO format. For example, the country code for the United States is US.

All information is combined as a series of attribute-value pairs called the distinguished name (DN), which uniquely identifies the subject of the certificate.

If you are purchasing your certificate from a commercial CA, you must contact the CA to find out what additional information they require before they issue a certificate. Most CAs require that you prove your identity. For example, they want to verify your company name and who is authorized by the company to administer the server, they also might ask whether you have the legal right to use the information you provide.

Some commercial CAs offer certificates with greater detail and veracity to organizations or individuals who provide more thorough identification. For example, you might be able to purchase a certificate stating that the CA has verified that you are the rightful administrator of the www.example.com computer, and also that you are a company that has been in business for three years, and have no outstanding customer litigation.