Understanding License Expiry Notifications

Keeping your websites protected means staying ahead of expiry dates, and part of that is knowing exactly what Trustico® will tell you and when. The way we send expiry notifications has recently changed, so it is worth setting out clearly.

We now send license expiry notices only. We no longer send reminders about individual SSL Certificate expiry, and alerts by text message have been discontinued.

The sections below explain what we send, when it arrives, and the simple steps that keep your protection continuous throughout the license term.

License Expiry Notices From Trustico®

A license expiry notice tells you that one of your licenses is approaching its end date, and that a new license will soon be required to continue issuing SSL Certificates.

We send these notices by e-mail at 21 days, 14 days, and 7 days before the license expires. A Certificate as a Service (CaaS) license is notified on the same schedule.

These license expiry notices are the only messages we send you automatically. They give you time to purchase a new license before your current one ends.

We recommend leaving these notices switched on. Purchasing a new license can take longer to arrange than a reissue during the license term, because a new license may require a fresh application, so the advance warning gives you time to act without any lapse in protection.

They can be turned off if you prefer, but this is a manual process, so you would need to contact Trustico® to arrange it. Most customers simply keep them on and set aside any that are not needed.

Discontinued SSL Certificate Reminders

In the past, our tracking system could send reminders about individual SSL Certificate expiry, together with alerts by text message. Following a change in industry regulations, both have been discontinued.

The reasoning is straightforward. An SSL Certificate has a maximum validity set by industry regulation, and it is almost always shorter than the license you purchased.

During a multi year license you reissue the SSL Certificate before each expiry to keep protection continuous. Because reissuing is driven by your own servers and deployment choices, tracking each SSL Certificate is best handled by you. Learn About Requesting a Reissue 🔗

Responsibilities During Each License Period

Your license is the agreement that lets you issue SSL Certificates for its full term, up to five years. Each SSL Certificate issued under it carries its own, much shorter validity.

Throughout the license period you are responsible for monitoring the SSL Certificates you have issued and installed, and for reissuing each one before it expires. A reissue during the license period claims the remaining validity at no additional cost.

If an SSL Certificate expires while the license is still valid, visitors to your website will see security warnings until you reissue. Keeping each SSL Certificate current is what keeps your protection unbroken. Learn About Maintaining SSL Certificate Protection 🔗

Checking Your SSL Certificates Yourself

Trustico® does not keep records of where your SSL Certificates are installed, so tracking your installations and their expiry dates is your responsibility. A little organization here prevents an expiry from passing unnoticed.

The tracking system can help. For each order it shows the license validity alongside the validity of the SSL Certificate currently issued, and it provides downloadable calendar files for both expiry dates. Learn About Your Tracking Dashboard 🔗

Where you hold many SSL Certificates, keeping your own record of each one and its expiry date is the most reliable safeguard. You can review every license on your account at any time. Learn About Your SSL Certificate History 🔗

Automatic Management with Certificate as a Service

If you would rather not monitor and reissue your SSL Certificates yourself, Certificate as a Service (CaaS) manages the whole process automatically. Each replacement SSL Certificate is requested and validated without any manual steps.

A CaaS license is still notified at 21, 14, and 7 days before it expires, so you know in good time when a new license term is required. Explore Certificate as a Service 🔗

Whichever route you choose, we will always tell you when a license is about to expire. Looking after the SSL Certificates issued under that license, throughout its term, is the part that rests with you.