---
title: "Creating and Downloading Certificates (Manual)"
canonical: "https://kb.uconn.edu/space/IKB/28947972125/Creating%20and%20Downloading%20Certificates%20(Manual)"
format: markdown
---
> ⚠️ The Information Security Office strongly discourages manually creating SSL/TLS certificates. Whenever possible, configure all services to automatically renew and apply certificates.

> ℹ️ Users without CertiNext access may request a URL from the Information Security Office to manually create an SSL/TLS certificate, subject to approval.

## Requesting a New Certificate

1. Log into the [CertiNext](https://us.certinext.io/) platform.
2. Select **New Certificate** from the left navigation menu.
3. Select your **Group**.
4. Select **emSign** as the **CA Source**.
5. Select **SSL/TLS Certificates** as the **Certificate Type**.
6. Select the appropriate **SSL/TLS certificate type**.
7. Select **Next**.
8. Upload or paste your Certificate Signing Request (CSR).
9. Select **Next**.
10. *(Optional)* If you selected an **Organization Validation (OV)** certificate, complete the **Organization Information** section.
11. If you are requesting the certificate on behalf of another person or a vendor, enter their **Name** and **Email Address**.
12. Select **Next**.
13. *(Optional)* To include the **www** variant of the hostname (for example, `www.example.com`), select **Automatically secure www variant of websites**.
14. Select **Next**.
15. *(Optional)* To send renewal reminders to additional recipients, select **Additional email recipients** and enter the email address(es).
16. *(Optional)* To enable automatic renewal, select **Auto-renew certificates until coverage**, then choose **15 days** or **30 days** before expiration from the dropdown menu.
17. Select **Next**.
18. Review the order summary. If all information is correct, select **Submit**.

| **SSL Type** | **Description** |
| --- | --- |
| InCommon DV SSL Certificate | Domain Validated certificate |
| InCommon OV SSL Certificate | Organization Validated certificate |

> ℹ️ All auto-renewal certificates require yearly review

---

## 📃 Viewing Certificates & Orders

1. Log into the [CertiNext](https://us.certinext.io/) platform
2. Select **Orders **within the **Certificates **option in the left navigation bar
3. Ensure the **Orders **tab is selected in the top navigation bar

---

## Downloading Certificates

1. Select **Orders** from the left navigation menu.
2. Locate the certificate you want to download and select **View**.
3. Select the **Download** icon in the upper-right corner of the page.
4. Select **Download Certificate**.
5. Select your preferred certificate format:

| Format | Description |
| --- | --- |
| DER Encoded Binary X.509 (.CER) | Binary (machine-readable) certificate format. Not human-readable. Commonly used by Windows applications and some network devices. |
| Base-64 Encoded X.509 (.CER) | Text-based (PEM-encoded) certificate with a `.cer` extension. Human-readable and suitable for many Windows applications. |
| Base-64 Encoded X.509 (.CRT) | Text-based (PEM-encoded) certificate with a `.crt` extension. Contains the same certificate data as a Base-64 `.cer` file but uses the extension commonly recognized by Linux and Unix systems. This is the most commonly used format. |
| ZIP Archive | Compressed archive containing your server certificate, the intermediate CA certificate(s), and the root CA certificate. Recommended if you need the complete certificate chain. |