If you've noticed your SSL certificate's expiration date is earlier than you expected, even though you paid for a full year, you're not alone. This is a common question right now, and it comes down to two different terms that sound similar but mean very different things: reissue and renewal.
The short answer
Your subscription term hasn't changed. If you bought a 1 year SSL certificate, you're still covered for that full year. What's changed is how often the certificate itself needs to be reissued during that year, due to an industry-wide change in how long any single certificate is allowed to stay valid. A reissue does not cost anything extra and does not shorten or restart your subscription.
Reissue vs. renewal: what's the difference
A renewal is what happens at the end of your subscription term. It's a billing event and you're paying to extend your SSL coverage for another term (typically another year).
A reissue is when a replacement certificate is issued under the subscription you already paid for. It's a technical event, not a billing event. The most common reason is that your certificate expired before your subscription term did, since industry rules cap how long any single certificate can stay valid. Reissues also happen when you move servers, need a new private key, or change the domain names on the certificate. In each case the certificate authority re-validates your domain and issues a fresh certificate under the same order, and that certificate is then installed in place of the old one. No new purchase, no new charge, and your subscription term doesn't restart or get shortened.
| Renewal | Reissue |
What it is | Extending your paid subscription | Getting a fresh certificate under your existing subscription |
When it happens | At the end of your paid term (e.g. yearly) | Whenever your certificate's shorter validity window runs out, you need a new private key, you change domain names. |
Does it cost anything | Yes, this is your regular renewal payment | No |
Does it change your subscription end date | Yes, extends it | No, your subscription end date stays the same |
Why is my certificate expiring before my subscription does?
This isn't specific to us. The Certificate Authority (CA)/Browser Forum, the industry group that sets the rules for how SSL certificates work across the internet, voted to steadily shorten the maximum lifespan of any individual SSL certificate. That maximum is dropping in stages, from 398 days down to just 47 days by 2029.
That means your certificate itself now has to be reissued more often than once a year, even though your subscription (and what you paid) hasn't changed. You can refer to a Winhost Blog Post for more details: Shorter SSL Lifespans Are Coming
Will I be charged when my certificate is reissued?
No. SSL pricing is based on your subscription term, not on how many times the certificate is reissued within that term. Whether your certificate needs to be reissued once a year or eight times a year, your subscription price stays the same over that time span.
What do I need to do?
SSL Reissue: In most cases, you won't need to take any action. We've automated the reissue process for most situations.
Please note that every reissue requires us to re-verify that you control the domain, either through DNS or HTTP validation. If we're able to complete that validation automatically, the entire reissue happens in the background, and you won't need to do anything.
In the case of domain validation, most domains use our DNS service, so this step is automated, and no action is required by you.
Managing your own DNS: In the event we're not able to validate automatically, we'll email you a DNS validation token and ask you to add a TXT record to your domain's DNS settings at your DNS provider. You must add the record to your DNS, or your SSL Certificate will not be reissued on time.
SSL Renewal: Renewals follow your existing subscription terms and billing cycle. This works the same as it always has, a reissue does not affect your renewal date or process. We will send an email prior to the end of your SSL subscription for the SSL renewal with instructions on how to proceed.