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Domain validation is not completing: what to check

The certificate cannot be issued until every name on the order has been validated. Your account shows which names are done and which are still waiting. Work through the section for the method you chose.

Email validation

• Does the address you chose really exist (for example admin@example.com)? Many domains have no such mailbox.
• Check junk, spam and any filtering. The email comes from the certification authority.
• Use Resend validation email on the order, or choose a different address.

Full guide: validate by email.

DNS validation

• Is the record added at the DNS service your domain actually uses? Check where the name servers point.
• Has your DNS panel doubled the domain on the end of the name?
• Look it up with dig +short CNAME the-name-we-gave-you. If nothing comes back, it is not yet public.
• Give DNS changes some time. Most appear within minutes, a few take hours.

Full guide: validate with a DNS record.

File validation

• Open the file's address in a private browser window. You should see only the text.
• Is the file in exactly the folder named, with exactly the name and contents given?
• Does the site redirect, ask for a password, or block that folder?

Full guide: validate with a file.

Business (OV and EV) certificates

These also involve checks on your organisation, and the authority may phone the main number published for your business, so please check the organisation details on your order are correct and the line is answered. They normally take a few days.

Still stuck?

You can switch method on an order that is waiting, from the order page. Or call us and we will look at it with you.

More in this section

• My CSR was rejected: what the messages mean
• Fix "unable to get local issuer certificate" and incomplete chain errors
• Fix "certificate name does not match" (ERR_CERT_COMMON_NAME_INVALID)
• Fix "key values mismatch": private key does not match the certificate
• I installed the new certificate but the site still shows the old one

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