ProntoSSL Manual
03333 444 205 Sign in Get started

← Help  /  Install your certificate

How to install an SSL certificate in Windows IIS

What you will have

  • Your certificate, which names your domain (a file such as example_com.crt).
  • The CA bundle, also called the chain or the intermediate certificates (a file such as example_com_CA.crt). It normally holds two certificates, one after the other.
  • Your private key, made when you created the CSR. It stays on your server.

The file names on your download may differ. Your certificate is the one that names your domain. The bundle holds the authority's certificates. Always put your certificate first, then the bundle. If you are not sure which file is which, paste them into our chain builder.

Do this on the same server where you created the CSR, because the private key is held there.

  1. Save your certificate as a .crt or .cer file on the server.
  2. Open Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager, click your server name, then Server Certificates.
  3. Click Complete Certificate Request and choose the file. Give it a friendly name and click OK.
  4. Expand Sites, right-click your site and choose Edit Bindings. Add (or edit) the https binding on port 443 and pick your certificate.

Install the intermediate certificates

If a browser or tool says the chain is incomplete, also install the CA bundle. Double-click the bundle file, choose Install Certificate, Local Machine, then Place all certificates in the following store and select Intermediate Certification Authorities.

If Complete Certificate Request says it cannot find a pending request, you are on a different server from the one that made the CSR, or the request was deleted. You then need a new CSR and a reissue.

Check it worked

Use our free certificate checker on your website address. It shows the certificate, when it expires, whether the name matches and whether the whole chain is being sent. If it says the chain is incomplete, see how to fix an incomplete chain. If the old certificate is still showing, see why the old certificate still appears.

More in this section

Stuck? Call 03333 444 205 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, except public holidays) or use our contact form. We will help you get it working.

Browse certificates →   Free SSL tools →