ZeroSSL is a great website to generate free digital certificates especially for testing purposes. ZeroSSL allows you to generate three free public certificates for a period of 90 days, perfect for testing. Therefore, I wanted to document and share the process and make you aware of some things to keep in mind.

• Only 3 certificates can be generated for free
• You can revoke those certificates but you cannot delete them
• The only way to create a set of new free certificates is to delete your account and create a new one

Steps

• Navigate to zerossl.com and create a new account
• Once signed in, you’ll be presented with the dashboard. To create a new certificate, click ‘New Certificate’

• Enter your Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) that will be used for your certificate. This field will be used in the Common Name (CN)

• Select your validity period for the certificate. For the free version, you can only select 90 days

• On the next stage, you can either automatically create and sign a CSR or if you have a CSR already, you can manually upload the CSR and have it signed. Select which option works for you.

• Finalise your configuration by selecting the free option

• Before the certificate is generated and before it can be used, you will need to verify that you own the domain that you are trying to generate a certificate for. Select the option that works best for you and validate your domain. Once the domain is validated, you will be able to download the certificate.

Thats it! You’ve now got a new certificate for 90 days…enjoy!