Industry Mandates Faster SSL Renewals: Certificate Validity Cut to 200 Days

The CA/Browser Forum's unanimous vote to slash SSL certificate validity periods from 398 to 200 days—dropping further to 47 days by 2029—signals a security-first industry pivot toward continuous credential rotation. Site owners can no longer rely on annual renewal cycles; the shift to six-monthly (and eventually weekly) renewal schedules makes automation mandatory rather than optional. This change reflects the industry's recognition that shorter certificate lifespans meaningfully reduce security risk by limiting the window in which compromised or mis-issued credentials remain valid.