From Ars Technica · · 1m 20s
Let's Encrypt cuts certificate lifetimes to 64 days
Free SSL/TLS certificates will expire faster starting February 2027, forcing web administrators to automate their renewal processes or face outages.
In brief
Free SSL/TLS certificates will expire faster starting February 2027, forcing web administrators to automate their renewal processes or face outages. Let's Encrypt is cutting free SSL/TLS certificate lifetimes from ninety days to sixty four days starting February tenth, twenty twenty-seven, requiring administrators to…
Certificate lifetimes shrink again
Let's Encrypt will cut free SSL/TLS certificate lifetimes from ninety days to sixty four days starting February tenth, twenty twenty-seven. The change forces administrators to update their renewal automation or face unexpected certificate expiration.
Testing starts in October
Starting October fourteenth, Let's Encrypt will begin testing sixty four day certificates. Interested users can opt in to test their setups before production goes live on February tenth.
Why shorter certificates matter
Let's Encrypt launched in early twenty sixteen with ninety day certificates to force renewal automation that didn't previously exist.Shorter validity periods limit vulnerabilities from private key thefts and encourage faster HTTPS adoption across the web.
What administrators must do now
Let's Encrypt recommends searching for hardcoded renewal numbers like eighty three, eighty, and sixty, then updating them to renew before expiration at the new sixty four day limit.
Shorter validation timelines coming too
Authorization reuse periods will shrink from thirty days to ten days, and eventually to seven hours by twenty twenty-eight.
The short version
Let's Encrypt is cutting free SSL/TLS certificate lifetimes from ninety days to sixty four days starting February tenth, twenty twenty-seven, requiring administrators to update their renewal automation or risk downtime.
