Knowledge Base

Per Ballot CSC-31, certificate validity goes from 39 months to 459 days

Description

On February 3, 2026, at 18:00 UTC (exact time subject to change based on DigiCert’s release progress), DigiCert will stop accepting public Code Signing certificate requests with the validity greater than 459 days.

All public Code Signing certificates issued on or after February 17, 2026, at 18:00 UTC cannot exceed the new 459-day maximum validity. This change affects all DigiCert Code Signing products:

• Public Code Signing product
• Public EV Codes Signing product

Why is DigiCert reducing the maximum validity of public Code Signing certificates to 459 days?

DigiCert is making this change to align with the CA/Browser Forum’s Ballot CSC-31: Maximum Validity Reduction. This ballot reduces Code Signing certificate validity from 39 months (approximately three years) to 460 days (about 15 months) in 2026. Learn more about Ballot CSC-31.

Note: DigiCert's maximum certificate validities are one day shorter than the maximum validity allowed by the CA/Browser Forum’s, to avoid exceeding the maximum permitted validity.

Maximum validity period of public Code Signing certificates in the CA/Browser Forum

Items covered in this article

• What’s changing?
• What do I need to do?
• What happens to 2-year, 3-year, or 39-month certificates not issued before the February 17, 2026, deadline?
• How does this affect existing code signing certificates with a validity greater than 459 days
  • How does this affect existing 2-year, 3-year, or 39-month public Code Signing certificate reissues? 
  • How does this affect public Code Signing certificate renewals ?
• References

What’s changing?

Today, DigiCert can issue public Code Signing certificates with a maximum 39-month validity. On February 17, 2026, DigiCert will issue Code Signing certificates with a maximum 459-day validity

• DigiCert will stop supporting 2- and 3-year Code Signing certificate requests 
  
  On February 3, 2026, at 18:00 UTC, you will have three certificate validity options when ordering Code Signing certificates in CertCentral: 1 year, custom expiration date with a 459-day limit, and custom length up to 459 days.
  • In CertCentral, we will remove the 2- and 3-year options.
  •  2- and 3-year certificates requests submitted via the CertCentral Services API will be truncated to 459 days.
    
    If you want a 2-year, 3-year, or 39-month public Code Signing certificate, order it before February 3, 2026, 18:00 UTC.
• DigiCert will issue public Code Signing certificates with a maximum 459-day validity
  
  On February 17, 2026, at 18:00 UTC, DigiCert will issue public Code Signing certificates with a maximum 459-day validity.
  
  If planning to order 2-year, 3-year, or 39-month certificates right up until the February 3, 2026, deadline, make sure your organization validation is up to date. Code Signing certificate issued after February 17, 2026, 18:00 UTC will have a 459-day maximum validity.
  
  

  Important: Any pending Code Signing requests with 2-year or 3-year validity that are submitted prior to February 3, 2026, must be issued before February 17, 2026, at 18:00 UTC. Otherwise, the Code Signing certificate will be issued with the truncated validity of 459 days, with no refund provided.

What do I need to do?

No immediate action is required. We recommend you prepare for this change:

Get your 2-year, 3-year, or 39-month certificates before DigiCert stops issuing them:

1. Order your certificates before February 3, 2026, at 00:00 UTC.
2. Help us issue your certificates before February 17, 2026, at 00:00 UTC.
   
   

   a. Make sure your organization validation is up to date
   
   When ordering Code Signing and EV Code Signing certificates make sure the organization validation is update to date. Please contact DigiCert support if you need to revalidate your organization.

   b. Keep verified contacts informed
   
   When ordering Code Signing and EV Code Signing certificates let the verified contacts on your order know you’ve placed the order and encourage them to respond to the approval email as soon as they receive it. Learn how the verified contact order approval process works

   .

What happens to 2-year, 3-year, or 39-month certificates not issued before the February 17, 2026, deadline?

What happens with your certificate depends on what type of CertCentral account you have. Learn how to identify your CertCentral account.

• CertCentral Subscription accounts
  DigiCert will issue your 459-day Code Signing certificate. Your order and certificate validity will be 459 days.

With CertCentral Subscription accounts, the pricing model is different in that your subscription is based on what you want to secure. Learn more about what you are subscribing to.

• CertCentral Enterprise and Partner accounts
  If you ordered a 2-year, 3-year, or 39-month Code Signing certificate, DigiCert will issue a 459-day certificate. Your order and certificate validity will be 459 days
  

  Caution: No refunds are provided for reduced validity certificate orders. DigiCert encourages you to order 2- and 3-year code signing certificates well in advance to avoid this situation.

How does this affect existing code signing certificates with a validity greater than 459 days

This change doesn’t affect active certificates issued before the February 17, 2026, deadline. These certificates will continue to be trusted until they expire. When the certificate nears its expiration date, you need to renew it with a 1-year or 459-day certificate order.

How does this affect existing 2-year, 3-year, or 39-month public Code Signing certificate reissues?

The new 459-day maximum validity does impact 2-year, 3-year, and 39-month Code Signing certificate reissues.

• Before February 3, 2026, when you reissue a Code Signing certificate, the new certificate can have a validity period up to 39 months (but cannot exceed the order validity).
• On or after February 3, 2026, If the primary certificate’s remaining validity is greater than the 459-day maximum validity allowed, we will truncate your reissued certificate and your order without a refund.

How does this affect public Code Signing certificate renewals?

You can still renew a certificate order as early as 90 days to 1 day before it expires. As of February 17, 2026, DigiCert will issue your certificate with a 1-year or up to 459-day maximum validity. Your order validity will match your certificate validity.

References

• Understanding the New Code-Signing Certificate Validity Change
• Ballot CSC-31: Maximum Validity Reduction