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Order Verified Mark Certificate (VMC)

POST https://www.digicert.com/services/v2/order/certificate/vmc_basic

Use this endpoint to request or renew an order for a Verified Mark Certificate (VMC). To renew a certificate, you must place the request from the same account used to order the original certificate.

When you create an order for a VMC certificate, you can include the logo in your order request. To submit a logo with your order request:

  • Format the data for your SVG logo as a compressed, base64-encoded string.

    For example, in a bash shell, run this command:

    echo '<XML content for your SVG logo>' | gzip | base64
  • In the JSON payload, submit the string containing the encoded logo data as the value of the vmc.logo parameter.

Required logo information

Before DigiCert can issue your VMC certificate:

  • Registered trademarks

    You must assign a logo, trademark country, and trademark registration number to the VMC order.

  • Government marks

    You must assign a logo to the VMC order. You must also assign information about the entity and law, statute, or citation that grants you rights to use the logo.

You do not need this information to create the order. You can add this information to the order after the order is pending. DigiCert will contact you for any missing information required to issue the certificate.

Example requests and responses

Request parameters

Notice

For information about allowed values for certificate fields, see Publicly Trusted Certificates – Data Entries that Violate Industry Standards.

Name

Req/Opt

Type

Description

certificate

required

object

Object with certificate details.

.. dns_names

optional

array

List of domains to be secured. Ordering a certificate for multiple domains can result in additional costs.

vmc

optional

object

Object with logo data for a Verified Mark Certificate. If you submit an order request for a Verified Mark Certificate without including logo data, you must add this data to the order before DigiCert can issue the certificate. To update this information on an existing order, use the following endpoints:

Note: Your VMC order request may include a logo that already exists in your account for another VMC order.

  • If the existing logo is pending approval, we update all pending VMC orders that use the logo with the data from the new order request. If the new order request does not include logo data, the logo on the new order inherits the data that already exists for the logo.

  • If the existing logo is approved, any logo data in the new order request should match the data for the existing approved logo. Otherwise, the API returns an error.

.. logo

conditional

string

Compressed logo file, formatted as a base64-encoded string. To see if a logo is formatted correctly:

Note: A logo is required in requests that include other logo information (mark_type_data).

.. enable_hosting

optional

bool

If true, DigiCert hosts the image and certificate files. Otherwise, false (default).

When image and certificate file hosting is enabled, the Order info endpoint returns the location of the hosted files in the hosted_logo_location and hosted_cert_location response parameters.

Learn more about VMC image and file hosting.

.. mark_type

optional

string

Mark type.

Allowed values: registered_mark (default, registered trademarks) and government_mark (government marks).

.. mark_type_data

optional

object

Object with details about the logo the certificate secures.

.. .. country_code

conditional

string

Two-letter country code. For government marks, identifies the country or region that grants you rights to use the logo. For registered trademarks, identifies the country or region where the logo is registered.

For government marks, when you provide a citation value, you must also provide a country_code.

Allowed values: See Glossary – Trademark offices and country codes for VMC logos

.. .. state_province

optional

string

For government marks, state or province that grants you the rights to use the logo. Ignored for registered trademarks.

.. .. locality

optional

string

For government marks, the locality that grants you the rights to use the logo. Ignored for registered trademarks.

.. .. citation

optional

string

For government marks, identifier for the law, statute, or citation that grants you the rights to use the logo. Ignored for registered trademarks.

.. .. registration_number

optional

string

For registered trademarks, the trademark registration number for the logo. Ignored for government marks.

.. trademark_country_code

Deprecated*

optional

string

Two-letter code for the country or region where the logo is trademarked.

Allowed values: See Glossary – Trademark offices and country codes for VMC logos

*Deprecated: DigiCert has deprecated the trademark_country_code request parameter. Use mark_type_data.country_code, instead. Learn more about this change.

.. trademark_registration_number

Deprecated*

optional

string

Trademark registration number of the logo.

*Deprecated: DigiCert has deprecated the trademark_registration_number request parameter. Use mark_type_data.registration_number, instead. Learn more about this change.

renewed_thumbprint

optional*

string

If order is a renewal, enter the SHA-1 thumbprint of the previous order's primary certificate. For more information, see How to check a certificate's thumbprint.

*Renewal orders must include either a renewed_thumbprint or renewal_of_order_id value.

order_validity

required

object 

Object that defines the validity period of the order.

DigiCert offers Multi-year Plan support for VMC certificates. When you submit an order request for a VMC certificate, the order validity determines the duration of coverage you want for the Multi-year Plan (up to three years). When the active certificate for the Multi-year Plan is about to expire, you reissue the certificate to maintain your coverage.

Note: DigiCert does not support custom certificate validity periods for VMC certificates. Instead, DigiCert issues VMC certificates using the maximum certificate validity allowed by industry standards. This means:

  • If a VMC order is valid for 1 year, the certificate is valid for 1 year.

  • If a VMC order is valid for 2-3 years, the validity period of the first certificate issued for the order is 397 days. Each time you reissue a certificate for a VMC Multi-year Plan, the validity period of the reissued certificate defaults to 397 days or the validity period remaining on the order, whichever is shorter.

.. years 

required

int 

Number of years the order is valid.

Range: 1-3

comments

optional

string

auto_renew

optional

int

Specify if the certificate should automatically renew.

Allowed values: 0 (disabled) or 1 (enabled)

Default: 0

custom_renewal_message

optional

string

Custom message to be included in renewal notifications.

disable_renewal_notifications

optional

bool

Specify if renewal notification emails should be disabled.

Default: false

additional_emails

optional

array

Additional email addresses to receive certificate notification emails (for example, certificate issuance, certificate duplication, certificate renewals, etc.).

locale

optional

string

Language that the DCV email should use. See Glossary – Locale codes.

renewal_of_order_id

optional*

int

If order is a renewal, enter the previous order's ID.

*Renewal orders must include either a renewed_thumbprint or renewal_of_order_id value.

payment_method

optional

string

Payment method for the order. Allowed values:

  • balance (default): Pay with account balance. Returns an error if the option to bill to account balance is disabled for the account, or if the account balance has insufficient funds. Learn how to debit purchases against your CertCentral account balance.

  • profile: Pay with the account’s default credit card. Returns an error if no default credit card is configured for the account. Learn how to set up a default credit card.

  • card: Pay with a new credit card. Requests that use card as the payment method must include a credit_card and billing_address object. Returns an error if the option to pay with a credit card is disabled for the account.

credit_card

conditional

object

Object with information about the credit card charged for the order. Required if payment_method is card.

.. number

required

string

Credit card number.

.. expiration_month

required

integer

Credit card expiration month. Format as a two-digit number between 01 (Jan) and 12 (Dec).

.. expiration_year

required

integer

Credit card expiration year. Format as a four-digit number. For example: 2026

.. cvv

required

integer

Card verification value (CVV). Format as a three- or four-digit number. For example: 333 or 4444

.. cardholder_name

required

string

Cardholder’s first and last name.

billing_address

conditional

object

Object with information about the billing address. Required if payment_method is card.

.. address

required

string

Billing street address.

.. address2

optional

string

Continuation of street address.

.. city

required

string

Billing city.

.. state

conditional

string

Billing state or province. Optional for some countries.

.. country

required

string

Billing country.

.. zip

conditional

string

Billing zip or postal code. Optional for some countries.

vat_number

optional

string

dcv_method

optional

string

DCV method to use when verifying domain control. See Glossary – DCV methods.

skip_approval

optional

bool

Specify if the order should skip the approval step and be immediately submitted for validation and issued when complete.

Default: false

organization_contact

optional

object

Organization contact for the order.

Include this object at the root of the request body to create the order with a different organization contact than the one assigned to the organization on the request. If omitted, the order uses the same organization contact assigned to the organization.

Note: The order-level organization_contact is only used on the order. It does not replace the organization contact assigned to the organization on the request.

.. first_name

required

string

Contact first name.

.. last_name

required

string

Contact last name.

.. email

required

string

Contact email address.

.. job_title

optional

string

Contact job title.

.. telephone

optional

string

Contact telephone number.

.. telephone_extension

optional

string

Telephone extension.

technical_contact

optional

object

Technical contact for the order.

Include this object at the root of the request body to create the order with a different technical contact than the one assigned to the organization on the request. If omitted, the order uses the same technical contact assigned to the organization.

Note: The order-level technical_contact is only used on the order. It does not replace the technical contact assigned to the organization on the request.

.. first_name

required

string

Contact first name.

.. last_name

required

string

Contact last name.

.. email

required

string

Contact email address.

.. job_title

optional

string

Contact job title.

.. telephone

optional

string

Contact telephone number.

.. telephone_extension

optional

string

Telephone extension.

organization

required

object

Object with information about the organization to associate with the request. You can associate the request with an existing organization, or you can create a new organization when you submit the order request.

To associate the request with an existing organization, pass the ID of the organization as the value of organization.id in the body of your request. To create a new organization, include the details of the organization in the organization object. For more information about the structure and required parameters of the organization object, see the Create organization documentation.

Note: When you submit an order with organization details instead of providing an organization ID, we check the organizations that already exist in your account to avoid creating a duplicate.

  • If we find one matching organization, we automatically associate the order with that organization instead of creating a new one.

  • If we find two or more matching organizations, we automatically associate the order with the oldest matching organization in your account instead of creating a new one.

To override this behavior and force the request to create a new organization, set the organization.skip_duplicate_org_check parameter to true in the body of your request.

Important: When you want to associate an order with an existing organization, we recommend always using the ID of the organization instead of the organization's details in the body of your request. To get the ID values for organizations in your account, use the List organizations endpoint. Additionally, we recommend deactivating unused organizations to ensure they are never accidentally assigned to a new order request. To deactivate an organization, use the Deactivate organization endpoint.

.. id

conditional*

int

The ID of an existing organization to associate with the order. To get the ID of organizations in your account, use the List organizations endpoint.

*Requests that do not include organization details must include an organization ID.

.. skip_duplicate_org_check

optional

bool

Use true to skip the check for duplicate organizations in your account. When you skip this check, you force the request to create a new organization, regardless of whether the details you provide in the request match the details of an organization that already exists in your account.

Default: false

.. contacts

conditional

array

.. .. contact_type

required

string

.. .. user_id

required*

int

ID of existing user for the account.

*Can be omitted if adding a new contact.

.. .. first_name

optional

string

First name of the new contact.

Note: Required when omitting user_id. If user_id is not omitted, the specified user's information will be updated with the new value.

.. .. last_name

optional

string

Last name of the new contact.

Note: Required when omitting user_id. If user_id is not omitted, the specified user's information will be updated with the new value.

.. .. job_title

optional

string

Job title of the new contact.

Note: Required when omitting user_id. If user_id is not omitted, the specified user's information will be updated with the new value.

.. .. telephone

optional

string

Telephone number of the new contact.

Note: Required when omitting user_id. If user_id is not omitted, the specified user's information will be updated with the new value.

.. .. email

optional

string

Email address of the new contact.

Note: Required when omitting user_id. If user_id is not omitted, the specified user's information will be updated with the new value.

container

optional

object

If needed, specify the container the order should be placed under.

.. id

required

int

Container ID.

custom_fields

optional*

array

Account-specific custom fields.

*Whether or not these fields are required depends on your custom field settings.

.. metadata_id

required

int

Custom field ID.

.. value

required

string

Value for the custom field. Data validation type depends on your custom field settings.

alternative_order_id

optional

string

A custom alphanumeric ID to assign the order. To see the alternative_order_id assigned to an order, use the Order info endpoint.

Alternative order IDs do not replace the unique order ID that DigiCert assigns each order request. You cannot use alternative order IDs to search for or identify orders in API calls that require an order_id parameter in the URL path or request body.

If the Require unique alternative order IDs option is enabled in your account settings, you cannot submit order requests with an alternative order ID that is already assigned to an order in your account. Use this feature to enable nonce order requests, or to prevent your integration from creating duplicate orders in cases where you do not receive a response from the API. Account administrators can toggle this option from the CertCentral console. From the Settings > Preferences page, open the Advanced Settings menu, and look for the Alternative order ID option.

This parameter is always optional, even if the Require unique alternative order IDs option is enabled in your account. If a request does not use this parameter, no alternative_order_id value is assigned to the order.

Maximum length: 64 characters

Note: The Require unique alternative order IDs option may not appear in the advanced settings menu for all CertCentral accounts. To enable this option for your account, contact your account manager or our Support team.

Response parameters

Name

Type

Description

id

int

Order ID.

domains

array

List of objects with details about the domains in your account that are submitted for validation with the certificate order request. You must have an active validation for the domains in this array to prove you control the SANs on the order.

.. id

int

Domain ID of the domain in your account.

.. name

int

Name of the domain in your account.

.. dns_name

string

A SAN from the order request. To prove you control this domain, you must have an active validation for the domain associated with the domains[].name and domains[].id key/value pairs.

.. dcv_token

object

Object with details about the domain control validation (DCV) token for the domain. Not returned when using email as the DCV method.

Note: The dcv_token object is not returned for domains that will be validated under the scope of another domain on the order, for domains that already exist in your account, or for subdomains of existing domains. For example, if you request a certificate to secure the newly created domains example.com, www.example.com, and subdomain.example.com, the response only includes a dcv_token object for example.com. To get the DCV token for an existing domain, use the Domain info endpoint.

.. .. token

string

Random value used to prove control over the domain.

.. .. status

string

Status of the domain validation process.

.. .. expiration_date

string

Timestamp of when the token will expire.

Format: UTC timezone and ISO 8601 date

.. .. verification_value

string

Value for the DNS record target host field.

Only returned if the DCV method is dns-cname-token.

.. .. http_token_url

string

Filename and location for the .txt file.

Only returned if the DCV method is http-token.

requests

array

Contains information about the request.

.. id

int

Request ID.

.. status

string

Request status.

Possible values: pending, submitted, approved, rejected

certificate_id

int

Certificate ID. Returned if request status is approved.

vmc

object

Object with VMC details.

.. logo_id

int

ID of the VMC logo on the order. Only returned when the logo in the request matches an existing VMC logo. When the logo matches an existing logo, we use the existing logo for the order instead of uploading a duplicate image.

Related topics