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Order code signing certificate

POST https://www.digicert.com/services/v2/order/certificate/{{code_signing_certificate_id}}

Use this endpoint to submit a request to create an order for a Code Signing (CS) or EV Code Signing (EV CS) certificate. In the endpoint path, replace code_signing_certificate_id with the ID of the certificate you want to order:

  • Code Signing: code_signing

  • EV Code Signing: code_signing_ev

Warning

New private key storage requirement for Code Signing certificates

Starting May 16, 2023, DigiCert no longer accepts Code Signing (code_signing) certificate requests using browser-based key generation and certificate installation or any other process that includes creating a CSR and installing your certificate on a laptop or server. This change affects new, renewal, and reissue code signing certificate requests submitted using the CertCentral UI and the Services API.

Reminder: Starting May 30, 2023, DigiCert can no longer issue certificates for requests that do not meet the new private key storage requirement.

Learn more:

Important

Industry requires RSA 3072-bit key minimum for all code signing certificates

On May 28, 2021, DigiCert made the following changes to our code signing certificate process:

  • Only issues RSA 3072-bit key or larger code signing certificates

  • Uses new intermediate CA and root certificates to issue our code signing and EV code signing certificates: RSA and ECC.

Learn more: Code signing changes in 2021

Code Signing and EV Code Signing provisioning methods

When creating a code signing certificate order, you choose how to generate and store the private key by specifying a provisioning method (cs_provisioning_method) in your request.

Note

The cs_provisioning_method parameter is optional. If omitted, DigiCert uses the default provisioning method configured in your CertCentral account settings.

CertCentral supports these provisioning methods:

  • DigiCert-provided hardware token

  • Use existing token

  • Install on HSM

  • DigiCert KeyLocker

DigiCert-provided hardware token (ship_token)

DigiCert ships you a hardware token with instructions to activate your certificate (see Set Up Your DigiCert Provided eToken). To provide your shipping address, use the ship_info object. Otherwise, DigiCert uses the default shipping address from your CertCentral account settings.

When you receive your token, use the DigiCert Hardware Certificate Installer (DHCI) to install the certificate. To get the initialization code for the order to use with DHCI, check the value of the hardware_init_code parameter on the Order info API response.

Use existing token (client_app)

Install the certificate on a supported secure token you already own. To identify your device, use the certificate.server_platform object.

When your certificate is issued, use DHCI to install the certificate. To get the initialization code for the order to use with DHCI, check the value of the hardware_init_code parameter on the Order info API response.

Install on an HSM (email)

DigiCert sends you the certificate to install on your own Common Criteria EAL4+ standard or FIPS 140-2 level 2 HSM. A csr is required when using this provisioning method. If you don't have a compatible HSM, use a different provisioning method.

When using the email provisioning method, DigiCert sends the certificate requestor an agreement email. This email is to ensure that the private key is stored on an HSM that is certified as FIPS 140 Level 2, Common Criteria EAL 4+, or equivalent. DigiCert only issues the certificate after the requestor agrees to the private key protection requirement.

DigiCert KeyLocker (keylocker)

Use DigiCert KeyLocker to generate and store your private key. DigiCert KeyLocker is a cloud‐based solution that provides FIPS 140-2 level 2 compliant private key generation and storage for your code signing certificates. Learn more about DigiCert KeyLocker.

When using keylocker as the provisioning method, you still use CertCentral to complete validation and manage your order. When your certificate is issued, it is available in the DigiCert KeyLocker account linked to your CertCentral account. To use the certificate to sign code, you must have access to DigiCert KeyLocker.

  • I don't have access to DigiCert KeyLocker

    The first time DigiCert receives a request from your CertCentral account to create a code signing certificate order with keylocker as the provisioning method, your primary CertCentral account administrator receives an email with instructions to set up DigiCert KeyLocker. To get access to the DigiCert KeyLocker UI and client tools, contact the primary administrator in your CertCentral account.

    Tip

    For account administrators: Learn how to create a DigiCert KeyLocker user.

  • I have access to DigiCert KeyLocker

    When issued, your certificate is available in your DigiCert KeyLocker account. You can immediately begin using the DigiCert KeyLocker client tools to sign code.

Note

DigiCert KeyLocker is not available in all CertCentral accounts.

Example requests and responses

Path parameters

Name

Req/Opt

Description

code_signing_certificate_id

required

Product identifier of the code signing certificate you want to order.

Allowed values:

  • Code Signing: code_signing

  • EV Code Signing: code_signing_ev

For a list of all product identifiers, see Glossary - Product identifiers.

Request parameters

Name

Req/Opt

Type

Description

certificate

required

object

Certificate details.

.. csr

conditional

string

Certificate signing request (CSR).

Required for Code Signing and EV Code Signing certificates that will be installed on HSMs (cs_provisioning_method is email). The CSR must use a key size your hardware supports.

DigiCert rejects code_signing certificate requests that include a CSR if the cs_provisioning_method is not email.

Note: The Services API does not extract information from the CSR to fill in the details of a certificate request. You must provide values for all relevant request parameters, including organization.id. If you are creating a new organization with your certificate request, you must provide values for all required parameters of the organization object.

.. signature_hash

required

string

Hash algorithm used to signing the certificate.

Allowed values:sha256

.. server_platform

conditional

object

Server platform type.

.. .. id

conditional

int

Server platform ID.

Allowed values: See Code Signing and EV Code Signing hardware platforms. Usage depends on provisioning method (cs_provisioning_method):

  • ship_token: server_platform.id is optional and has no impact on the token type DigiCert ships. If not provided, defaults to 23.

  • email: server_platform.id is optional. If not provided, defaults to -1.

    Note: When the provisioning method is email, the CSR in your request must use a key size your hardware supports.

  • client_app: server_platform.id is required.

  • keylocker: server_platform.id is not used.

Important! When DigiCert receives a Code Signing or EV Code Signing request with a server_platform.id of 51-57, we automatically convert the server_platform.id to -1 (other) before creating the order or order request.

.. organization_units

optional

array

Department in your organization associated with the certificate.

auto_renew

optional

int

Number of times the certificate should renew automatically.

additional_emails

optional

array

Additional email addresses to receive certificate notification emails (e.g., certificate issuance, duplicate certificate, certificate renewals, etc.).

renewal_of_order_id

optional

int

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

skip_approval

optional

bool

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

Default:false.

The skip_approval option skips only the approval step (for example, from your organization), but does not skip the validation step required by Digicert for a certificate.

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 by providing an organization ID, or you can create a new organization by submitting new information with your order request. For examples, see The organization object.

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.

Omit this value if you are creating a new organization with your request. 

.. name

conditional

string

Legal name of the organization. Required when creating a new organization.

Character limit: 64 if assumed_name is empty or not provided. If the request includes an assumed_name value, the combined length of the submitted name + assumed_name values cannot exceed 61 characters. Three characters are reserved for spacing and punctuation. 

.. assumed_name

optional

string

Public name of the organization. Also called Doing Business As (DBA) name. 

Character limit: The combined length of the submitted name + assumed_name values cannot exceed 61 characters. Three characters are reserved for spacing and punctuation. 

.. country

conditional

string

Two-letter country code for the country where the organization is located. Required when creating a new organization.

Format: Must be a valid ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code. 

.. address

conditional

string

Address of the organization. Required when creating a new organization.

Character limit: 64 

.. address2

optional

string

Second line of the organization's address.

Character limit: 64 

.. city

conditional

string

City where the organization is located. Required when creating a new organization.

Character limit: 64 

.. state

conditional

string

State or province where the organization is located. Use the full name instead of an abbreviation. Required when creating a new organization.

Character limit: 64 

.. zip

conditional

string

Postal code of the organization. Required when creating a new organization.

Character limit: 128 

.. telephone

conditional

string

Organization telephone number. Required when creating a new organization.

Character limit: 32 

.. contacts

conditional

string

List of objects with information about the organization contact, technical contact, and verified contacts for the organization.

Whether you need to provide a list of contacts depends on your usage requirements and whether the order is for a new or existing organization.

.. .. contact_type

required

string

.. .. user_id

conditional

string

To add an existing user as the contact, provide the user ID.

For verified contacts:

  • A user_id is required if your account only allows users to be added as verified contacts.

  • A job title (job_title) and telephone number (telephone) are required. When adding an existing user as a verified contact, make sure the user has a job title and phone number. If they don't, include a job title and phone number for the contact in your certificate order request.

.. .. first_name

required

string

First name of the contact.

Character limit: 128 

.. .. last_name

required

string

Last name of the contact.

Character limit: 128 

.. .. job_title

conditional

string

Job title of the contact. Required for verified contacts.

Character limit: 64 

.. .. telephone

conditional

string

Telephone number that can be used to reach the contact. Required for verified contacts.

Character limit: 32 

.. .. telephone_extension

optional

string

Phone extension of the contact.

Character limit: 16 

.. .. email

required

string

Email address that can be used to reach the contact.

Character limit: 255 

.. 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

container

optional

object

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

.. id

required

int

Container ID.

order_validity

required

object

Defines the validity period of the certificate and order.

.. years

required*

int

Number of years the certificate and order are valid.

*Can be replaced by order_validity.days or order_validity.custom_expiration_date.

Range: 1-3

.. days

optional

int

Number of days the certificate and order are valid. Overrides order_validity.years.

.. custom_expiration_date

optional

string

Custom expiration date for the certificate and order. Overrides order_validity.days and order_validity.years.

Format: dd MMM YYYY (for example, "09 JUN 2025")

validity_years

optional

int

Number of years the certificate and order are valid.

Deprecated. Use the order_validity object to set the validity period of the certificate and order.

Allowed values:1 - 3

custom_expiration_date

optional

string

Custom expiration date for the certificate and order. Overrides validity_years

Deprecated. Use the order_validity object to set the validity period of the certificate and order.

Format:yyyy-MM-dd

cs_provisioning_method

optional

string

ship_info

optional

object

For Code Signing or EV Code Signing orders with a cs_provisioning_method of ship_token, specify the shipping address for the hardware token.

Optional for both Code Signing and EV Code Signing certificates. For orders that omit the ship_info object, DigiCert uses the default token shipping address from your CertCentral account settings.

.. name

required

string

Name of the recipient.

.. addr1

required

string

Shipping address for the token.

.. addr2

optional

string

Secondary address field.

.. city

required

string

Shipping city.

.. state

required

string

Shipping state.

.. zip

required

string

Shipping postal code.

.. country

required

string

Shipping country.

.. method

required

string

Shipping priority for the token.

Allowed values:STANDARD, EXPEDITED (incurs added cost)

subject

optional

object

Object containing subject details.

.. email

optional

string

Subject email address. Must have a validated domain. The Services API only supports the subject.email field for OV code signing certificates (code_signing). We ignore this field in order requests for EV code signing certificates (code_signing_ev).

custom_fields

conditional

object

Account-specific custom fields. Whether 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.

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

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.

enable_guest_access

optional

int

Whether to enable guest access for the order. This parameter is not allowed if guest access is disabled in your account settings.

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

Default: The default configuration for new orders is determined by your account settings. Account administrators can change these settings from the Guest Access page in the CertCentral console.

Response parameters

Name

Type

Description

id

int

Order ID.

organization

object

Container for new organization details. Only returned if a new organization was created with the order.

.. id

int

Organization ID for the new organization.

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.

Contact types

Contact type

Description

organization_contact

Organization contact.

  • An organization is required to have an organization contact.

  • Organizations can only have one organization contact.

  • If you submit an organization.contacts array with more than one organization_contact, the API uses the first one in the list and ignores the rest.

technical_contact

Technical contact.

  • An organization is not required to have a technical contact.

  • Organizations can only have one technical contact.

  • If you submit an organization.contacts array with more than one technical_contact, the API uses the first one in the list and ignores the rest.

verified_contact

Before DigiCert can issue your certificate, a verified contact must approve the requestor's authority to order a certificate for the organization. An organization can have multiple verified contacts.

Existing validated organizations

When using an existing organization that is already validated or pending validation for CS or EV CS certificate issuance, DigiCert sends order approval emails to all CS or EV CS verified contacts for the organization.

To send order approval emails to an additional verified_contact who is not yet validated for the organization, include that verified_contact in your order request.*

Unvalidated or new organizations

When creating a new organization, or when using an existing organization neither validated nor pending validation for CS or EV CS certificate issuance, include information about each verified_contact who should be allowed to approve CS or EV CS order requests for the organization.*

By default, if you do not specify a verified contact for a new or unvalidated organization, DigiCert attempts to add the authenticated user (the user who owns the API key in the request) as a verified contact for the organization. DigiCert applies this default when:

  • The API request body does not specify a new verified contact to add to the organization.

  • The authenticated user has a job title and phone number.

  • The organization in the API request has no verified contacts who can approve CS or EV CS orders.

Note

*DigiCert must validate new verified contacts before they can approve CS or EV CS orders for the organization.

Code Signing (CS) and EV Code Signing (EV CS) certificate orders must include information about the organization to associate with the code signing certificate. DigiCert must validate the organization before issuing the certificate. The following examples show three ways to add an organization to your CS or EV CS certificate order.

Use existing organization (validated)

When including an organization already submitted for CS or EV CS validation, either by itself or as part of an earlier certificate order request, you only need to include the organization's ID in your new order request:

{
  "certificate": {
    ...
  }
  "organization": {
    "id": 12345
  },
  ...
}

If needed, you can update the organization contact or technical contact and add new verified contacts to the organization. Use the organization.contacts array to provide information about each new contact. To learn more, see Contact types.

{
  "certificate": {
    ...
  }
  "organization": {
    "id": 12345,
    "contacts": [
      {
        "contact_type": "verified_contact",
        "user_id": 12345
      },
      { 
        "contact_type": "organization_contact",
        "user_id": 56789
      },
      {
        "contact_type": "technical_contact",
        "first_name": "Jane",        
        "last_name": "Doe",        
        "job_title": "Technician",      
        "telephone": "1234567890",        
        "email": "jane.doe@example.com"
      }
    ]
  },
  ...
}         

Use existing organization (not validated)

When including an existing organization never submitted for CS or EV CS validation, you can submit the organization for validation as part of your certificate order request:

  1. In the organization object, provide the id of the existing organization.

  2. In the organization.contacts array, provide a list of verified contacts to submit as CS or EV CS approvers for the organization.

  3. After creating the order, the organization is automatically submitted for the validation type corresponding to the chosen product (CS or EV CS).

For example:

{
  "certificate": {
    ...
  }
  "organization": {
    "id": 12345,
    "contacts": [
      {
        "contact_type": "verified_contact",
        "user_id": 12345
      }
  },
  ...
}

Use a new organization

When adding a new organization, use the organization object to provide the organization's name, location, and phone number. Make sure to include an organization_contact and at least one verified_contact (see Contact types). When you create the order, the new organization is added to your CertCentral account and submitted for CS or EV CS validation.

{
  "certificate": {
    ...
  },
  "organization": {
    "name": "New Organization",
    "assumed_name": "New Organization",
    "country": "us",
    "address": "123 Example Street",
    "address2": "Floor 08",
    "city": "Lehi",
    "state": "Utah",
    "zip": "12345",
    "telephone": "123-456-789",
    "contacts": [
     {
        "contact_type": "verified_contact",
        "first_name": "John",
        "last_name": "Doe",
        "job_title": "Technician",
        "telephone": "1234567890",
        "email": "john.doe@example.com"
      },
      {
        "contact_type": "organization_contact",
        "first_name": "Jane",
        "last_name": "Doe",
        "job_title": "Supervisor",
        "telephone": "1234567890",
        "email": "jane.doe@example.com"
      },
      {
        "contact_type": "technical_contact",
        "first_name": "Alex",
        "last_name": "Doe",
        "job_title": "Technician",
        "telephone": "1234567890",
        "email": "alex.doe@example.com"
      }
    ]
  },
  ...
}

Starting May 16, 2023, DigiCert requires private keys for Code Signing (code_signing) certificates to be stored on hardware certified as FIPS 140 Level 2, Common Criteria EAL 4+, or equivalent. This change affects new, renewal, and reissue code signing certificate requests submitted using the CertCentral UI and the Services API.

Starting May 2, 2023:

  • The CertCentral Services API will accept code signing certificate requests using the new provisioning methods.

    The new provisioning methods are the same provisioning methods DigiCert already supports for EV Code Signing certificates.

  • CertCentral administrators can choose default provisioning methods for Code Signing and EV Code Signing certificates.

    DigiCert uses the default provisioning methods when we receive code signing certificate requests that do not specify a provisioning method.

Learn more about DigiCert's timeline for changes to the Code Signing workflow.

What do I need to do?

Do you use the Services API to order Code Signing certificates?

  • No

    No action required.

  • Yes

    Between May 2 and May 16, 2023, complete the following:

    • In API clients that request or reissue Code Signing certificates, migrate your usage to the new provisioning methods. See Code Signing and EV Code Signing provisioning methods.

    • Update your CertCentral account settings:

      • Select default provisioning methods for Code Signing and EV Code Signing certificates that are compatible with your workflows.

      • Confirm the default shipping address for the DigiCert-provided hardware token option.