Organization Validation SSL Overview

You've purchased an Organization Validation (OV) SSL Certificate—now what? How does one get their actual organization validated? It may seem like a tall order, but don't worry. It's really quite simple. And you've got us in your corner. Trust us, this will be easy.

Why Organization Validation?

Organization Validation SSL certificates were actually the first kind of SSL certificate. Back then, there was no Domain Validation or Extended Validation certificate, anyone who wanted to get SSL had to have their organization validated.

Obviously, this cut out a lot of websites that wanted encryption. So the Certificate Authorities created Domain Validation certificates, wherein they only checked to see that the person applying for the certificate owned the domain in question. This opened up SSL to a whole new group of websites.

It also caused a bit of a problem.

Unless you knew where to look, the indicators for DV and OV were exactly the same—a green padlock and HTTPS in your address bar. So, to offer a greater form of authentication and trust, the CA's – with the help of the major browsers – created Extended Validation SSL certificates. These display a green address bar and require a greater degree of validation to be obtained.

If inspiring the greatest degree of trust from your customers is of the utmost importance, you may want to consider purchasing Extended Validation.

However, today, Organizational Validation SSL certificates still serve a purpose. One click on the green padlock displays information about your company. And the encryption strength and security provided is still industry-standard. Organization Validation SSL certificates reside at the intersection of security and value, making them a tremendous option for businesses on a budget or for organizations that are not involved in e-commerce.

What are the Organization Validation requirements?

The requirements for an Organization Validation SSL certificate are the same regardless of which CA you go with.

The requirements every business must fulfil are:

We explain all of them – what the requirements are and how to satisfy them – on subsequent pages—just click the links above.

As long as you're a legitimate business, this process is no problem

As long as you're a legitimate organization this process will go smoothly. Remember, part of the reason this process even exists is to differentiate the legitimate businesses from the pretenders—including scam artists and cyber criminals. So, if you're working for an actual business, then you have nothing to worry about.

Plus, we'll be here helping you the whole way. You'll have the benefit of our many years of experience behind you. Typically, the CA's like to tell you issuance takes 1-3 business days—that's to give themselves some cushion. But if you're in a hurry, we can even expedite the process for you.

We've gotten OV certificates issued in as little as 20 minutes before.

So what are you waiting for? Let's get started!