SSL Certificate Instant Issuance

From WHMCS Documentation

Instant Issuance is an advanced method that makes selling and deploying SSL certificates via WHMCS MarketConnect even faster and more reliable.

Instant Issuance is available in WHMCS 8.7 and higher.

What is Instant Issuance?

With Instant Issuance, the system runs the DV check and receives a signed SSL certificate (CSR) immediately at the time of order. This provides instantaneous SSL protection with no wait time and no confusing errors or warnings when clients access the new website. It also reduces the risk of failure and other issues that customers may experience with SSL issuance via standard DCV polling. Before WHMCS 8.7, issuance via standard DCV polling was the only method available for SSL certificate issuance, and the system will continue to use it for orders for which Instant Issuance is not possible.

Clients will have an improved experience thanks to the reduced likelihood of errors and the elimination of wait time between order and issuance. This can mean reduced technical support needs, increased SSL certificate orders, and better overall customer satisfaction.

Instant Issuance is only available through DigiCert partners like WHMCS MarketConnect.

How Instant Issuance Works

Instant Issuance happens automatically whenever possible without any manual intervention by you. It uses pre-generated cryptographic content to facilitate immediate deployment and instantaneous protection for customers' websites.

1. A customer places an SSL certificate order.

Like in previous versions of WHMCS, customers can purchase SSL certificates through the Client Area, or admins can place orders through the Admin Area.

Instant Issuance requires that:

  • The system has access to create the necessary files.
  • The Domain Control Validation (DCV) for the order is file-based or, in some circumstances, DNS-based.

If the purchase meets these conditions, the system will always attempt Instant Issuance.

2. The system generates cryptographic files.

The system automatically generates the required cryptographic files within the associated hosting account.

3. MarketConnect sends the order information to DigiCert.

When MarketConnect sends the order to DigiCert, it will include the generated cryptographic content. This speeds up the process by removing several time-consuming steps that slow down the standard DCV polling process.

4. DigiCert replies.

DigiCert will immediately reply with the new certificate's data.

5. The system automatically installs the certificate.

After WHMCS has the certificate data, installation occurs immediately.

If Instant Issuance fails, the system will attempt to issue the certificate using standard DCV polling. For more information, see Instant Issuance Failures.

Using Instant Issuance

MarketConnect uses Instant Issuance by default on all DV SSL certificate orders via DigiCert and MarketConnect on WHMCS 8.7 and higher. No additional action is necessary after you activate and configure DigiCert sales at Configuration () > System Settings > MarketConnect.

You can view Instant Issuance activity in the Activity Log section at Configuration () > System Logs.