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Organization Validation (OV) and Individual Validation (IV) certificates – also known as High Assurance certificates – require validation of an organization’s or individual’s identity and address before issuance.

  • For website owners, an SSL.com High Assurance certificate gives visitors to your site an extra level of confidence in your web presence and your product.
  • Some other types of certificates, such as Code Signing and NAESB certificates, always require OV or IV before issuance.
Looking for information on certificate renewal? Please read Renewing EV, OV, and IV Certificates.

Documents for Validation

  • In order to validate and issue an OV or IV certificate, SSL.com must verify your identity, physical address, and telephone number via verifiable online resources and/or valid verification documents.
  • The exact documentation required differs depending on whether the applicant is a business or organization, or an individual:

OV Documentation

For businesses or organizations valid options are:

  • A link to a government agency in the jurisdiction of the Applicant’s legal creation, existence, or recognition. 
  • A link verifying your information in a third party database that is periodically updated and considered a Reliable Data Source. Examples include:
    • Dun & Bradstreet
      Note: Using a Dun & Bradstreet number (also known as a D-U-N-S or Duns number) helps SSL.com expedite validation and certificate issuance. Please make sure that your company information in Dun & Bradstreet is correct and up-to-date before using this option. You can enter your D-U-N-S number directly with your Company Details when ordering your certificate:
      duns number
    • Hoovers
    • Better Business Bureau
    • UK – Gov.uk’s Companies House
  • For OV Code Signing certificates only, if the business or organization is less than three years old, a scan of the certificate requestor’s government-issued ID is also required.

In most cases, businesses and organizations will not need to upload documents to their order, but can simply provide a URL to SSL.com support staff. You can submit your link via an email to Support@SSL.com, or by using the chat link in the lower right corner of the SSL.com website.

In some cases, SSL.com may request additional supporting documents before issuing a certificate.

IV Documentation

To validate an individual person’s identity, please provide the following:

  • A scan of the front of a valid, government-issued photo ID card or passport ID page. The ID number may be obscured, but we must be able to see your name, address, year of birth, and photograph.
  • A scan of the back of the government-issued ID card or passport ID page.
  • A photograph of of yourself holding the government-issued ID next to your face so that your face may be compared with the image on the ID. The photograph should be at least 5 megapixels (MP) – most current smartphones can provide an image of 5MP or greater.

In some cases, SSL.com may request additional supporting documents before issuing a certificate.

Callbacks

We will contact you by phone after the information above is reviewed. A successful contact via a verified telephone number is required to issue an OV or IV certificate. Please read our how-to on Callbacks for OV Certificates for full information on this procedure. After a successful callback, your certificate will be issued, and you will be notified by email when it is available.

SSL.com customers purchasing an OV SSL/TLS certificate will immediately receive a DV certificate after going through the standard domain validation process. This certificate will serve as a placeholder so you can secure your website right away. Your OV certificate will be issued as soon as all verification steps are completed and confirmed.

 

Video: Validation Requirements for OV, IV, or EV Certificates

Thank you for choosing SSL.com! If you have any questions, please contact us by email at Support@SSL.com, call 1-877-SSL-SECURE, or just click the chat link at the bottom right of this page. You can also find answers to many common support questions in our knowledgebase.

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