Managing certificates in the SSL Manager

Last change on 2026-10-12 • Created on 2026-10-12 • ID: MA-AFA8B

These instructions apply to Business certificates and imported certificates in the konsoleH SSL Manager. Hetzner automatically renews free Basic and Let's Encrypt certificates.

To open the SSL Manager, log in to konsoleH with your customer number and password. Select the domain from the domain overview. Then, in the left-hand menu, open Services → SSL Manager.

Renewing a Business Certificate

About four weeks before a Business certificate expires, we’ll send you a reminder via email. You renew it just like placing a new order.

  1. Open the SSL Manager for the domain.
  2. Click the clock icon next to the certificate.
  3. Check the address information and the validation type.
  4. Review the summary page, including the price.
  5. Click Place Order (Payment Required).

Hetzner automatically sends the order to Thawte. Depending on the validation type, you may need to complete additional steps, and we will email you instructions. Once the certificate is ready, we will email you.

Activate the renewed certificate once it is ready. To do this, click the Update icon to the right of the certificate in the SSL Manager.

Request a Reissue

During the term of a Business certificate, you can request a reissue at any time. This is useful, for example, if you want to secure a different subdomain, such as sub2.example.com instead of sub1.example.com.
You may also reissue if the certificate authority signed the certificate with an outdated hash algorithm such as SHA-1, or if the private key has been compromised.

Note: A reissuance does not change the certificate’s validity period. To extend the validity period, you will need to renew the certificate.

  1. Open the domain’s SSL Manager.
  2. Click the pencil icon next to the certificate.
  3. Click Submit Request.

konsoleH automatically requests the reissuance from Thawte. You’ll receive an email after validation. In some cases, you’ll need to manually re-authenticate the certificate.

Activate the reissued certificate once it is ready. To do this, click the Update icon to the right of the certificate in the SSL Manager.

Activating a Certificate

The domain’s SSL account will not use a renewed or reissued certificate until you activate it.

  1. Open the domain’s SSL Manager.
  2. In the list of certificates next to the domain or subdomain, select the new certificate.
  3. Click the Update icon to the right of the certificate.

The web server will immediately use the new certificate for all requests made via https://.

Download a Certificate

You can download a Business certificate or an imported certificate as a ZIP file. The ZIP file contains the certificate and all associated keys.

  1. Open the domain’s SSL Manager.
  2. Click the Download icon at the end of the certificate’s row.

The browser saves the ZIP file to your computer.

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