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Generating a Certificate Signing Request (CSR) - Apache 2.x

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Last Updated: August 16, 2013 3:05 PM

Follow these instructions to generate a certificate signing request (CSR) for your Apache Web server. When you have completed generating your CSR, cut/copy and paste it into the CSR field on the SSL certificate-request page.

To Generate a Certificate Signing Request for Apache 2.x

  1. Log in to your server's terminal (SSH).
  2. At the prompt, type the following command:
    openssl req -new -newkey rsa:2048 -nodes -keyout yourdomain.key -out yourdomain.csr

    Replace yourdomain with the domain name you're securing. For example, if your domain name is coolexample.com, you would type coolexample.key and coolexample.csr.

  3. Enter the requested information:
    • Common Name: The fully-qualified domain name, or URL, you're securing.
      If you are requesting a Wildcard certificate, add an asterisk (*) to the left of the common name where you want the wildcard, for example *.coolexample.com.
    • Organization: The legally-registered name for your business. If you are enrolling as an individual, enter the certificate requestor's name.
    • Organization Unit: If applicable, enter the DBA (doing business as) name.
    • City or Locality: Name of the city where your organization is registered/located. Do not abbreviate.
    • State or Province: Name of the state or province where your organization is located. Do not abbreviate.
    • Country: The two-letter International Organization for Standardization (ISO) format country code for where your organization is legally registered.

      If you do not want to enter a password for this SSL, you can leave the Passphrase field blank. However, please understand there might be additional risks.

  4. Open the CSR in a text editor and copy all of the text.
  5. Paste the full CSR into the SSL enrollment form in your account.