What Are The Requirements for SSL.com OV Certificates?

› › What Are The Requirements for SSL.com OV Certificates?

Organization Validation (or OV) certificates – also known as High Assurance certificates – are recognized to provide a higher standard in Internet trust. Ordering an SSL.com High Assurance certificate gives visitors to your site an extra level of confidence in your web presence and your product. However, in order to fully validate and issue an OV certificate, several steps must be taken by the purchaser, as outlined below.

SSL.com offers the following High Assurance products:

SSL.com customers purchasing an OV 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 site right away. Your OV certificate will be issued as soon as the additional verification steps below are completed and confirmed.

Our vetting partner will require information to validate your OV certificate. This is to verify both your identity and your address (your actual, physical address – apart from your domain name).

This can be done either by providing a verifiable online resource, submitting valid verification documents or a combination of the two. (Note that when “recent documents” are asked for, those documents must be no more than six months old.)

For businesses or organizations valid options are:

  1. A link to a government agency in the jurisdiction of the Applicant’s legal creation, existence, or recognition.
    For example, a company doing business in Alaska but incorporated in Nevada would need to appear in a search of Nevada businesses.
  2. A link verifying your information in a third party database that is periodically updated and considered a Reliable Data Source. Examples include:
    1. Dun & Bradstreet
    2. Hoovers
    3. Better Business Bureau
    4. UK – Gov.uk’s Companies House
  3. One of the following items may be submitted:
    1. A letter from a Certified Public Accountant to verify your business.
    2. A letter registering a legal opinion, or a letter from a Latin Notary, to confirm your EV request.
    3. (For government entities only) A legal opinion letter verifying a government organization.

If the above only verifies your identity, our vetting partner may verify your address separately using:

    1. The articles of incorporation for the business.
    2. A government-issued business license
    3. A copy of a recent company bank statement (please blacken out the account number).
    4. A copy of a recent company phone bill
    5. A copy of a recent major utility bill of the company (i.e. power bill, water bill, etc.) or a current lease agreement for the company
It seems redundant, but just to be clear – any of the supporting documents listed above must include the address for verification.

If the applicant is an individual rather than a company, ALL of the following documents are required:

  1. A copy of the applicant’s valid driver’s license or passport.
  2. A copy of a recent major utility bill (i.e. power bill, water bill, etc.) or bank statement in the applicant’s name.
  3. Completed Face-to-Face document with Attorney/Accountant Signature.
If the driver’s license or passport does not include address details (or those details do not match your account) then please provide two utility bills/bank statements as supporting documents.

You will be contacted by phone by our vetting partner after the information above is reviewed. A successful contact via phone is required to issue an OV certificate.

After this confirmation, your OV certificate will be issued, and you will be notified by email when it is available. As always, contact us at SSL.com if you have any questions whatsoever. Email Support@SSL.com, call 1-877-SSL-SECURE, or just click the chat link at the bottom right of this page.