What is a CSR?
A CSR or Certificate Signing Request is an encrypted text block that is normally generated at the web server where the SSL Certificate will be used, but it can also be generated externally, using tools like our Online CSR Creator
The CSR contains information that will be finally included in the SSL Certificate, like for example your or your business name, the address, residence country or the common name (domain where the SSL certificate will be used), in addition to this data it will also include a public key that will also be included in your certificate.
The Certificate Authority (CA), will use this CSR to generate the SSL Certificate.
What type of information does a CSR contain?
| Name | Description | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Common name | The domain name or (subdomain) of your web site, it must exactly coincide with the domain that your visitors will write to access your site. | www.yourdomain.com *.yourdomain.com secure.yourdomain.com |
| Organization | The legal name of your business or company. This information must coincide with the complete name of your business and should not be abbreviated. | Your Company Inc. |
| Organizational Unit | The section or division of your company that will manage the certificate. | IT department |
| Email address | The e-mail account used to contact your company. | info@yourcompany.com |
| Country | The country where your company is located. | United Kingdom |
| State/Region | The region or state where your company is located. | England |
| City | The city where your company is located. | London City |
| Public Key | The public key that will be inserted into the certificate. | The key is automatically generated. |
How is the CSR format?
CSR are generated in PEM format and encrypted in Base64, they always start with the line -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE REQUEST----- and end with -----END CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----. You can open the CSR with any plain text editor and you would see something like:
-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----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-----END CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----
How to generate a CSR
Generate a CSR is really easy, you can do it online and quick thanks to our Online CSR Generator. You will be able to create the CSR filling out a form that will appear, the CSR will be created instantly.
How to decode a CSR
Decode the content of a CSR is even easier, simply access our Online CSR Decoder tool and you will instantly see the contents of this CSR.