How to check when an SSL certificate expires

Deze inhoud is in het Engels.

An SSL certificate is the digital proof that lets visitors connect to your website over HTTPS. When it expires, browsers show a warning page that tells visitors the site may not be trustworthy, and many people simply leave. The date is easy to check and easy to forget. This guide shows how to find the expiry date with the SSL checker on Valtrinity, explains how certificate lifetimes have changed and suggests a simple routine so renewal never comes as a surprise.

Door Valtrinity. Bijgewerkt op 18 oktober 2026.

What an SSL certificate does

A certificate ties your domain name to a cryptographic key, and it is issued by a certificate authority that has checked that you control the domain. Browsers trust the certificate because it chains back to an authority they already recognise. When the certificate is valid, visitors see the padlock and the connection is encrypted.

Every certificate has a start date and an expiry date. After the expiry date, the browser no longer trusts the certificate, and most visitors will see a full-page warning before they can reach the site.

• A certificate is tied to a domain name.
• It has a valid-from date and a valid-until date.
• After it expires, browsers warn visitors.

How long certificates last

Certificates issued by public authorities are limited to 398 days. Many are now issued for around 90 days and renewed automatically by the hosting platform or certificate service. Automatic renewal is convenient, but it is not guaranteed to work forever. A changed DNS record, a removed validation file or a hosting change can stop it quietly, which is why it is worth checking the expiry date yourself rather than assuming.

Shorter lifetimes mean renewal happens more often, so the process needs to be reliable. A certificate that renews every 90 days can fail unnoticed for several renewal cycles if nobody looks at it.

• Public certificates are limited to 398 days.
• Many are around 90 days and renew automatically.
• Automatic renewal can stop working silently.

Check the expiry date with the SSL checker

Open the SSL checker on Valtrinity and type your domain name, such as example.co.uk, without https:// in front of it. The result shows the certificate details, including the date it was issued and the date it expires. Note the expiry date and the number of days remaining.

If the checker reports the certificate as already expired, visitors are seeing a warning now. Renew it straight away, then check the site again on a phone and on a computer to confirm the warning has gone.

• Enter the bare domain name.
• Note the expiry date and days remaining.
• Check again after any renewal.

Worked example: counting the days

Suppose the checker shows that your certificate expires on 1 December 2026, and today is 15 October 2026. From 15 October to 15 November is 31 days, and from 15 November to 1 December is a further 16 days. That gives 47 days in total. Forty-seven days is enough time to renew calmly, but only if you act now rather than in the last week.

If you use a hosting platform that renews automatically, look in its settings to confirm renewal is switched on, and then check the expiry date again after the renewal window has passed. A renewal that should have happened is the case you most need to catch.

• Count days carefully when you plan renewal.
• Confirm automatic renewal is enabled in your host settings.
• Recheck after the renewal window has passed.

Set alerts so you are not relying on memory

Calendar reminders are easy to set but easy to dismiss. A better habit is an automatic alert that tells you before the date arrives. The SSL and domain expiry alerts on Valtrinity send emails 30, 14, 7 and 1 days before an SSL certificate or domain expires. This is part of the Unlimited plan.

Whatever method you choose, agree who receives the alert. If the person who set up the site leaves, the alert should still go to someone who can act on it.

• Set alerts for 30, 14, 7 and 1 days before expiry.
• Send alerts to a shared inbox, not one person.
• Test the alert by checking the date after the first one arrives.

When a warning appears on your site

If visitors report a warning, check the certificate first. Look at the expiry date, then check whether the domain name on the certificate matches the address visitors type. A certificate for www.example.co.uk does not cover example.co.uk unless it lists both names. Mismatches are a common cause of warnings that look like expiry problems.

• Check the expiry date first.
• Check that both the bare and www names are covered.
• Retest from a different device after any fix.

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