As digital operations become increasingly central to business success, the importance of secure and authenticated online communication continues to rise. TLS (Transport Layer Security) certificates have long served as a fundamental component of internet security, enabling encryption and trust for websites, applications, APIs, and digital systems.
However, the way we manage TLS certificates is about to change—and organizations must modernize their approach to stay ahead.
The Evolving TLS Landscape
Today, publicly trusted TLS certificates have a maximum validity period of 398 days. But industry leaders—including browser vendors and Certificate Authorities (CAs)—are pushing for shorter certificate lifespans to strengthen overall internet security.
By 2029, this initiative is expected to culminate in a maximum validity period of just 47 days for TLS certificates.
The rationale behind this change includes:
- Reducing risk in the event of key compromise
- Encouraging faster adoption of cryptographic updates
- Minimizing reliance on certificate revocation mechanisms such as CRLs and OCSP
While this shift improves security posture, it introduces considerable complexity for any organization operating at scale with numerous TLS-enabled assets.
The Challenge: Legacy Management Processes Will Not Scale
Reducing certificate validity to 47 days means that certificates will need to be renewed and deployed up to eight times per year for every TLS-enabled service.
Manual management practices—such as spreadsheets, calendar reminders, and manual installs—will not be able to keep up.
Organizations that continue relying on outdated workflows risk:
- Service outages caused by missed renewals
- Security gaps from misconfigured or forgotten certificates
- Compliance issues in regulated industries
- Inefficiencies and operational overhead for IT and DevOps teams
To remain resilient in this new environment, businesses must rethink their entire approach to certificate lifecycle management.
A Modern Solution: DigiCert Trust Lifecycle Manager
The transition to shorter certificate validity demands automation, visibility, and policy control. That’s where DigiCert Trust Lifecycle Manager (TLM) comes in.
Offered through WebNIC, TLM is a comprehensive platform that enables organizations to manage digital certificates at scale—securely and efficiently.
Key Features of Trust Lifecycle Manager:
- End-to-End Automation
Automates issuance, renewal, deployment, and revocation of TLS certificates across diverse systems and environments.
- Centralized Certificate Inventory
Gives a complete view of all digital certificates—TLS, code signing, and device identities—in one place.
- Policy Enforcement
Applies organization-wide rules for certificate validity, key strength, domain scope, and more.
- DevOps Integration
Seamlessly connects to DevOps pipelines and CI/CD workflows to ensure certificates are deployed as part of modern application delivery.
- Audit-Ready Logging and Reporting
Tracks certificate events and usage for governance, compliance, and operational insight.
This modern approach reduces the risk of outages, eliminates manual overhead, and ensures continuity in trust—even with highly compressed certificate lifespans.
Why Now Is the Time to Modernize
Though the 47-day policy is not yet in effect, organizations should begin preparing now. Updating legacy certificate management processes takes time—especially in enterprises with complex infrastructure and multiple stakeholders.
Recommended Next Steps:
- Conduct a full certificate inventory
Identify all TLS certificates, including internal systems and third-party services.
- Evaluate current renewal and deployment workflows
Pinpoint pain points, dependencies, and potential failure risks.
- Assess your team’s capacity for high-frequency renewals
Determine where automation is urgently needed.
- Pilot a modern solution like TLM
Start integrating automation into your existing operations before the timeline accelerates.
By acting now, businesses can avoid disruption and maintain control of their security posture.
Conclusion
TLS certificate management is entering a new era—one that demands speed, automation, and oversight. Manual approaches are quickly becoming obsolete, and the upcoming shift to 47-day certificates will only accelerate the need for transformation.
DigiCert Trust Lifecycle Manager, available through WebNIC, offers the tools needed to modernize, automate, and scale your certificate management with confidence.
Learn more about Trust Lifecycle Manager and how WebNIC can support your transition:
Learn More: https://www.webnic.cc/trust-lifecycle-manager/