Changes to Bonus Incentive Days on SSL Certificate Orders

Trustico® previously offered bonus incentive days on SSL Certificate orders as a reward for customers who renewed early. This feature has been discontinued and is no longer available on any new or existing SSL Certificate orders. This page explains what has changed and why.

What Were Bonus Incentive Days?

In the past, when a customer purchased a new SSL Certificate or renewed an existing one, the Trustico® ordering system could automatically add a small number of bonus days to the SSL Certificate validity period at no extra cost.

For renewal orders, the number of bonus days varied depending on how far in advance of expiration the customer renewed. Customers who renewed earlier received more bonus days than those who renewed closer to their expiration date.

This feature was designed as a courtesy incentive to encourage timely renewals and reward customer loyalty.

Why Bonus Incentive Days Have Been Discontinued

Bonus incentive days were a courtesy offered by Trustico® and were never a guaranteed entitlement. They were not part of any SSL Certificate license agreement or pricing structure. The decision to discontinue this feature reflects a standard business decision.

Additionally, the SSL Certificate industry has undergone a significant change to maximum validity periods. From March 15, 2026, the CA/Browser Forum mandates that SSL Certificates can have a maximum validity of 200 days. This maximum will reduce further to 100 days in 2027 and 47 days by 2029.

Under these new industry rules, the validity period of an SSL Certificate is strictly capped. It is no longer possible to extend the validity of an individual SSL Certificate beyond the maximum allowed, regardless of any incentive or bonus days that might have previously been applied. Discover SSL Certificate Validity Period Changes 🔗

How SSL Certificate Licensing Works Now

When you purchase an SSL Certificate from Trustico® you are purchasing a license for a set period, such as 1 year, 2 years, or longer. Your license entitles you to have a valid SSL Certificate installed throughout that period and to reissue your SSL Certificate as often as needed at no additional cost.

The maximum validity that can be embedded within any individual SSL Certificate is now 200 days. This means that during a multi-year license, you will need to reissue your SSL Certificate before each 200-day validity period expires to maintain continuous protection.

Each reissue is free of charge and can be completed through the tracking system at any time during your active license period. Learn About Managing Short SSL Certificate Validity 🔗

Your license period, which is the total duration of coverage you purchased, has not changed. The only difference is that the individual SSL Certificate installed on your server must be reissued more frequently due to the shorter validity periods mandated by the industry.

What This Means for Your SSL Certificate

If you are an existing Trustico® customer with an active SSL Certificate license, your license remains fully valid for the entire period you purchased. You are entitled to reissue your SSL Certificate as many times as needed within your license period.

Each reissue will provide the maximum validity available based on industry rules and the time remaining on your license.

The removal of bonus incentive days does not reduce your purchased license period, change the number of reissues available to you, or affect the validity of any SSL Certificate that has already been issued. Learn About SSL Certificate Tracking and Management 🔗

Automating SSL Certificate Management

As validity periods continue to shorten, Trustico® offers Certificate as a Service (CaaS) as a fully automated solution for SSL Certificate management. With Certificate as a Service (CaaS), an Automatic Certificate Management Environment (ACME) client installed on your server handles all SSL Certificate reissues automatically. Explore Automated SSL Certificate Management with Certificate as a Service (CaaS) 🔗

For customers who prefer to manage their SSL Certificates manually, the tracking system provides a straightforward way to reissue at any time during your license period.

Trustico® is also developing additional tools including Application Programming Interface (API) access and expiry notification services to help customers stay ahead of upcoming reissue dates. Learn About How to Reissue Your SSL Certificate 🔗