A TLS certificate is valid for a limited time, and that time is set when it is issued. It is much shorter than it used to be.
Many certificates are valid for 90 days, as with Let's Encrypt. Others are issued for longer, but never for the multi-year periods that were common in the past.
A shorter lifetime limits the damage if a key is stolen, and it pushes people to automate renewal. The browser industry has been shortening the maximum allowed lifetime over time.
With short lifetimes, a manual yearly reminder is no longer enough for many certificates. Automated renewal, with a check that it works, becomes the normal way.
The end date is part of the certificate itself, so you can read it for any site. A list of all your certificates and their end dates shows which ones are due soon.
SSL Domain Detective lists the end dates of your certificates, so a change in lifetime does not catch you out. Open SSL Domain Detective
SSL Domain Detective is now available on the App Store.
Last reviewed: 2026-11-02
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