Obtaining a Client Certificate

You can obtain a client certificate from a trustworthy, third-party organization, called a certification authority. Before issuing a certificate, the authority may need to verify your identity. The identification information required by the authority can vary depending on the type of certificate you want to obtain. How these certificates are obtained and implemented depends upon the browser being used. The procedures in this topic are for Internet Explorer version 3.0 and later, only. For client certificate procedures for other browsers, see the browser documentation.

To obtain a client certificate

Choose a certification authority. Consider the following issues when choosing a certification authority:

Is the certification authority a well known and trusted organization?
What type of information will the authority require from you in order to verify your identity? Most certification authorities will require you to provide detailed identification information, such as your name, address, organization name, and e-mail address.
Does the authority have a Web site that you can use to request your client certificate?
Are the certificates issued compatible with the browser and server being used?

For a list of certification authorities offering certificate issuing services for Internet Information Services, see Obtaining a Server Certificate.

Refer to specific ordering instructions provided by the certification authority.
Order your certificate. Some client certificates are valid only for the computer and Web browser used to generate the certificate request: for these be sure to make the online request from the computer where you intend to install the certificate.
When you receive your client certificate, use your Web browser's security features to install the certificate. (Some Web browsers may refer to client certificates as browser or personal certificates.)