Request a Free SSL Certificate from Tencent Cloud

Tencent Cloud offers a free certificate application workflow. This historical guide described quotas of 50 certificates for personal accounts and 10 for business accounts, with one-year validity. These figures are not current guarantees; check the console for the available quota, certificate lifetime, and eligibility. The following sections explain the application, validation, download, and deployment workflow.

1. Tencent Cloud Free Certificates

1. Certificate features

Free allowance described in the original guide:

• Historical personal-account quota described in this article: Up to 50 certificates; check the current console.
• Historical business-account quota described in this article: Up to 10 certificates; check the current console.
• Domain-validated (DV) certificates
• Single-domain certificates only
• One-year validity in the original offering; check current validity

Limitations of the offering described here:

• No wildcard certificates
• No multi-domain certificates
• No automatic renewal
• No automatic deployment

Suitable for:

• Personal websites and blogs
• Small business websites
• Websites using Tencent Cloud
• Sites needing only single-domain certificates

2. Advantages

• ✅ Free of charge
• ✅ A free certificate option, subject to account eligibility and available quota
• ✅ Straightforward application process
• ✅ Chinese-language interface and support
• ✅ Integration with Tencent Cloud services

2. Before applying

1. Tencent Cloud Account

You need a Tencent Cloud account. To create one:

• Visit the Tencent Cloud website.
• Register and complete the required identity verification

2. Domain preparation

• Make sure you control the domain
• Complete the required domain filing if using mainland China hosting
• Ensure DNS resolves correctly

3. Request a free certificate

1. Open certificate management

1. Sign in to the Tencent Cloud console.
2. Find "SSL Certificates" in the product menu.
3. Alternatively, open https://console.cloud.tencent.com/ssl.

2. Request a Free Certificate

1. Open "My Certificates".
2. Select the free certificate application option.
3. Alternatively, open the free certificates tab.
4. Start a free certificate application.

3. Enter certificate details

Certificate domain:

• Enter the domain to certify
• For example, www.example.com or example.com
• Note that www.example.com and example.com are different hostnames

Domain validation methods:

• Automatic DNS validation (recommended where available)
• Manual DNS validation
• File validation

4. Choose a validation method

Automatic DNS validation (recommended where available):

• If DNS is managed by Tencent Cloud DNSPod, automatic validation may be available.
• The system creates the validation records automatically
• The records are removed after validation

Manual DNS validation:

• If DNS is managed elsewhere, add the validation record manually.
• The system displays the required TXT record
• Add the TXT record with your DNS provider

File validation:

• Create a validation file on the web server
• The system displays the required path and contents
• Place the file on the server

5. Complete domain validation

Automatic DNS validation:

1. Select automatic DNS validation
2. The system adds the DNS records
3. Wait for validation, usually a few minutes

Manual DNS validation:

1. Select manual DNS validation
2. View the required TXT record
3. Add it with your DNS provider
4. Wait for DNS propagation, from a few minutes to several hours
5. Click Verify

File validation:

1. Select file validation
2. View the required file path and contents
3. Create the file on your server
4. Make sure it is accessible over HTTP
5. Click Verify

6. Wait for issuance

After validation succeeds, certificate issuance begins:

• This may take a few minutes to several hours
• Check the status in the certificate list
• A notification is sent when issuance succeeds

4. Download and install

1. Download the certificate

After issuance:

1. Open "My Certificates".
2. Locate the issued certificate
3. Click Download
4. Select the server type, such as Nginx, Apache, IIS, or Tomcat.
5. Download the certificate files

2. Certificate files

The download typically contains:

• Certificate file (.crt or .pem): The server certificate
• Private key file (.key): the private key
• Chain file (.ca-bundle or .chain.crt): Intermediate CA certificates

3. Install on the server

NGINX configuration:

server {
    listen 443 ssl;
    server_name example.com;
    
    ssl_certificate /path/to/cert.crt;
    ssl_certificate_key /path/to/private.key;
    ssl_trusted_certificate /path/to/chain.crt;
    
    # Add the remaining site configuration here.
}

Apache configuration:

<VirtualHost *:443>
    ServerName example.com
    SSLEngine on
    
    SSLCertificateFile /path/to/cert.crt
    SSLCertificateKeyFile /path/to/private.key
    SSLCertificateChainFile /path/to/chain.crt
</VirtualHost>

5. Deploy to Tencent Cloud Services

1. CDN

For Tencent Cloud CDN:

1. Open the CDN console
2. Select the target domain
3. Open HTTPS configuration
4. Select the option to use your own certificate.
5. Upload the certificate and private key.
6. Enable HTTPS.

2. Deploy to CLB

For Tencent Cloud Load Balancer:

1. Open the CLB console.
2. Select the listener to configure.
3. Configure an HTTPS listener.
4. Select the option to use your own certificate.
5. Upload the certificate and private key.
6. Enable HTTPS.

3. Deploy from the Certificate List

To deploy a certificate from the Tencent Cloud certificate console:

1. Open the SSL certificate console.
2. Locate the issued certificate
3. Click "Deploy".
4. Select the target service.
5. Complete deployment.

6. Certificate renewal

1. Expiration reminders

Configure expiration reminders in Tencent Cloud where available:

• Email
• SMS, if enabled
• Console notifications

2. Renew the certificate

Before expiration, request a replacement:

1. Repeat the issuance procedure above
2. Download the new certificate
3. Install it on the server
4. Redeploy the renewed certificate to any Tencent Cloud services that use it.

3. Considerations

• The workflow described here does not renew automatically
• Request and deploy replacements manually
• Plan renewal 1–2 weeks before expiration
• Complete deployment before the old certificate expires

7. Common issues

1. Issuance fails

Possible causes:

• Domain validation failed
• DNS changes have not propagated
• Validation timed out
• The free certificate quota has been exhausted.

Resolution:

• Verify the DNS records
• Wait for propagation
• Retry validation
• Check your available free certificate quota.

2. Download fails

Possible causes:

• Issuance has not completed successfully
• Network problems

Resolution:

• Inspect the certificate
• Retry the download
• Check network connectivity

3. Free quota exhausted

Resolution:

• Check the personal-account quota and replenishment policy in the console; deleting a certificate may not restore the quota.
• Check the business-account quota and replenishment policy in the console; deleting a certificate may not restore the quota.
• Purchase a certificate
• Use another free certificate service, such as Let's Encrypt through CertOne

8. Comparison with CertOne

1. Feature comparison

Feature	Tencent Cloud Free Certificates	CertOne
Free issuance quota	Subject to the current account quota	Subject to CA rate limits and service policies
Domain coverage	Single domain	Single domain, multi-domain, wildcard
Certificate validity	Originally 1 year; check current terms	90 days in this guide
Automatic renewal	❌	✅
Automatic deployment	❌	✅
Certificate monitoring	❌	✅
Wildcard certificates	❌	✅ Free issuance

2. Use cases

Tencent Cloud free certificates may suit:

• Websites using Tencent Cloud
• Need only single-domain certificates
• Can manage certificates manually
• Personal users with an available free certificate quota

CertOne suits users who:

• Need multi-domain or wildcard certificates
• Need automated management
• Need automated deployment and monitoring
• Need free issuance without a platform quota, subject to CA rate limits

Best practices

1. Certificate management

• Record certificate expiration dates
• Set reminders and renew early
• Store private keys securely
• Check certificate status regularly
• Plan certificate requests around the available quota.

2. Security recommendations

• Protect private keys with strong passwords where supported
• Set appropriate file permissions
• Back up certificates and private keys regularly
• Never upload private keys to public locations

3. Performance optimization

• Use HTTP/2
• Enable OCSP stapling
• Configure appropriate TLS versions
• Use strong cipher suites

Conclusion

Tencent Cloud's free certificate workflow can be convenient for users of its cloud services. Check the current console for eligibility, quotas, validity periods, and supported domain types before requesting a certificate.

CertOne supports multi-domain and wildcard issuance, automatic renewal, deployment, and monitoring. It does not impose a platform issuance quota, although CA limits and service credit charges still apply.

Automate your certificates with CertOne ↗

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