One of the most important checks for Extended Validation SSL certificates is verifying Operational Existence. The CA needs to confirm that your company has been operational for three or more years.
Now, if your company has not been operational for three years, it’s still possible to have your Operational Existence verified—but it’s going to require a little more work on your part.
Proving Operational Existence
For a well-established company that has been around for longer than three years, proving Operational Existence is simple. In fact, much like with Organisational Authentication, there’s a chance you won’t have to provide any documentation at all and the CA will be able to verify your company’s Operational Existence just by checking an online database.
For Australia, that means the Australian Business Register or Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) .
For New Zealand, that means the New Zealand Companies Office Companies Register .
It’s extremely important that the details listed in the register match the details you put down on the Enrolment Form and CSR or the CA will run into trouble and issuance will be delayed.
If the CA can’t authenticate your organisation using available online resources, you’re not out of luck. There are two other ways to complete the EV Organisation Authentication requirement.
- Other Ways to Prove Operational Existence:
- Official Registration Documents
- Dun & Bradstreet
- Professional Opinion Letter
Official Registration Documents
If your company has been operating for more than three years you simply need to forward along documentation. This can be done with almost any document issued by your local government, for example, articles of incorporation, a charter license or a DBA statement.
Dun & Bradstreet
Dun and Bradstreet is a firm that provides credit reports on businesses. In Australia it also operates as Hoovers. Regardless of how long your company has been operating, if there is a Dun & Bradstreet credit report on your organisation the CAs can use it to verify Operational Existence.
D-U-N-S Number Information
Professional Opinion Letter
If you have a Professional Opinion Letter – a notarised letter from a lawyer or accountant vouching for your company’s legitimacy – you can use it to prove your operational existence.
- Example Comodo Legal Opinion Letter
- Example GeoTrust Legal Opinion Letter
- Example Symantec Legal Opinion Letter
- Example Thawte Legal Opinion Letter
Any of these options will satisfy the Operational Existence check and get you one step closer to being issued an Extended Validation SSL Certificate.