Extended Validation SSL Certificates in United States

Your web browser will display a green address bar to customers visiting your website that you have secured by a valid EV SSL Certificate. When they visit your business page via https, they will see that the web/mobile browser will turn the address bar green. On the righthand side of the address bar, there is a box that displays you’re a green padlock, your legal company name and the authority which issued the EV Certificate.

Extended validation process has more rigid requirements. When the Certification Authority has received all necessary documentation, the EV validation process may take about 4 to 5 business days.

There are no general worldwide standards that people accept to verify an organizational information. Each country has a different standards/method of confirming a business. While installing an SSL certificate, every website gets the green padlock. It’s hard to tell which organization has been checked for its validity. Doubt has come up in users’ minds on how secure is the website that has the padlock icon.

Users can no longer trust conducting a transaction on sites with simply a padlock because DV SSL doesn’t confirm their authenticity. Extended Validation SSL Certificates validate the business and show the green address bar with OV SSLs do not. Customers are likely to transact businesses that secure themselves with EV SSL as the business name is shown in green.

• Legal Status. The legal status of an organization is verified by requesting legal documents from the government. Some sole proprietors may qualify to get the EV SSL; others do not.
• Physical Existence. The company’s physical existence must be confirmed through information from a third party database.
• Operational Existence. Registration of business for more than three years will prove a business’ operational existence. If a company is less than three years old, the organization must confirm its presence with a third party database. A bank letter can also confirm the organization’s existence by verifying its demand deposit account.
• Phone Number. The provided phone numbers will be confirmed by a third party database. The phone number can also be verified through an online source that sources data from a telecommunications provider.
• Domain Ownership. A company’s domain ownership is verified through the domain registrar. Privacy on domains must proceed only after the validation process is complete.
• Name, Title, and Authority of Contract Signer. A contract signer’s name should be on the registration documents. For further validation (if needed), the CA calls the HR or another employee within the organization to confirm the name and title of the contract signer.
• Name, Title, and Authority of Certificate Approver/Requester. A phone call is made to either the HR or the contract signer to verify the Certificate Approver/Requesters.
• Signature/Approval. The signature is verified through a phone call to the contract signer.

Due to the level of verification demanded by the CA/Browser Forum, companies must be registered with an approved certification agency in their jurisdiction. Organizations, partnerships, associations, government agencies and some sole proprietorships can apply. Any such organizations that have valid registration documents, shop license or equivalent documents may apply. Individuals such as personal websites, unregistered organizations are not eligible for EV SSL certificates.