EV Certificate Tips

Here are some general tips for taking care of the validation process (outside of verifying that you control the domain [domain-control-validation or DCV]).

EV Validation generally consists of verifying the following information:

• The organization's legal name
• That the organization is in good standing
• The organization's tradename or "Doing Business As" (DBA) name, if used
• That the organization is currently operating
• Address where business operations are conducted
• The organization's main business telephone number
• The organization has control of the domain(s) listed on the certificate (DCV)

When submitting validation information for EV certificates, here's some things you can do to make the process go smoothly:

• Use the legally registered name of the organization listed on the business' documents. Don't list the trade name/DBA as the organization's legal name
• You can use a trade name on the certificate along with the legal name. Any DBA or trade names used on the certificate must be registered by a governmental agency
• Use the physical address where the organization conducts business. Do not use PO Box, mail stop/forwarding, "care of", virtual office address or a registered agent address

• Sole-proprietorships (or similar) and some types of partnerships require a principal individual in the organization to be verified
• All EV certificates must have and use the legal name of the organization. If a tradename/DBA is verified, the certificate will be listed with the tradename and legal name similar to this format; tradename (legal name)
• In the case of a sole-trader, the legal name is the owner or principal name
• No certificate can be issued to the tradename/ DBA name only – the organization's legal name must be used
• Various ndustry guidelines limit the type of third-party databases that can be used for validation. A site controlled by the applicant can not be used for validation