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Code Signing Support

You’ve purchased a code signing certificate — now what? Follow these four easy code signing support steps to begin signing your software. Have more questions? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for Code Signing page.

NOTE: Starting in 2023, all code signing certificates and private keys must be installed and stored on hardware security tokens or hardware security modules (HSMs). According to the CA/Browser Forum’s (CA/B Forum) Code Signing Baseline Requirements, these devices must be certified to meet or exceed FIPS 140-2 Level 2 or Common Criteria EAL 4+.

The information on this page walks you through the most common method for getting a code signing certificate—the certificate authority ships the certificate and key to you on a secure USB token. If you need to use an alternate workflow, such as using a hardware security token you already own or a cloud-based hardware security module (HSM), contact our Support team and we can help.

STEP 1. Complete the Certificate Enrollment Form

Go to your order detail page in My Account and follow the steps to start the certificate issuance process. With the standard provisioning process, you don’t need to generate a certificate signing request (CSR) because the Certificate Authority (CA) handles that step for you.

STEP 2.  Validate Your Certificate

Code signing certificates require a strict validation process in order to be trusted by operating systems and other platforms (such as Microsoft Windows). Select the appropriate validation guide below (based on your purchase) to learn how to validate your certificate:

• Comodo OV Validation Guide
• DigiCert OV Validation Guide
• Sectigo OV Validation Guide
• Comodo EV Validation Guide
• DigiCert EV Validation Guide
• Sectigo EV Validation Guide

STEP 3. Receive & Set Up Your CA-Issued Secure Token

With the default provisioning method, you’ll receive your OV or EV certificate and key, shipped to you on a secure hardware token. To use it for code signing, you’ll first need to install the hardware token’s client software on your computer and connect with it to activate the token. You will receive setup instructions with your device in the mail.

STEP 4. Sign Your Code

Signing code using an OV or EV certificate requires you to use the hardware token and associated credentials. This will be a unique password set up during Step 3. You’ll then be able to use your preferred tool (such as SignTool) to sign your executable files:

• How to Sign an EXE or Application in 5 Steps
• What Is Microsoft Signtool & How Can I Use It to Sign Executables?
• How to Sign an EXE or DLL in Visual Studio 2022 Using SignTool