SSL certificates are issued with three levels of validation – the process that verifies the identity of those operating the website. DV stands for Domain Validation. DV certificates are the simplest and most commonly used level of SSL.
In order to be issued a DV certificate, it only needs to be verified that the person who wants to be issued the certificate has control of the domain. There is no thorough check of who is behind it, as there is for the higher security levels.
Since DV certificates do not require a background check of the applicant, it is possible for dishonest actors to use the certificates on their websites. DV certificates are therefore not recommended for online stores or other websites that handle sensitive data and require a high degree of trust.
For smaller operators and for websites that are not affiliated with a company, DV certificates can be a good solution to get started quickly at a lower cost. The ownership of the website for which the SSL certificate is applied for can be verified through email validation, file upload or similar.
Some examples of websites for which DV certificates may be relevant:
- Personal websites and blogs
- Small business sites that don’t handle sensitive data
- Test and development pages
The other validation levels offered are OV certificates for Organization Validation and EV certificates for Extended Validation. EV involves a strict approval process for the organization. OV requires some documentation from the organization, but less than for EV. All three levels provide the same encryption, but different levels of identity verification.
DV certificates are priced at the lowest level of SSL certificates, below OV and EV. The complexity of the approval process and waiting time is also lower. For DV certificates, the process can often be completed in a matter of minutes. The certificates must be renewed regularly.
