Apache: Install a Certificate (CentOS)

After your certificate request is approved, you can download your SSL and intermediate certificate from within the SSL application. For more information see Downloading Your SSL Certificate. Both of these files must be installed on your Web server.

These instructions do not apply to Ubuntu servers running Apache.

You may also download the intermediate certificate bundle from the repository.

To Install SSL and Intermediate Certificates

1. Copy your SSL certificate file and the certificate bundle file to your Apache server. You should already have a key file on the server from when you generated your certificate request.
2. Locate the following directives in either your httpd.conf or ssl.conf file (which files you use depends on how you configured Apache). If one or more of them are currently commented out, uncomment them by removing the # character from the beginning of the line. Set the values of these directives to the absolute path and filename of the appropriate file, based on your version of Apache:

   Apache Version < 2.4.8
   Directive	Path to Enter
   SSLCertificateFile	Certificate file path
   SSLCertificateKeyFile	Key file path
   SSLCertificateChainFile	Intermediate bundle path

   Apache Version 2.4.8+
   Directive	Path to Enter
   SSLCertificateFile	Certificate file path
   SSLCertificateKeyFile	Key file path
   SSLCACertificatePath	Intermediate bundle path

3. Save your configuration file and restart Apache.

To Restart Your Web Server

The procedure to restart Apache will depend heavily on your OS platform. On Unix-like platforms (Linux, Solaris, HP-UX, etc.) you will typically run a script to stop and restart the httpd daemon. On Windows, you will typically stop and restart the Apache service in the Services administrative console. Please consult your OS vendor's documentation or the Apache documentation.

Your SSL Certificate is installed. If you have problems, please see Test your SSL's configuration to help diagnose issues.