Fix SSL Certificate Expired — Renew & Prevent Downtime

Direct answer

An expired SSL certificate causes browsers to reject HTTPS connections with ERR_CERT_DATE_INVALID. Renew the certificate immediately using certbot renew or your CA dashboard, then install it on the web server and configure automated renewal.

Structured breakdown

Cause

An expired SSL certificate causes browsers to block access to your site. Renew the certificate immediately through your CA or Let's Encrypt, then set up auto-renewal to prevent recurrence.

Fix

  • Renew the certificate immediately via your CA dashboard or certbot renew
  • Install the renewed certificate on your web server and restart the service
  • Set up auto-renewal with certbot or AWS Certificate Manager

Outcome

Certificate is renewed, HTTPS connections work, and auto-renewal prevents future expiration.

Common causes

  • Certificate renewal was not automated
  • Auto-renewal process failed silently
  • DNS validation records were removed or changed
  • Renewal emails went to an unmonitored inbox
  • Certificate manager service had permissions issues

Fix steps

  1. 1

    Renew the certificate immediately via your CA dashboard or certbot renew

  2. 2

    Install the renewed certificate on your web server and restart the service

  3. 3

    Set up auto-renewal with certbot or AWS Certificate Manager

  4. 4

    Add monitoring alerts for certificates expiring within 30 days

  5. 5

    Verify DNS validation records are in place for domain-validated certificates

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Frequently asked questions

Related technical context

These examples show the commands, logs, and configuration patterns most often used to verify this issue.

Command examples

  • certbot renew --dry-run
  • openssl s_client -connect example.com:443 -servername example.com | openssl x509 -noout -dates
  • certbot certificates

Log snippet

NET::ERR_CERT_DATE_INVALID
SSL certificate problem: certificate has expired
Verify return code: 10 (certificate has expired)

Config snippet

# Crontab for auto-renewal
0 0 1 * * certbot renew --quiet --post-hook "systemctl reload nginx"