# SC-092: Precertificate Signing CAs are retired

> SC-092 stops CAs from using dedicated Precertificate Signing CAs for Certificate Transparency from 2026-03-15, simplifying chains for CT logs and monitors.

Source: https://ssl.sh/ballots/sc-092/
Last updated: 2026-11-10

SC-092 removes an optional and rarely used piece of [Certificate Transparency](https://ssl.sh/glossary/certificate-transparency/): the Precertificate Signing CA. Since 2026-03-15, precertificates that are logged to CT must be signed directly by the issuing CA, not by a separate intermediate dedicated to that job.

## What changed

SC-092 sunsets the BR profile for Precertificate Signing CAs. Before a certificate is issued, the CA logs a "precertificate" to CT logs to obtain [SCTs](https://ssl.sh/glossary/sct/). RFC 6962 allowed an extra intermediate, technically constrained to sign only precertificates, and [SC-062v2](https://ssl.sh/ballots/sc-062/) added a BR profile for it. The ballot gives three reasons: such CAs force every CT log and monitor to support a second, different chain-building logic; adoption stayed low; and the extra complexity contributed to a real operational failure that ended with a CT log being rejected. RFC 9162, CT version 2.0, had already deprecated the mechanism.

## Effective dates

The BR change took effect on 2025-11-04. From 2026-03-15 CAs must not use Precertificate Signing CAs to issue precertificates and must not issue certificates with the corresponding profile.

## Who is affected

SC-092 affects the few CAs that used this design, CT log operators and certificate monitors. Website owners see no difference: certificates still carry SCTs and browsers check CT as before.

## What to do

Site operators need to do nothing. If you run CT monitoring or a [CT search tool](https://ssl.sh/tools/ct-search/), you can expect precertificates issued after 2026-03-15 to chain directly to the issuing CA.


| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Ballot | SC-092 |
| Status | Passed |
| Adopted | 2025-10-03 |
| Effective | 2025-11-04 |
| BR version | 2.1.8 |
| Official page | https://cabforum.org/2025/09/02/ballot-sc-092-sunset-use-of-precertificate-signing-cas/ |