# Multi-year SSL after the 200-day limit: still worth buying?

> Since 15 March 2026 no TLS certificate lasts more than 200 days. What a multi-year SSL subscription means now, verified per-year prices and prepaying risks.

Source: https://ssl.sh/compare/multi-year-ssl-after-200-days/
Last updated: 2026-11-10

**A multi-year SSL certificate no longer exists as a single certificate**: since 15 March 2026 no publicly trusted TLS certificate may last more than 200 days. A "2-year" or "5-year" plan is a prepaid subscription with repeated reissues. It is worth buying for the lower yearly price only if reinstalling the certificate is automated or cheap for you.

## The new schedule

The CA/Browser Forum limit falls to 100 days on 15 March 2027 and 47 days on 15 March 2029, so by 2029 a site needs at least 8 certificates a year.

| From | Maximum validity | Certificates per year (at least) |
|---|---|---|
| 15 March 2026 | 200 days | 2 |
| 15 March 2027 | 100 days | 4 |
| 15 March 2029 | 47 days | 8 |

Domain validation reuse shrinks along the same path and reaches 10 days in 2029, so most reissues will also require a new domain check. Use the [validity calculator](https://ssl.sh/tools/validity-calculator/) to see the maximum lifetime for a given issue date, and the [validity timeline](https://ssl.sh/timeline/certificate-validity/) for background.

## Do multi-year subscriptions cost less?

Often, but not always. Per-year prices verified on 10 November 2026:

| Product | 1 year | Longest term, per year |
|---|---|---|
| [Namecheap Standard SSL](https://ssl.sh/certificates/namecheap-standard-ssl/) | $11.00 | $5.99 (5 years) |
| [Namecheap EV SSL](https://ssl.sh/certificates/namecheap-ev-ssl/) | $76.99 | $45.99 (5 years) |
| [SSL.com Basic SSL](https://ssl.sh/certificates/ssl-com-basic/) | $49.00 | $36.75 (5 years) |
| [Sectigo DV SSL](https://ssl.sh/certificates/sectigo-dv-ssl/) at The SSL Store | $75.00 | $60.00 (5 years) |
| [SSL.com EV Code Signing](https://ssl.sh/certificates/ssl-com-ev-code-signing/) | $349.00 | $149.00 (5 years) |

Trustico, by contrast, charged exactly twice the 12-month price for 24 months on every product we checked, so a longer term there only saves you a renewal step.

## Risks of prepaying

Prepaying trades a lower price for more installs and exposure to seller changes:

- **More installs, not fewer.** A 5-year subscription bought in late 2026 spans roughly 30 certificates as the limits tighten. If each one is installed by hand, the time cost outweighs the saving.
- **Seller or CA changes.** Namecheap switched its issuing CA from Sectigo to SSL.com on 11 July 2026; existing certificates kept working, and unused ones were replaced with equivalent products. Other changes, such as a browser distrusting a CA, can force early replacement.
- **Validation data expires.** OV and EV organization details must be re-verified periodically even within a subscription.

## Who should buy multi-year

Buy multi-year if you need a paid certificate anyway (OV, EV, a specific brand), your server can fetch reissued certificates automatically (ideally through ACME, which several commercial CAs support), and you want to lock in a lower yearly price. If you are choosing between a paid DV subscription and a free ACME certificate, the free one with automation is usually simpler; see [free vs paid SSL](https://ssl.sh/compare/free-vs-paid-ssl/).