What is a CA repository?
A Certifying Authority publishes key trust information in a public repository so that anyone can check certificates it has issued.
What you'll find in one
- CA certificates, so software can build the chain of trust
- Certificate Revocation Lists (CRLs) of certificates that are no longer valid
- OCSP services for real-time status checks
- The Certification Practice Statement (CPS) describing how the CA operates
- Certificate policies and subscriber agreements
Why it matters
When someone verifies your digital signature, their software checks these sources to confirm your certificate was valid. If the repository can't be reached, verification can fail.
Coming soon
Guides to reading a CPS and checking certificate status yourself.