Troubleshooting & Support

This guide covers common issues and provides steps you can take to resolve them. If your issue persists, please follow the instructions to contact our support team.

Common Issues

My DNS Validation Is Failing

This is the most common issue new users face. The problem is almost always related to a typo in the DNS record or insufficient time for the record to propagate across the internet.

What to check:

1. Check the Host/Name: Ensure the Host or Name value in your DNS settings exactly matches the value provided in the setup portal (e.g., app, www, or blog).
2. Check the Value/Target: The target value must be copied and pasted exactly as provided (e.g., customer-abc.vanitycert-cdn.com). Even a single missing character will cause validation to fail.
3. Wait for Propagation: It can take up to 24 hours for new DNS records to propagate. Wait a few minutes and try clicking "Revalidate DNS" again.
4. Try a DNS Lookup Tool: Use a tool like What's My DNS to verify that the CNAME record is active and pointing to the correct value.

My Certificate Renewal Is Failing

If an automated certificate renewal fails, it is often due to an issue with the domain itself.

What to check:

• DNS records have changed. Have you recently modified the CNAME record for this domain? The record must remain in place for the renewal process to succeed.
• The domain has expired. Has the domain itself expired with your registrar? The domain must be active for the renewal to work.
• Contact Support. If your DNS records are correct and the domain is active, a failure could be due to a technical issue. Please contact support.

API Authentication Errors

If you are using our API, you might encounter these common errors:

• 401 Unauthorized: Your API key is either missing, incorrect, or inactive. Please check that you are using a valid API key that has not been revoked.
• 403 Forbidden: Your API key is valid, but the user role associated with it does not have the necessary permissions to access this specific endpoint. For example, a Developer role cannot access billing information.

How to Contact Support

If you have a problem that you cannot solve using the guides above, please contact our support team.

Email: support@vanitycert.com

When you contact support, please include the following information to help us resolve your issue as quickly as possible:

• Your organization's name.
• The email address of the user experiencing the issue.
• A detailed description of the problem, including the steps you have taken to resolve it.
• Any relevant domain names or API key IDs.