Free SSL Certificates Now Provided By DNS Texas

Free SSL Certificates Now Provided By DNS Texas

Effective: November 2026

What Changed

DNS Texas is moving from our current SSL provider to free SSL certificates issued by Let’s Encrypt. All domains hosted with DNS Texas will receive a free SSL certificate. This change is being made for the benefit of our customers by removing the cost of SSL while continuing to keep sites secured.

This free offering covers regular (single-domain) SSL certificates only. It does not include wildcard certificates. A regular SSL certificate secures one specific domain name (for example: example.com and www.example.com). A wildcard certificate secures a domain and all of its subdomains (for example: something.example.com, and any other sub domains under example.com, like fileserver.example.com). Wildcard certificates require additional validation and are not included in the free Let’s Encrypt automation DNS Texas is providing at this time.

Why SSL Matters

An SSL certificate encrypts the connection between a visitor’s browser and your website. Without a valid SSL certificate, modern browsers display a prominent warning. In Google Chrome, for example, the address bar shows a red “Not secure” warning and visitors may see a full-page caution before they can proceed. These warnings reduce trust and can prevent people from using your site. A valid SSL certificate removes the warning and shows the padlock that visitors expect.

Why the Change

Let’s Encrypt is a widely trusted certificate authority that provides free SSL certificates. This removes the cost of SSL for customers while keeping sites secured. The certificates are shorter-lived than those from our current provider, which allows them to be issued and renewed automatically with less manual work. Most modern browsers fully support Let’s Encrypt certificates.

Certificate Expiration

SSL certificates used to have a maximum validity of about 365–398 days. Industry rules reduced that to 200 days in March 2026 (the current maximum from our existing SSL provider). The limit drops further to 100 days in March 2027 and to 47 days in March 2029. Let’s Encrypt is moving even sooner: its certificates are currently 90 days, will drop to 64 days in February 2027, and to 45 days in 2028. Shorter lifetimes are being required so that a compromised or mis-issued certificate expires more quickly and does not stay trusted for a long time. Automated renewal makes these shorter certificates practical, because the certificate is replaced before it expires without any action from the site owner. DNS Texas manages the renewal process, so there is no need to manually request or install new certificates.

What Happens to Existing Certificates

• Sites that did not previously have an SSL certificate will receive a free Let’s Encrypt certificate in the coming days at no charge.
• Sites that already have a renewed certificate from our current SSL provider will continue using that certificate until it expires. The longest remaining validity on those certificates is 200 days. At the next renewal, the site will move to the free Let’s Encrypt certificate.

No Action Required

DNS Texas is handling the issuance and renewal of these free SSL certificates automatically for all hosted domains, effective November 2026. There is no cost and there are no steps required on your part for the standard single-domain certificates. If you have questions about a specific domain or certificate, contact [DNS Texas Support].