The lifecycle and renewal of certificates
We recommend that you contact the supplier of your organisation’s software system to discuss what needs to be done when a certificate is due for renewal. Because of the many differences between software products, the steps you need to take may vary.
Production and testing certificates are valid for two years, after which they must be renewed.
The certificate can tell you when it expires and stops being active. Your supplier will explain how you can check the period of validity.
If you are using the Tax Administration’s or the Incomes Register’s technical interfaces, you can see the certificates of your organisation when you sign in to the Incomes Register’s e-service. You need to have an authorisation for using the e-service.
Sign in to the Incomes Register’s e-service
The certificate’s technical contact person will receive an email reminder 60 days before the certificate expires. Keep the contact person’s information updated in the Incomes Register’s e-service.
You can renew a certificate at the earliest 60 days before its expiry. If the certificate expires, the technical interface can no longer be used. Each organisation is responsible for renewing their certificate.
The certificate is renewed in the certificate service’s API
You cannot renew your certificate in the Incomes Register's e-service. Some software products, but not all, contain an auto-renewal feature for completing the renewal process. Contact your supplier to check this.
Technically, to initiate renewal, send a service call to the certificate service’s API. There is a separate service for renewals (RenewCertificate). When you want to renew a certificate, do this:
- Create a new key pair.
- Generate a certificate signing request.
- Sign the service call using a key related to the valid certificate and send it.
Read more on the website of the Incomes Register:
Detailed instructions for renewing certificates in the certificate service’s technical documents
If you have technical problems with the renewal of the certificate, please contact us with the Incomes Register's observation report
If renewal of a certificate is not possible, request a new certificate
If your organisation’s certificate cannot be renewed using your software or if the stage is reached when the certificate expires, request a new certificate for your organisation in the Incomes Register’s e-service.
For instructions, visit the website of the Incomes Register:
Finally, retrieve your new certificate using the certificate service’s API. Retrieval requires technical skills.