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    Certificate Management Service:Domain pre-authorization

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    Certificate Management Service:Domain pre-authorization

    Last Updated:Jun 23, 2026

    Domain pre-authorization lets you add a one-time CNAME record so that Alibaba Cloud can automatically verify domain ownership when you apply for SSL certificates from supported brands. This eliminates repetitive DNS configuration and speeds up certificate issuance.

    Usage notes

    Before you begin, make sure you meet the following requirements.

    • Supported certificate brands:

      Only SSL certificates from DigiCert are supported.

    • DNS provider compatibility:

      Domains that use West.cn as their DNS provider are not supported.

    Configure domain pre-authorization

    Step 1: Add a domain for pre-authorization

    1. Go to the Domain Pre-authorization page and click Add Domain Name.

    2. In the Add Domain Name panel, enter the Domains, select a Supported Brand and an Alert Contact, and then click OK.

      • You can enter multiple domains separated by commas (,). Public IP addresses are not supported.

      • If Alibaba Cloud detects that a CNAME record has become invalid, it sends a notification to the selected contact.

    Step 2: Authorize the domain

    1. On the Domain Pre-Verification Management page, find your domain in the list and copy the hostname and record value.

      image

    2. Add a CNAME record in your DNS provider's console.

      The following steps use Alibaba Cloud DNS as an example. For other DNS providers, perform the equivalent steps in their console.

      1. Log on to the Alibaba Cloud DNS console with the Alibaba Cloud account that owns the domain. Find the domain you want to authorize and click its name.

      2. On the Settings page, click Add Record. In the Add Record panel, set the record type to CNAME, enter the hostname and record value that you copied, and then click OK.

        image

        Important

        Do not delete this CNAME record. It is required for automatic domain validation when you apply for SSL certificates in the future.

    Step 3: Verify the authorization status

    1. Return to the Domain Pre-authorization page.

    2. Find your domain. In the Actions column, click Verify. Alibaba Cloud checks whether the CNAME record is active.

      1. DNS records may take some time to propagate. If verification fails, wait a few minutes and try again.

      2. After verification succeeds, the status changes to Authorized, which indicates that the domain is now pre-authorized.

    Next steps

    When you submit an SSL certificate request for a pre-authorized domain, select Manual DNS Verification for the Domain Verification Method.

    Note

    If Alibaba Cloud detects that the domain is pre-authorized, the system automatically skips manual domain ownership verification. You must select this option to trigger automatic verification.

    image

    Related operations

    • Modify the alert contact:

      In the Actions column, click Edit. In the Edit Domain Name panel, modify the alert contact.

    • Delete a domain:

      In the Actions column, click Delete. In the confirmation dialog box, click OK.