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In 2006, a group of leading SSL Certificate Authorities (CAs) and browser vendors collaborated and approved standard practices for certificate validation and display. It was coined “the Extended Validation Standard”.

To issue an SSL Certificate that complies with the standard, a Certificate Authority must adopt the extended certificate validation practice and pass a Webtrust audit. This validation process means the CA is required to authenticate a few things: the applicant’s domain ownership and organizational identity, the individual approver’s employment with the applicant, and authority to obtain the Extended Validation SSL Certificate.

The impetus behind the new type of standard is an increase in customer confidence. Fraud and phishing schemes are on the rise daily, and have led Web site users to become more concerned about their online security and identity theft. High security browsers and Extended Validation SSL Certificates provide third-party verification with a visual display that gives consumers confidence and builds trust in e-commerce.

For instance, when using Microsoft® Internet Explorer 7, a Web site secured with an SSL Certificate that meets the Extended Validation Standard, IE7 will cause the URL address bar to turn green. A display next to that bar will toggle back and forth from the organization name listed in the certificate and the CA’s name. Firefox and Opera have announced their intention to support Extended Validation SSL in upcoming releases. Older browsers will display Extended Validation SSL Certificates with the same security symbols as existing SSL Certificates.

Currently, The CA/Browser Forum dictates which entities are eligible to get EV Certificates. The following is a list of eligible organizations, as long as they are currently registered with and approved by an official registration agency in their jurisdiction: Government agencies; Corporations; General partnerships; Unincorporated associations; and, Sole proprietorships.

Find EV SSL service providers.