New Code Signing Rules in 2025: How to Stay Ahead with CodeSign Secure 

Introduction 

Code signing has become a basic requirement for software teams who want to prove their code is safe, untampered, and actually from them. Whether you’re shipping desktop apps, mobile APKs, or containers, a valid code signing certificate gives users confidence that the code hasn’t been modified somewhere along the way. 

Recently, the CA/Browser Forum (the group that sets rules around digital certificates) introduced a big change: starting February 28, 2025, the maximum validity for code signing certificates will shrink to 460 days, just about 15 months. And from June 15, 2025, all reissued certificates will follow the same rule. 

This isn’t just a minor policy tweak. If your team is used to working with 2- or 3-year certificates, this means you’ll need to rethink how you manage renewals, key security, and automation. Ignoring it could mean signing failures, build issues, or even unsigned releases. 

In the rest of this article, we’ll break down what’s changing, how it affects your signing workflows, and how our CodeSign Secure can help you stay secure and compliant without adding more manual work. 

What’s Changing in Code Signing Validity? 

Until now, most code signing certificates have had nice, long lifespans of up to 3 years (or 39 months, to be exact). This made things simpler: get your certificate, use it across multiple releases, and renew every few years. 

That’s about to change. 

The CA/Browser Forum has decided to shorten the max validity of these certificates to just 460 days, a little over 15 months. The goal is to tighten security and reduce the risk of long-lived keys being exposed or misused. 

Key Dates to Know 

• February 28, 2025: CAs will stop issuing code signing certificates with more than 460 days of validity. 
• June 15, 2025: Any reissued certificates after this point must also follow the 460-day rule, even if the original certificate was valid for 2 or 3 years. 

So, if you buy a 3-year certificate before the deadline, you’re fine until you need to reissue it. After June 15, even reissuing that certificate will get you only a 460-day version. 

This means more frequent renewals, more tracking, and more room for error unless you’ve got a system in place that keeps things on track. 

Why this Change Matters?

At first glance, shortening certificate validity might seem like extra work. But there’s actually some solid reasoning behind it. 

Less Time for Keys to Be Misused 

The longer a certificate stays valid, the bigger the risk if something goes wrong, like if a private key gets leaked or stolen. Cutting validity down to 460 days helps limit the damage if a key is ever compromised. It’s a “less time, less risk” kind of approach. 

Encourages Better Security Habits 

Shorter lifespans mean teams have to stay current with how they manage certificates and cryptographic algorithms. It pushes everyone to upgrade keys and settings more regularly, no more “set it and forget it” for years. 

Keeps You in Step with Industry Rules 

This change isn’t just a suggestion; it’s now part of the official rulebook from the CA/Browser Forum. If you want your code signing certificates to be trusted, you’ve got to play by these new rules. Tools like our CodeSign Secure can help you stay compliant without turning certificate management into a full-time job. 

Impact on Organizations and Developers 

This new 460-day limit isn’t just a checkbox change; it affects how teams plan, build, and release software. 

More Renewals, More Often 

With certificates expiring in just over a year, you’ll need to renew more frequently. That means tracking more expiration dates, updating pipelines, and making sure nothing breaks in the middle of a release. If you miss a renewal, your builds may fail, or your signed software might throw warnings. 

Key Management Gets Tricky 

More renewals also mean more key pairs to handle securely. If you’re not already using HSMs or secure key storage, now’s the time to start thinking about it. Losing track of a private key or storing it in the wrong place can lead to serious issues. 

Budgeting and Planning Need a Tweak 

If you’ve been buying multi-year certificates and setting them aside for a while, that strategy won’t work anymore. You’ll now be purchasing and managing certificates more often, so it’s worth reviewing how this affects your budget and internal processes. 

This is where our platform steps in to help: automated renewals, key storage with HSM integration, and a clean way to manage all your certificates in one place. Less mess, fewer surprises. 

Best Practices for Managing Shorter Certificate Lifecycles 

With certificates now lasting just over a year, keeping track of everything manually isn’t really practical anymore. To avoid last-minute scrambles and failed builds, it’s time to tighten things up a bit. 

• Automate Renewals Wherever You Can: If your process for renewing certificates still involves calendar reminders and manual steps, it’s going to get old fast. Automating renewals, especially for repeatable tasks like requesting, reissuing, and installing certificates, saves time and lowers the chances of missing something important. 
• Store Keys in Secure Hardware: Storing private keys on local machines or shared drives is asking for trouble. Using HSMs (Hardware Security Modules) or cloud-based key vaults gives you the protection you need, especially now that certificates are being refreshed more frequently. It also helps with compliance requirements. 
• Keep Tabs on Expiry and Reissuance: Set up alerts and dashboards to track when certificates are about to expire. This isn’t just a “nice to have” anymore; missing a renewal window can block releases or trigger trust issues for your users. A little visibility goes a long way. 

Our platform is designed to take care of all this. From renewal automation and HSM integration to expiry tracking and secure storage, it helps you keep everything in order with way less manual effort. 

How CodeSign Secure Simplifies Code Signing Under the New Rules

With certificates now lasting just 460 days, doing everything by hand is going to feel like a chore pretty quickly. That’s exactly why we built CodeSign Secure to take the stress out of code signing and make the whole process smoother. 

• Centralized Key & Certificate Management: No more hunting through shared folders, emails, or local machines to find the right key or certificate. Our platform gives you a single place to manage everything, whether it’s for a web app, mobile release, or desktop installer. 
• CI/CD Integration: Our platform works nicely with the tools you’re already using, like Bamboo, TeamCity, Azure DevOps, Jenkins, and others. Signing becomes part of your build pipeline, not something you have to stop and do separately. 
• HSM-Backed Signing with PKCS#11 Support: Your private keys never leave the secure hardware. Our platform supports PKCS#11, so it can plug into HSMs and keep your signing keys protected, whether you’re using on-prem HSMs or cloud-based options. 
• Smart Alerts & Renewal Automation: Our platform keeps an eye on your certificates and gives you a heads-up before anything expires. It also handles renewal steps in the background, so you don’t have to worry about missed deadlines or broken builds. 

In short, our CodeSign Secure helps you stay compliant with the new rules, without turning certificate management into a full-time job. 

Migration Strategy: From Long-Lived Certificates to 460-day Certificates

If you’ve been using 2 or 3 year certificates, switching to the new 460-day rule might feel like a big adjustment, but it doesn’t have to be. With a bit of planning and the right tools, the shift can be pretty smooth. 

• Start with a Certificate Audit: First things first: make a list of all your current code signing certificates. Note their issue and expiry dates, where the keys are stored, and which projects depend on them. This gives you a clear picture of what needs attention and when. 
• Plan for Renewals & Reissuance: If you bought a multi-year certificate before the cut-off, remember: after June 15, 2025, even reissuing that certificate will give you only 460 days. So plan ahead. Build out a renewal calendar, notify your dev/release teams, and avoid any last-minute rush. 

CodeSign Secure Makes the Switch Easier 

Our platform helps you move to shorter certificate cycles without messing up your workflow. It can scan and track existing certificates, notify you when it’s time to replace them, and handle reissuance through automated flows. Whether you’re transitioning one team or the whole org, our platform keeps the process clean and secure. 

Conclusion 

Shorter certificate validity might sound like more work, but in reality, it pushes everyone toward better habits, stronger key security, quicker updates, and tighter control over the signing process. 

That’s where our CodeSign Secure really shines. It’s built to take care of the heavy lifting, so you don’t have to. Whether it’s tracking certificates, handling renewals, securing private keys in HSMs, or plugging directly into your CI/CD pipelines, our platform keeps your code signing process smooth, secure, and future-ready. 

Don’t let the 460-day rule slow your team down.