> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://infisical.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Certificate Policies
> Define rules and constraints for certificates issued across your organization.
A certificate policy defines the rules that certificates must follow — allowed domains, validity periods, key algorithms, and more. Policies ensure that every certificate issued through Certificate Manager meets your organization's security and compliance requirements.
Certificate policies are created by product admins and shared across the organization. Teams consume policies through [Certificate Profiles](/docs/documentation/platform/pki/settings/profiles).
## How Policies Work
When a certificate is requested, Certificate Manager validates the request against the policy bound to its profile. If the request violates any policy constraint, the certificate is not issued.
This enforcement happens automatically — teams don't need to know the policy details. They just request certificates, and the policy ensures compliance.
### Policy Enforcement Model
Each policy field (Subject Attributes, SANs, Key Usages, etc.) follows a three-state enforcement model:
| State | Meaning | Behavior |
| ------------------------- | -------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Not configured** | No constraints | Any value is allowed |
| **Configured but empty** | Explicit restriction | Nothing is allowed — all requests with this field are rejected |
| **Configured with rules** | Whitelist | Only values matching the defined rules are allowed |
This model lets you be precise about intent. Leave a field unconfigured to allow anything, or configure it with an empty rule set to explicitly forbid it entirely.
## Create a Certificate Policy
Navigate to **Certificate Manager → Certificate Policies** and click **Create**.
### Policy Presets
For common use cases, select a **preset** to pre-fill all the right settings:
| Preset | Use Case | Key Settings |
| ----------------------------------- | ------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------ |
| **TLS Server Certificate** | Web servers, API endpoints, HTTPS | Server Auth, Digital Signature, DNS/IP SANs |
| **TLS Client Certificate** | mTLS, API authentication | Client Auth, Digital Signature, Email/DNS SANs |
| **Code Signing Certificate** | Software signing, executables | Code Signing, Digital Signature, Non-Repudiation |
| **Device Certificate** | IoT devices, embedded systems | Client Auth, Digital Signature |
| **User Certificate** | Personal authentication, smart cards | Client Auth, Email Protection |
| **Email Protection Certificate** | S/MIME, email encryption | Email Protection, Digital Signature |
| **Dual-Purpose Server Certificate** | Microservices, service mesh | Server Auth + Client Auth |
| **Intermediate CA Certificate** | Subordinate CAs | Key Cert Sign, CRL Sign, CA constraint |
For most TLS use cases, start with the **TLS Server Certificate** preset. You can customize any settings after selecting a preset.
### Basic Settings
| Field | Description |
| ------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Policy Name** | A slug-friendly name like `tls-server` or `internal-mtls` |
| **Description** | Optional context about this policy's purpose |
| **Certificate Validity** | Maximum lifetime for certificates (e.g., 90 days, 1 year) |
### Subject Attributes
Control what X.509 distinguished name attributes can appear in certificates:
| Attribute | Abbreviation | Example |
| ------------------- | ------------ | ----------------- |
| Common Name | CN | `api.example.com` |
| Organization | O | `Acme Corp` |
| Organizational Unit | OU | `Engineering` |
| Country | C | `US` |
| State/Province | ST | `California` |
| Locality | L | `San Francisco` |
| Domain Component | DC | `example` |
For each attribute, configure enforcement:
Values that **must** be present. The request is rejected if the attribute is missing or doesn't match the required pattern.
Values that are **permitted but not required**. Accepts fixed values or wildcard patterns like `*.example.com`.
Values that **must not appear**. The request is rejected if the attribute matches a denied pattern.
Domain Component (DC) support is for requests that use DC attributes explicitly. Each DC value is
matched independently against the Domain Component rule (like a Subject Alternative Name),
separately from the Common Name. A subject can carry more than one domain component (for example
`CN=host, DC=auth, DC=example, DC=app`), so allow the labels your requests use, such as `auth`,
`example`, and `app`, or a pattern like `*`.
Once you define subject attribute rules, only the attribute types you explicitly include are permitted — any other attribute in a request will be rejected. An empty configuration forbids all subject attributes; leave the section unconfigured to allow any attribute.
### Subject Alternative Names (SANs)
Control which SANs can appear on certificates:
| SAN Type | Example Pattern | Use Case |
| -------- | ------------------------ | ------------------------------------ |
| DNS | `*.example.com` | Web servers, APIs |
| IP | `10.0.0.0/8` | Internal services |
| Email | `*@example.com` | S/MIME certificates |
| URI | `spiffe://example.com/*` | SPIFFE identities |
| UPN | `*@example.com` | Active Directory user authentication |
Each SAN rule specifies the type, a pattern (fixed or wildcard), and whether to **allow** or **deny** it.
Once you define SAN rules, only the SAN types you explicitly include are permitted — any other SAN type in a request will be rejected. An empty SAN configuration forbids all SANs; leave the section unconfigured to allow any SAN type.
### Key & Signature Algorithms
Restrict which cryptographic algorithms are permitted:
* SHA256-RSA
* SHA384-RSA
* SHA512-RSA
* SHA256-ECDSA
* SHA384-ECDSA
* RSA-2048
* RSA-4096
* ECDSA-P256
* ECDSA-P384
* Ed25519
### Key Usages
Define the cryptographic purposes of certificates:
| Key Usage | Purpose |
| ----------------- | ------------------------------------------- |
| Digital Signature | Sign data (TLS, code signing) |
| Key Encipherment | Encrypt symmetric keys (TLS with RSA) |
| Key Agreement | Key exchange (ECDH) |
| Certificate Sign | Sign other certificates (CA only) |
| CRL Sign | Sign certificate revocation lists (CA only) |
If you configure Key Usages, only the usages listed in **Required** or **Allowed** are permitted. Leave Key Usages unconfigured to allow any key usage.
### Extended Key Usages
Define higher-level intended uses:
| Extended Key Usage | Purpose |
| ---------------------- | ------------------ |
| Server Authentication | TLS servers |
| Client Authentication | mTLS clients |
| Code Signing | Software artifacts |
| Email Protection | S/MIME |
| OCSP Signing | OCSP responders |
| Time Stamping | Trusted timestamps |
| Any Extended Key Usage | Any purpose |
If you configure Extended Key Usages, only the usages listed in **Required** or **Allowed** are permitted. Leave Extended Key Usages unconfigured to allow any extended key usage.
### Basic Constraints
Control whether certificates can act as CAs:
| Setting | Effect |
| -------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Forbid CA** | Certificates are end-entity only — cannot sign other certificates |
| **Allow CA** | Certificates can be either CA or end-entity based on request |
| **Require CA** | All certificates must be CAs (for Root/Intermediate CA policies) |
**Maximum Path Length**: Limits how many intermediate CAs can exist below this certificate. `0` means the CA can only sign end-entity certificates.
## Next Steps
Once you've created a policy, combine it with a CA in a [Certificate Profile](/docs/documentation/platform/pki/settings/profiles) that teams can consume.