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Otis, the Otterwatch otter

Free SSL Certificate Checker

Paste a domain and I'll read its certificate right now — who issued it, when it expires, and whether anything looks off. No grades, no jargon. Just the facts, in plain language.

Check a certificate

No signup. No cookies. Nothing stored.

  • Reads the live cert
  • Plain-language results
  • Free & unlimited
What this checker shows you

A full, plain-language read of the certificate.

Every check returns the same calm rundown — the standard certificate fields, plus two things most free checkers don't surface.

Featured · differentiator

Certificate-transparency issuance history

Every publicly trusted certificate is logged. I pull that history so you can see each one ever issued for the domain — handy for spotting a cert you didn't expect.

2026-05-12Let's Encrypt
2026-02-08Let's Encrypt
2025-11-04Google Trust Services
Featured · differentiator

Plain-language TLS basics

The connection facts that matter, stated quietly — no scare-grade, no cipher firehose. Just whether the fundamentals are in good shape.

tls version key strength hsts caa
issuer

Who signed it — Let's Encrypt, Google Trust Services, and so on.

expires

The date it lapses — and how many days that is, in plain numbers.

chain

Whether the trust chain back to a root authority is intact.

hostname

Whether the certificate actually covers the domain you typed.

reachable

Whether the site answered when we knocked, just now.

renewed

When this exact certificate was issued, so you know how fresh it is.

How to check an SSL certificate

Three calm steps.

01

Paste the domain

Type example.com — no https://, no path needed.

02

Read the result

Issuer, days left, transparency history, plain words. Nothing is stored when you leave.

03

Optionally, monitor it

Hand it to me. I'll watch it daily and email you before it expires.

What we check — and what we don't

Facts, not a verdict.

What we tell you

  • Issuer and how many days until it expires.
  • Whether the chain and hostname check out.
  • Whether the site is reachable right now.
  • Its certificate-transparency issuance history.
  • TLS basics: version, key strength, HSTS, CAA.

What we don't do

  • Slap a letter grade on your security.
  • Dump a wall of cipher suites at you.
  • Run a vulnerability scan or pretend to be a pentest.
  • Store the domain or set a cookie.

We report what's true and let you decide. Plain facts age better than a scary grade.

Why expiry catches people out

A check is a snapshot. Certificates keep moving.

Let's Encrypt stopped sending expiry reminder emails in 2025 — so a renewal that quietly fails no longer pings your inbox.

Certificate lifetimes are shrinking too, heading toward 47 days over the next few years. More renewals means more chances for one to slip.

One check tells you about today. It can't warn you about a future Saturday.

Stop checking by hand

I'll watch it so you don't have to.

Add a site and I'll check its certificate every day, then email you well before it expires — at 23, 14, 7, and 1 days.

Monitor it automatically — free for 5 sites

No credit card. One email to sign in — no password to remember.

Questions

A few things worth knowing.

Is this free?

Yes — the checker is free and unlimited, with no signup. If you want me to keep watching a site over time, monitoring is free for up to five sites too.

Do you store the domains I check?

No. I run the check, show you the result, and that's the end of it — nothing written down, no cookie set, no log tied to you. If you want a domain remembered, that's monitoring, and you choose it on purpose.

What does “expires in N days” mean?

Every certificate has a fixed end date. “Expires in N days” is the countdown to it — renew before it reaches zero, or browsers start showing security warnings to your visitors.

Can I get alerted before it expires?

Yes — that's what monitoring is for. Add a site and I'll email you at 23, 14, 7, and 1 days out, plus if it ever goes down. Free for five sites.

Is this the same as an SSL ‘grade’?

No. Grading tools hand you a letter and a wall of cipher suites. I report the facts that actually decide whether your certificate is healthy, in plain language — no grade, no jargon.