Exchange Server 2010 “The Certificate is Invalid for Exchange Server Usage” Error

A certificate installed on an Exchange Server 2010 server may display the following error message.

The certificate is invalid for exchange server usage

This can occur when the certificate cannot be verified to a trusted certificate authority.  This may occur when the certificate has been issued by a private certificate authority.

To correct the problem you must install the root certificate for the certificate authority.  For a private certificate authority this can be obtained from the web enrollment page (eg http://ca-server/certsrv).

Browse to the web page and click on Download a CA Certificate, Certificate Chain, or CRL.

Click to download either the CA Certificate (if the certificate was issued by a root CA) or the Certificate Chain (if the certificate was issued by an intermediary CA).

Launch a new Microsoft Management Console (Start -> Run, mmc.exe) and add the Certificates snap-in to it, connecting to the Computer Account for the Local Computer.

Navigate to Trusted Root Certification Authorities.  Right-click on Certificates and choose All Tasks and then Import.

Browse and choose the CA Certificate or Certificate Chain that you downloaded earlier.

Place the certificate in the Trusted Root Certification Authorities store.

Complete the import wizard and then refresh the Exchange Management Console, and the certificate should now be valid.

About Paul Cunningham

Paul is a Microsoft Exchange Server specialist for one of Australia's largest companies, and is the Publisher of ExchangeServerPro.com. He is also an MCP, MCSA, MCSE, MCTS, and an MCITP for Exchange Server 2007/2010. Connect with Paul on Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+.

Comments

  1. santya says:

    Thank you.

  2. MJ Almassud says:

    you are my hero.

    I was having this problem in my lab for exchange 2010 and of course MS Book didn’t mention anything regarding having this problem, so I got it fixed using your instruction.

    Thanks a bunch.

  3. Dmitry says:

    Hello Paul.
    Thank you very much! You are really helped me! Cool!

  4. Worked perfect.

  5. tomm says:

    I try this, but certificate is always invalid.
    Exist any different reasons for this error?

    • Hi Tomm, what kind of certificate have you installed? Is it from a private CA, or a commercial CA?

    • Stuart Clarkson says:

      Hi,

      I’ve just had EMC showing the certificate being invalid. I used Enable-ExchangeCertificate to force the certificate to be used for IIS, and this allowed me to see the real issue. The certificate had been revoked due to a mis-communication with our certificate supplier.

      New certificate being ordered!

  6. Mehdi says:

    Hello,

    I try this, but certificate is always invalid.
    I created with the “New Certificate” a certificate request, let it sign by a private root CA
    and (Root CA certificate & Exchange), both imported certificates

    any idea?

    Thanks!

    • You can try using the Exchange Management Shell to assign it instead. See here:

      http://blogs.technet.com/b/exchange/archive/2010/07/26/3410505.aspx

      • Mehdi says:

        Thanks for quick response!

        I have assigned with Exchange Management Shell:

        CertificateDomains : {mobile.code.com}
        HasPrivateKey : True
        IsSelfSigned : False
        Issuer : E=Root_CA@mobile.code.com, CN=Mobile code, OU=PRS, O=code, L=Berlin, S=Berlin, C=DE
        NotAfter : 09.10.2017 11:24:01
        NotBefore : 11.10.2011 11:24:01
        PublicKeySize : 2048
        RootCAType : Unknown
        SerialNumber : 0A
        Services : IMAP, POP, IIS, SMTP
        Status : Invalid
        Subject : C=DE, S=Berlin, L=DE, O=code, OU=PRS, CN=mobile.code.com
        Thumbprint : FCAA09B80451FB44AADBBF738ACBD5A42D6AE36

        The root CA is also trusted but I still get the error message.

  7. Mehdi says:

    Thanks for quick response!

    I have assigned with Exchange Management Shell:

    CertificateDomains : {mobile.code.com}
    HasPrivateKey : True
    IsSelfSigned : False
    Issuer : E=Root_CA@mobile.code.com, CN=Mobile code, OU=PRS, O=code, L=Berlin, S=Berlin, C=DE
    NotAfter : 09.10.2017 11:24:01
    NotBefore : 11.10.2011 11:24:01
    PublicKeySize : 2048
    RootCAType : Unknown
    SerialNumber : 0A
    Services : IMAP, POP, IIS, SMTP
    Status : Invalid
    Subject : C=DE, S=Berlin, L=DE, O=code, OU=PRS, CN=mobile.code.com
    Thumbprint : FCAA09B80451FB44AADBBF738ACBD5A42D6AE36

    The root CA is also trusted but I still get the error message.

  8. daniel says:

    thanks heaps Paul, worked a treat!

  9. Genie says:

    Thx you

  10. D says:

    Thank you!! This fixed my problem!

  11. How to solve it but with Third party certificate from DigiCert

  12. Sedat says:

    Perfect. Thank you Paul .

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