# Question about the certificate authority **URL:** \ **Category:** Issuance Tech\ **Created:** [September 20, 2024, 8:12pm UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/question-about-the-certificate-authority/226220 "2024-09-20T20:12:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![lauren.oregan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f475e1/32.png) [@lauren.oregan](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/lauren.oregan)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2024, 8:12pm UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/question-about-the-certificate-authority/226220/1 "2024-09-20T20:12:32Z")
Does this CA validate the identity of the domains owner? ---
**Author:** ![rg305](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/letsencrypt/user_avatar/community.letsencrypt.org/rg305/32/91314_2.png) [@rg305](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/rg305)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2024, 8:17pm UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/question-about-the-certificate-authority/226220/3 "2024-09-20T20:17:16Z")
No. Only "control" is validated [automatically]. See: [FAQ - Let's Encrypt (letsencrypt.org)](https://letsencrypt.org/docs/faq/) ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/letsencrypt/original/3X/1/9/19716c1884d1bd4c15a7d6a5ba6c941f39128379.png) ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/letsencrypt/original/3X/7/3/73e97d6e8b63da17622ef08e1cb966ddc4e67483.png) ---
**Author:** ![Rip](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/letsencrypt/user_avatar/community.letsencrypt.org/rip/32/70863_2.png) [@Rip](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/Rip)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2024, 2:53am UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/question-about-the-certificate-authority/226220/4 "2024-09-26T02:53:44Z")
> [@lauren.oregan](#): > > Does this CA validate the identity of the domains owner? That is the GIG. Ownership is paramount. Why do you ask? ---
**Author:** ![MikeMcQ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/letsencrypt/user_avatar/community.letsencrypt.org/mikemcq/32/52772_2.png) [@MikeMcQ](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/MikeMcQ)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2024, 3:23am UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/question-about-the-certificate-authority/226220/5 "2024-09-26T03:23:13Z")
> [@Rip](#): > > Ownership is paramount Ownership is meaningless 🤷‍♂️ It is all about who _controls_ the public DNS and/or webservers pointed to by the DNS In addition to the FAQ @rg305 linked there is also this > **[How It Works - Let's Encrypt](https://letsencrypt.org/how-it-works/)** > > The objective of Let’s Encrypt and the ACME protocol is to make it possible to set up an HTTPS server and have it automatically obtain a browser-trusted certificate, without any human intervention. This is accomplished by running a certificate... ---
**Author:** ![jvanasco](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/letsencrypt/user_avatar/community.letsencrypt.org/jvanasco/32/55900_2.png) [@jvanasco](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/jvanasco)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2024, 4:18pm UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/question-about-the-certificate-authority/226220/6 "2024-09-26T16:18:33Z")
> [@rg305](#): > > No. > Only "control" is validated [automatically]. Clarifying this response a bit: LetsEncrypt only offers DV (Domain Validation) Certificates. With DV Certificates _"Only 'control' is validated [automatically]"_, **regardless of the CA**. No CA will validate the identity of a Domain's owner for a DV Certificate. The identity of the owner is validated for OV (Organization Validation) and EV (Extended Validation) Certificates. A CA that offers OV or EV Certificates will validate domain owners for those certificates, but will not validate domain owners for DV certificates they offer. ---
**Author:** ![Rip](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/letsencrypt/user_avatar/community.letsencrypt.org/rip/32/70863_2.png) [@Rip](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/Rip)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2024, 12:18am UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/question-about-the-certificate-authority/226220/7 "2024-09-27T00:18:47Z")
> [@MikeMcQ](#): > > Ownership is meaningless Ok. I get it. Control is paramount. In my world ownership = control. But in the wild (real world) that doesn't exactly line up. I capitulate. ;@) Thanks Mike. ---
**Author:** ![rg305](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/letsencrypt/user_avatar/community.letsencrypt.org/rg305/32/91314_2.png) [@rg305](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/rg305)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2024, 12:24am UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/question-about-the-certificate-authority/226220/8 "2024-09-27T00:24:31Z")
There may be many individual points of control [various FQDNs]. There should only be one owner [of the domain]. ---
**Author:** ![Rip](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/letsencrypt/user_avatar/community.letsencrypt.org/rip/32/70863_2.png) [@Rip](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/Rip)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2024, 12:30am UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/question-about-the-certificate-authority/226220/9 "2024-09-27T00:30:01Z")
Owners can and do delegate. However there really is only one owner even if he/she shares management of a domain. IMHO it is a mistake. And it can lead to "loss of control". Consider a business website. The Business sells and the new "owners" claim control of the assets including the website. I have experienced it and it has motivated me to post terms/conditions and claim of owership on some domains I own yet "lease" to client businesses. ---
**Author:** ![JimPas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/letsencrypt/user_avatar/community.letsencrypt.org/jimpas/32/33270_2.png) [@JimPas](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/JimPas)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2024, 4:47pm UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/question-about-the-certificate-authority/226220/10 "2024-09-27T16:47:12Z")
When someone purchases a domain, their registration details can remain private (Private Registration) and only contact details of the registrar are shown with the dates of creation & expiry, etc.. So no, ownership cannot be validated. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/letsencrypt/original/3X/c/a/ca6c06ea1ea201324bba7048c6841ce60236468d.png) [@system](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/system)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2024, 4:47pm UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/question-about-the-certificate-authority/226220/11 "2024-10-27T16:47:53Z")
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