How to Export an SSL Certificate in .PFX Format

This step by step guide will walk you through the process of Exporting an SSL Certificate in .PFX format to transfer to another server.

If you have an SSL Certificate for any hosted domain, it can easily be moved between servers by exporting it to a '.PFX' file.

First, open IIS by navigating to 'Start --> Administrative Tools --> Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager'.

Once in IIS, click the plus sign next to the server name, and then click on 'Web Sites' to populate the list of hosted sites. Right-click the site you wish to export the certificate for and choose 'Properties'.

Once inside the Properties windows, click on the 'Directory Security' tab, then Click the 'Server Certificate' button.

Click 'Next' on the initial page.

Select the "Export the current certificate to a .pfx file" option, and Click Next.

The next window asks where you want to save the .PFX file, as well as what name you would like to give it. You may leave the default location, 'C:\', or specify a folder in which to save the file.

Let's name the file 'example.com.09.pfx'. Please note that the actual file name does not have any technical impact on the certificate, it is for organizational purposes and ease of locating the file in the future if need be. Click on the 'Browse' button to choose a location to save the file.

Here, you can choose where on the server you would like to store the file. For now, let's save the file to the Desktop.

Once the file name and location options are set, click on 'Next' to proceed.

Now, we need to set a password for the PFX file. It can be any password of your choosing. For not, let's set the password as 'example.com', and click Next.

Please take caution to note the password you assign the file. If the password is lost and is unrecoverable, the PFX file will not be able to re-imported.

The next window will confirm the details of the SSL Certificate you are exporting. Click Next to export the certificate and complete the process.

You will now see a window confirming the operation was successful. Click Finish to exit the wizard.

Your exported SSL Certificate is now in .PFX format, and you will find the file in the location you selected to save it earlier in the wizard. In this example, it would be found on the user's Desktop.

Now that you have this .PFX file, you can open it with Notepad to copy and paste the contents to the desired destination, or attach it to an email or support ticket for installation on the new server.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding this procedure, please don't hesitate to contact our Technical Support department, and they will be more than happy to assist.