Certificates
Let’s Encrypt classic profile drops to 45 days
February 16, 2028 · In 488 days
Let's Encrypt · high confidence · Last verified October 15, 2026
What breaks
The classic ACME profile issues 45-day certificates, and the authorization reuse period drops to 7 hours. Clients that were only adjusted for the 64-day lifetime need another renewal-window change.
Who is affected
- Let’s Encrypt subscribers who stay on the default classic profile
- Automation that renews on a fixed offset instead of ARI
- Designs that cache ACME authorizations for longer than 7 hours
Source notes
The December 2, 2025 post schedules three steps: an opt-in tlsserver profile at 45 days on May 13, 2026; the default classic profile at 64 days on February 10, 2027; and the classic profile at 45 days with a 7-hour authorization reuse period on February 16, 2028.
The shorter lifetime applies to certificates issued or renewed after that date. The post says users see it at the next renewal.
The upcoming-features page, last updated July 22, 2026 on that page, still lists the same February 10, 2027 and February 16, 2028 steps.