What is Amazon Certificate Manager (ACM)?

Amazon Certificate Manager (ACM) is a managed AWS service that provisions, manages, and deploys SSL/TLS certificates for use with AWS services including Application Load Balancers, CloudFront, API Gateway, and more. ACM handles certificate renewal automatically, eliminating the risk of expired certificates.

Is Amazon Certificate Manager free?

Public SSL/TLS certificates provisioned through ACM for use with AWS services are completely free. You only pay for the underlying AWS resources (like the Load Balancer) that the certificate is attached to. Private certificates from ACM Private CA have associated costs.

How does ACM automatic certificate renewal work?

ACM automatically renews SSL/TLS certificates before they expire (typically 60 days before expiry) as long as the certificate validation method is still valid (DNS or email validation). For DNS-validated certificates, renewal is fully automatic without any manual intervention required.

Can I use ACM certificates with EC2 instances directly?

ACM certificates cannot be directly installed on EC2 instances — they must be used with supported AWS services (ALB, NLB, CloudFront, API Gateway). For direct EC2 SSL, use Let's Encrypt (Certbot) or manually upload private certificates to ACM Private CA and install them on the instance.

Amazon Certificate Manager (ACM): Create & Manage SSL/TLS Certs

March 22, 2021 / Nirav Shah

Amazon Certificate Manager (ACM): Create & Manage SSL Certificates

What Is ACM (Amazon Certificate Manager) in AWS?

AWS Certificate Manager is a service that allows you to provision, manage, and deploy public and private (SSL/TLS) certificates for use with AWS services and your internal resources.

ACM Private vs Public Certificates: Key Differences

There are 2 types of certificates in ACM

Public — Free to provision public or private SSL certificates to use with AWS services, such as Elastic Load Balancing and API Gateway.
Private — For private usage, you pay a fee.

How to Set Up and Manage SSL/TLS Certificates Using ACM

Step 1: Provisioning Certificate

In AWS search for the ACM service.

Amazon Certificate Manager (ACM)

Aws Certificate manager dashboard to get started with provision certificates

Step 2: Select Request a public certificate and click Request a certificate.

Request a public certificate and click Request a certificate.

Step 3: Enter domain names

Add domain names aws services certificate manage

Step 4: Next is to select a validation method

Amazon Certificate Manager (ACM)

Step 5: Review the info and click confirm and request

Request a certificate select validation method to DNS validation

Step 6: Validate the domain, expand the panel with the domain name and enter CNAME in our DNS configuration, Create a record in Route 53.

Review the DNS info and click confirm and request

Once the record is created, click Refresh on and wait for the validation status to show a success message.

Receive the certificate age and the validity, along with details like certificate issue date, expiry date, and the number of days remaining for certificate expiry.

For more information and pricing details, you can visit the official AWS ACM page.

Also Read – How To Generate Certificate Signing Request (CSR) In EC2 Linux

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Nirav Shah

Nirav Shah is the Director of Eternal Web Pvt Ltd, an AWS Advanced Consulting Partner and certified Odoo Partner based in the UK. With over a decade of experience in cloud computing, digital transformation, and ERP implementation, Nirav helps enterprises adopt the right technology to solve complex business challenges. He specialises in AWS infrastructure, Odoo ERP, and web development solutions for businesses across the UK and beyond.