These instructions cover generating a Certificate Signing Request (CSR) in Microsoft IIS 10 using the Create Certificate Request function. This method will allow you to import your SSL certificate by using the Complete Certificate Request function later.

How to Generate CSR in Microsoft IIS 10

  1. Launch IIS Manager. You can search for Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager in the Windows Start Menu.
  2. Locate the IIS section in the center window and double-click Server Certificates
    1. The Server Certificates control panel will open in the center window.
  3. In Actions menu on the right side, click Create Certificate Request... 
    1. The Request Certificate wizard will open in a new window. 
  4. Fill out the Distinguished Name Properties:
    1. Common name: Fully-qualified domain name (FQDN) like domain.com unless you are generating a single-domain Wildcard SSL, in which case the common name should be formatted like *.domain.com
    2. Organization: Your organization's legal name. If you do not have a company or organization, you can put another name or N/A here.
    3. Organizational unit: Your department within your organization. If you do not have an organization, put N/A.
    4. City/locality: Your city.
    5. State/province: Your state or region. This information must not be abbreviated, for example you must use "Delaware" instead of "DE".
    6. Country: Your country (select from drop-down list).
    7. Click Next when you are ready to proceed. 
  5. On the Cryptographic Service Provider Properties page, select the following options from the drop-down menus:
    1. Cryptographic service provider: Microsoft RSA SChannel Cryptographic Provider
    2. Bit length: 2048 (standard minimum required bit length)
  6. On the File Name page, click the ... box to save your CSR file to your PC. The default directory is C:\Windows\System32. Click Finish when you are ready.
  7. Navigate to the directory where you saved your CSR file and open the CSR in Notepad or your preferred text editor. 

You are ready to generate your SSL! Click GENERATE on your order to access the form. Then paste the entire CSR into the blank text box. Once you have finished and submitted the generation form, you'll receive a vendor order ID, and the validation process will begin.