You can modify the properties of a certificate for a number of reasons:

  • Adding or modifying a display name to help differentiate it from other similar certificates.

  • Changing the purpose of the certificate by adding or disabling purposes.

  • Specifying cross-certificate download locations.

Users or local Administrators is the minimum group membership required to complete this procedure. Review the details in "Additional considerations" in this topic.

To modify the properties of a certificate

  1. Open the Certificates snap-in for a user, computer, or service.

  2. In the console tree under the logical store that contains the certificate to modify, click Certificates.

  3. In the details pane, click the certificate that you want to modify.

  4. On the Action menu, click Properties.

  5. Make the desired changes:

    1. To change the display name of the certificate, in Friendly name, type the new name.

    2. To change the description of the certificate, in Description, type the new description.

    3. To enable all available purposes for the certificate, in Certificate purposes, click Enable all purposes for this certificate.

    4. To disable all available purposes for the certificate, in Certificate purposes, click Disable all purposes for this certificate.

    5. To designate specific purposes for the certificate, in Certificate purposes, click Enable only the following purposes, and select the appropriate check boxes.

    6. To modify cross-certificate properties, click the Cross-Certificates tab, click Specify additional Cross-Certificate download locations, enter the URL where the cross-certificates can be obtained, and click Add URL.

    7. Click OK to accept all changes.

Additional considerations

  • User certificates can be managed by the user or by an administrator. Certificates issued to a computer or service can only be managed by an administrator.

  • To open the Certificates snap-in, see Add the Certificates Snap-in to an MMC.

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