How to Fix the ‘ERR_CERTIFICATE_TRANSPARENCY_REQUIRED’ Error in Chrome & Firefox

If a certificate authority issues an SSL certificate without adding it to the logs this can trigger certain browser errors. One such common error is ERR_CERTIFICATE_TRANSPARENCY_REQUIRED (or ‘NET::ERR_CERTIFICATE_TRANSPARENCY_REQUIRED’) in Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox.

This error is quite common; if you’re not familiar with SSL-related errors, you might wonder if something is wrong with your browser or internet connection. The issue is most likely caused by an incorrectly issued SSL certificate on the website, which means it’s an error the website owner needs to fix. (In rare cases it can be caused by issues on the user’s end.)

But what if you’re the site owner who needs to fix this issue on your site? We’ll offer suggestions for both scenarios.

How to Fix Other SSL and Certificate-Related Errors

Want to learn about 10 common SSL/TLS security certificate errors and issues in Firefox and Chrome and what you can do to fix them? Check out our related resource.

What Is Certificate Transparency?

Certificate transparency is an initiative to monitor and revoke incorrectly issued SSL certificates to increase safety and security online. It does so by making the SSL certificates of these sites open to be scrutinized by certification authorities (CAs), users, domain owners, and clients. This makes it faster to detect and revoke SSL certificates issued to hackers and other bad actors.

Certificate transparency is a mandatory requirement for all SSL certificate authorities. This means whenever they issue an SSL certificate, they must add it to one or more public certificate transparency logs. If the certificate doesn’t make its way onto the CT log, it will cause you a lot of headaches.

But what does this error look like in the wild? Here’s a quick look at the ERR_CERTIFICATE_TRANSPARENCY REQUIRED in Google Chrome:

What Causes This Error

Whenever a CA issues an SSL/TLS certificate, it adds it to one or more public certificate transparency (CT) logs so that any CA, user, and domain owner can view it. Certificate logs are records of submitted SSL/TLS certificates and pre-certificates (i.e., an indication that a CA will submit a certificate soon). This is a mandatory action aimed at simplifying the detection and revocation of misissued certificates and those issued to unauthorized third parties.

When you encounter this error on your domain, it means the SSL/TLS certificate it’s using hasn’t been added to the public certificate transparency logs and, therefore, was incorrectly issued (thus, it’s untrusted).

How to Fix ‘ERR_CERTIFICATE_TRANSPARENCY_REQUIRED’ On Your Site

• Use crt.sh to verify whether your domain’s certificate is included in a CT log.
• Purchase a new SSL/TLS certificate from a CA or reseller such as CheapSSLSecurity.com that adds every certificate it issues to at least one public CT log list.
• Revoke your SSL/TLS certificate and ask your CA provider to reissue a new one.

Request a certificate transparency exemption policy. Beware, it works only for Chrome corporate-managed devices.

How to Get Rid of ERR_CERTIFICATE_TRANSPARENCY_REQUIRED Error for Chrome Users

There are a few tricks which you can try if you feel that the error is occurring because of some bug in your desktop or browser. Let’s take a look at what those are:

• Update Google Chrome (recommended). Make sure that your system has the latest version of Chrome installed. To update your Chrome browser, go to Settings, select Help, and click on About Google Chrome. The browser will check for updates automatically and notify you if one is available.
• Clear the SSL State (recommended). Clearing the SSL certificate cache of your browser can help you to get rid of the error ERR_CERTIFICATE_TRANSPARENCY_REQUIRED or related other SSL-related errors. If you are using Windows:
  • Go to Internet Properties (i.e., Internet Options)
  • Navigate to the Content tab.
  • Clear SSL State by clicking on the option.
  • Select Apply and click on OK.

There’s a third option you’ll sometimes see online (i.e., Disable your firewall), but this is not a recommended approach. This is because your firewall may inspect SSL/TLS traffic which can trigger unusual SSL errors, including the certificate transparency error. So while disabling your firewall allows you to check whether the problem persists, it also leaves you vulnerable to cyber threats.

We hope the article was helpful to you in resolving the ERR_CERTIFICATE_TRANSPARENCY_REQUIRED error.

Related Resources

• Guide for the “SSL Certificate Problem: Unable to get Local Issuer Certificate”
• SSL_Error_rx_record_too_long – The Trouble Shooting Guide
• ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED in Chrome – Fixing Guide by SSLSecurity
• How to Fix ERR_SSL_VERSION_OR_CIPHER_MISMATCH Error
• Your Connection is not Private Error – A Fixing Guide for all devices
• Apache Server: Common SSL Errors and Troubleshooting Guide
• What is Mixed Content Error & How to Disable it on Chrome
• Troubleshoot ‘Secure Connection Failed’ Error in Firefox

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in 2019. However, it’s been updated as of March 31, 2025 to include newer and more current information.