Root CA BuyPass Ends TLS/SSL Certificate Issuance, Including Free GoSSL via ACME

Today, on August 18, BuyPass (a Root CA based in Norway) has sadly announced the termination of the service for issuing TLS/SSL certificates, including Go SSL (ACME).

The Discontinuation Timeline has been shared by BuyPass, which has also provided the specifics and details.

October 15, 2025, is the final day to order, renew, or replace BuyPass TLS/SSL certificates. However, other ACME services, such as revocation, will remain operational. The ARI endpoint will be terminated.

Starting September 15, it will no longer be possible to register new ACME accounts with BuyPass.

April 15, 2026, is the last expiration date for Buypass TLS/SSL certificates, including free GoSSL certificates.

Revocation and certificate status services will be discontinued, as will the ACME service.

I will miss the free six-month GoSSL certificates

Here at Nixsanctuary, we have been using BuyPass's GoSSL certificates for multiple servers. It's been one of my favorite free root CA to use via ACME. In fact, I believe it is the only free European root CA.

One reason is the support.

BuyPass's customer support team was active on the official community page and offered real support.

They offered human support even for the free GoSSL certificates. I received prompt responses from their customer support regarding these certificates.

Thank you again, BuyPass, for the kind service! I will miss it forever.

Is this a small win for Let's Encrypt?

It is a sad day in terms of the closure of a Norway-based root CA service, BuyPass, due to lack of profitability. It is a small win for the community-focused Let's Encrypt project.

One reason cited for the closure is the strong shift from commercial TLS/SSL certificates to free certificates for most volumes.

This essentially means that the nonprofit's dream of offering free, automated, secure, signed TLS certificates to everyone is progressing well.

Today, Let's Encrypt is a well-respected root CA across platforms, both ethically and technically.