SSL Certificate - Extended Validation (EV) Step 4 - Physical Address

Physical Address verification is Step 4 in the Extended Validation (EV) SSL enrolment process. At this stage the Certificate Authority (CA) needs to confirm that your organisation operates from a real, verifiable business address. It is one of the identity checks that separates an EV certificate from the cheaper, faster options, and it is a document exercise rather than anything technical you configure on your server.

The two documents you need for this step

To complete Step 4 you supply two files, both hosted on our site as PDFs:

• Physical Address Verification form (Physical-Address-Verification-(EV).pdf) - the form the CA uses to record and confirm your registered business location.
• EV Enrolment form (Enrollment-Form-(EV).pdf) - the main application document that ties the whole EV order together.

Download both, complete them accurately, and return them as instructed on the forms. The address you give here must match the details on your other EV paperwork and your public business records, because the CA cross-checks them.

What "physical address" actually means here

The CA is verifying that a legally registered organisation exists and can be reached at a genuine, physical location. It is not enough to own a domain or run a website. This is why EV takes longer than a basic certificate: a human at the CA reviews the evidence and, in many cases, confirms the details against an independent, public source such as a government business registry or a recognised directory listing. Keeping your company records current before you apply will save you a round of back-and-forth.

Where Step 4 sits in the validation ladder

SSL certificates come in three validation tiers, and the amount of vetting rises with each one:

Domain Validation (DV) confirms only that you control the domain. Organisation Validation (OV) adds a check on the business behind it. Extended Validation (EV) is the most thorough tier, and the physical address confirmation in this step is part of that deeper vetting. For a full run-through of the other EV steps and the differences between tiers, see our SSL certificates FAQ, and you can view the available products on the SSL certificates page.

A note on SEO and EV

If you run multiple sites or a network, be clear about what EV does and does not do. An EV certificate strengthens the visible trust signals a visitor sees and provides a stronger identity assurance, but it is not a positive Google ranking factor on its own. HTTPS is the baseline expectation; the validation tier above that is about trust and compliance, not rankings. Choose EV because your organisation needs the identity assurance, not because you expect a search boost.

Once the certificate is issued you still need to install it correctly and configure your server with modern, secure settings; the vendor-neutral Mozilla SSL Configuration Generator is a useful reference for that final step.