Knowledge Base

Knowledge BaseCertificate Signing Request (CSR)

How do I generate a Certificate Signing Request (CSR) using Microsoft Exchange 2019?

Updated on December 26, 2025

How do I generate a Certificate Signing Request (CSR) using Microsoft Exchange 2019?

Overview:
A CSR is required to obtain a certificate for securing communications.

This guide provides the step-by-step process for generating a CSR using the Exchange Management Shell in Microsoft Exchange 2019.

Product: Microsoft Exchange

Platform: Windows Server (Exchange Management Shell)

Audience:
IT administrators managing Microsoft Exchange servers.

Scope:
This procedure applies to Microsoft Exchange Server 2019 environments.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following:

Administrator access to the Exchange server.

Exchange Management Shell installed and accessible.

Details for the certificate, subject name, and domain names.

Steps to generate a CSR using Microsoft Exchange 2019

Follow these steps to generate your Certificate Signing Request (CSR).

Step 1: Open Exchange Management Shell

Log in to the Exchange server with administrator privileges. Open the Exchange Management Shell by navigating to:
Start > Exchange Management Shell.

Step 2: Run the CSR Command

Below is a sample command line that will help you create your CSR in the Exchange Management Shell.

New-ExchangeCertificate -GenerateRequest -SubjectName "c=XX, o=COMPANY NAME, cn=WWW.XXXXX.XXX" -DomainName DOMAIN.NAME, DOMAIN.NAME2 -privatekeyexportable $true | Set-Content -Path "C:\certReq.txt"

Once you have your shell window open, type in your New-Exchange Certificate command and press Enter.

Explanation:

Replace XX with your country code.

Replace COMPANY NAME with your organization name.

Replace WWW.XXXXX.XXX and DOMAIN.NAME entries with your actual domain names.

The CSR will be saved to C:\certReq.txt.

A screen shot of a computerAI-generated content may be incorrect.

Step 3: Verify CSR Generation

If successful, it will return to the prompt, and the file will be generated.

Type exit to close your management shell.

Step 4: Retrieve the CSR File

Navigate to C:\certReq.txt and open the file. Copy the CSR text to submit to your Certificate Authority (CA). This file contains the CSR you need to use.