Limitations and Considerations

While DV certificates provide excellent value for many use cases, it's important to understand their limitations. The lack of organization validation means DV certificates don't provide assurance about who operates the website. This limitation becomes significant for e-commerce sites, financial services, or any website where users need confidence in the organization's identity. Phishing sites can and do obtain DV certificates, as domain control is the only requirement for issuance.

The automated validation process, while convenient, also means there's no human review of certificate applications. This can occasionally lead to issues where malicious actors obtain certificates for deceptive domains designed to impersonate legitimate businesses. While Certificate Authorities have implemented various checks to prevent abuse, the fundamental limitation remains: DV certificates verify domain control, not organizational identity or legitimacy.