Let’s Encrypt Stops Expiration Emails – How to Ensure Your Certificates Stay Valid with SSL Certificate Monitoring

by | Mar 10, 2025

Last updated on April 24, 2025

No More Expiration Emails – What Now

SSL/TLS certificates are critical for secure communication, and keeping track of their expiration is essential. Until now, Let’s Encrypt has sent email notifications when certificates were about to expire. However, as of June 2025, Let’s Encrypt will discontinue these expiration emails. This change could lead to expired certificates going unnoticed, potentially causing security risks and downtime. But there’s a solution: Icinga’s Certificate Monitoring Module monitors SSL/TLS certificates to prevent unexpected expiration.

Let’s Encrypt’s Decision to End Expiration Emails

Their reasoning is that these emails are often ignored or filtered as spam, and they encourage users to rely on automation instead. While automation is beneficial, not all setups fully support it, and manual oversight is still necessary to prevent unexpected expirations.

Let’s Encrypt suggests alternative solutions, but many of them come with limitations in their free versions or require a paid subscription. This leaves users needing a cost-effective, reliable way to monitor SSL certificate expiration. Icinga offers an open-source solution for automated certificate monitoring without licensing fees or third-party dependencies.

How Icinga Can Help

Icinga provides a Certificate Monitoring Module within its monitoring setup that ensures you never miss a SSL/TLS expiration again. Here’s how it helps:

  • Automated Certificate Monitoring: Icinga checks SSL/TSL certificates continously, including those from Let’s Encrypt.
  • Custom Notifications: Users receive notifications via email, Slack, PagerDuty, or other channels when a certificate is nearing expiration.
  • Enterprise-Ready Monitoring: Fully integrated within Icinga’s monitoring ecosystem, allowing you to manage SSL/TLS certificates alongside other critical infrastructure components.
  • No Additional Costs: Unlike other alternatives, Icinga’s Certificate Monitoring Module provides monitoring capabilites at no cost as part of its open-source model.

With Icinga, you remain in control and avoid unexpected disruptions due to expired certificates.

How to Set Up SSL Certificate Monitoring in Icinga

Getting started with Icinga’s Certificate Monitoring Module is straightforward:

  1. Install the Icinga Certificate Monitoring Module.
  2. Configure it to check your SSL/TLS certificates.
  3. Set up custom notifications to alert you before a certificate expires.

With this setup, you’ll have proactive monitoring in place – no more relying on third-party expiration emails.

Showing Icinga Certificate Dashboard

Stay in Control of Your Certificates

Let’s Encrypt’s decision to end expiration emails shifts the responsibility to users, but Icinga provides a reliable and cost-free alternative. By integrating Icinga’s Certificate Monitoring Module into your infrastructure, you ensure that your SSL/TLS certificates are always up-to-date, preventing downtime and security risks. Icinga protects services and users from expired certificates by offering continuous certificate monitoring.

You May Also Like…

Subscribe to our Newsletter

A monthly digest of the latest Icinga news, releases, articles and community topics.