PEM encoded certificate
PEM encoded certificate is a file format for storing X.509 certificates. It is one of many PEM formats.
A certificate file should have a corresponding private key file.
Contents |
Format
A PEM encoded certificate is simply a base64-encoded DER encoded certificate file, with some delimiting lines added.
More than one certificate may be stored in a single file. There may also be other types of objects, such as private keys, stored in the same file.
Identification
A PEM encoded certificate file is plain text. It contains one or more pairs of "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----" and "-----END CERTIFICATE-----" lines, with base64-encoded data between them.
Examples
To display the contents of a PEM encoded certificate using OpenSSL:
openssl x509 -noout -text -in example.pem
To convert from PEM encoded certificate format to DER encoded certificate format:
openssl x509 -in example.pem -outform der -out example.der
