---
title: Check domain SSL/TLS · Cloudflare Learning Paths
description: Once you add and activate your domain at Cloudflare, you also should check your domain's SSL/TLS certificate is working correctly.
lastUpdated: 2025-04-15T08:28:05.000Z
source_url:
  html: https://zt-dark-mode-changelog.preview.developers.cloudflare.com/learning-paths/get-started-free/onboarding/check-ssl/index.md
  md: https://zt-dark-mode-changelog.preview.developers.cloudflare.com/learning-paths/get-started-free/onboarding/check-ssl/
---

Once you [add and activate](https://developers.cloudflare.com/learning-paths/get-started-free/onboarding/add-and-activate/) your domain at Cloudflare, you also should check your domain's SSL/TLS certificate is working correctly.

By default, Cloudflare issues — and renews — free, unshared, publicly trusted **Universal SSL** certificates to all domains added to and activated on Cloudflare.

For domains on a [full setup](https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/zone-setups/full-setup/)[1](#user-content-fn-1), your domain should **automatically** receive its Universal SSL certificate within **15 minutes to 24 hours** of domain activation[2](#user-content-fn-2).

This certificate will cover your zone apex (`example.com`) and all first-level subdomains (`subdomain.example.com`), and is provisioned even if your records are DNS only. However, the certificate will only be presented if your domain or subdomains are [proxied](https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/proxy-status/).

## Footnotes

1. The most common Cloudflare setup that involves changing your authoritative nameservers. [↩](#user-content-fnref-1)

2. Provisioning time depends on certain security checks and other requirements mandated by Certificate Authorities (CA). [↩](#user-content-fnref-2)

## Can you visit your website?

To make sure your website's SSL/TLS is working correctly, try visiting your website over an HTTPS connection (where you specify the `https://` at the beginning of the URL, like `https://example.com`).

If you have any deeper subdomains (`test.www.example.com`), also try visiting those over HTTPS (`https://test.www.example.com`).

### Potential issues

Sometimes, domains added to Cloudflare can experience issues in SSL/TLS certificates.

```mermaid
flowchart TD
accTitle: Potential SSL/TLS issues
A[Request to <code>https://</code><code>example.com</code>] --> B[<code>ERR_SSL_VERSION_OR_CIPHER_MISMATCH</code>]
B --> C[Domain or subdomain not covered by certificate]
A --> D[<code>ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS</code>]
D --> E[Redirect loop between <code>http</code> and <code>https</code>]
A --> F[Error <code>525</code> or <code>526</code>]
F --> G[Mismatch origin and Cloudflare settings]
```



For more details on these errors and how to fix them, refer to the following resources:

* [`ERR_SSL_VERSION_OR_CIPHER_MISMATCH`](https://developers.cloudflare.com/ssl/troubleshooting/version-cipher-mismatch/)
* [`ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS`](https://developers.cloudflare.com/ssl/troubleshooting/too-many-redirects/)
* [Cloudflare 5xx errors](https://developers.cloudflare.com/support/troubleshooting/http-status-codes/cloudflare-5xx-errors/)
* [Common SSL/TLS errors](https://developers.cloudflare.com/ssl/troubleshooting/general-ssl-errors/)
* [Universal SSL/TLS certificates](https://developers.cloudflare.com/ssl/edge-certificates/universal-ssl/)
* [Cloudflare encryption modes](https://developers.cloudflare.com/ssl/origin-configuration/ssl-modes/)
