Required trusted root certificates
This article lists the trusted root certificates that are required by Windows operating systems. These trusted root certificates are required for the operating system to run correctly.
Applies to: Supported versions of Windows Server and Windows Client
Original KB number: 293781
Summary
As part of a public key infrastructure (PKI) trust management procedure, some administrators may decide to remove trusted root certificates from a Windows-based domain, server, or client. However, the root certificates that are listed in the Necessary and trusted root certificates section in this article are required for the operating system to operate correctly. Removal of the following certificates may limit functionality of the operating system, or may cause the computer to fail. Don't remove them.
Necessary and trusted root certificates
The following certificates are necessary and trusted in:
- Windows 7
- Windows Vista
- Windows Server 2008 R2
- Windows Server 2008
| Issued to | Issued by | Serial number | Expiration date | Intended purposes | Friendly name | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Root Authority | Microsoft Root Authority | 00c1008b3c3c8811d13ef663ecdf40 | 12/31/2020 | All | Microsoft Root Authority | R |
| Thawte Timestamping CA | Thawte Timestamping CA | 00 | 12/31/2020 | Time Stamping | Thawte Timestamping CA | R |
| Microsoft Root Certificate Authority | Microsoft Root Certificate Authority | 79ad16a14aa0a5ad4c7358f407132e65 | 5/9/2021 | All | Microsoft Root Certificate Authority | R |
The follow certificates are necessary and trusted in Windows XP and in Windows Server 2003:
| Issued to | Issued by | Serial number | Expiration date | Intended purposes | Friendly name | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Copyright (c) 1997 Microsoft Corp. | Copyright (c) 1997 Microsoft Corp. | 01 | 12/30/1999 | Time Stamping | Microsoft Timestamp Root | R |
| Microsoft Authenticode(tm) Root Authority | Microsoft Authenticode(tm) Root Authority | 01 | 12/31/1999 | Secure E-mail, Code Signing | Microsoft Authenticode(tm) Root | R |
| Microsoft Root Authority | Microsoft Root Authority | 00c1008b3c3c8811d13ef663ecdf40 | 12/31/2020 | All | Microsoft Root Authority | R |
| NO LIABILITY ACCEPTED, (c)97 VeriSign, Inc. | NO LIABILITY ACCEPTED, (c)97 VeriSign, Inc. | 4a19d2388c82591ca55d735f155ddca3 | 1/7/2004 | Time Stamping | VeriSign Time Stamping CA | R |
| VeriSign Commercial Software Publishers CA | VeriSign Commercial Software Publishers CA | 03c78f37db9228df3cbb1aad82fa6710 | 1/7/2004 | Secure E-mail, Code Signing | VeriSign Commercial Software Publishers CA | R |
| Thawte Timestamping CA | Thawte Timestamping CA | 00 | 12/31/2020 | Time Stamping | Thawte Timestamping CA | R |
| Microsoft Root Certificate Authority | Microsoft Root Certificate Authority | 79ad16a14aa0a5ad4c7358f407132e65 | 5/9/2021 | All | Microsoft Root Certificate Authority | R |
The follow certificates are necessary and trusted in Microsoft Windows 2000:
| Issued to | Issued by | Serial number | Expiration date | Intended purposes | Friendly name | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Copyright (c) 1997 Microsoft Corp. | Copyright (c) 1997 Microsoft Corp. | 01 | 12/30/1999 | Time Stamping | Microsoft Timestamp Root | R |
| Microsoft Authenticode(tm) Root Authority | Microsoft Authenticode(tm) Root Authority | 01 | 12/31/1999 | Secure E-mail, Code Signing | Microsoft Authenticode(tm) Root | R |
| Microsoft Root Authority | Microsoft Root Authority | 00c1008b3c3c8811d13ef663ecdf40 | 12/31/2020 | All | Microsoft Root Authority | R |
| NO LIABILITY ACCEPTED, (c)97 VeriSign, Inc. | NO LIABILITY ACCEPTED, (c)97 VeriSign, Inc. | 4a19d2388c82591ca55d735f155ddca3 | 1/7/2004 | Time Stamping | VeriSign Time Stamping CA | R |
| VeriSign Commercial Software Publishers CA | VeriSign Commercial Software Publishers CA | 03c78f37db9228df3cbb1aad82fa6710 | 1/7/2004 | Secure E-mail, Code Signing | VeriSign Commercial Software Publishers CA | R |
| Thawte Timestamping CA | Thawte Timestamping CA | 00 | 12/31/2020 | Time Stamping | Thawte Timestamping CA | R |
Some certificates that are listed in the previous tables have expired. However, these certificates are necessary for backward compatibility. Even if there's an expired trusted root certificate, anything that was signed by using that certificate before the expiration date requires that the trusted root certificate is validated. As long as expired certificates aren't revoked, they can be used to validate anything that was signed before their expiration.