Clear SSL State and Update Root Certificates (Chrome, Windows, macOS, Linux)

Short answer: to clear SSL certificates in Chrome, fully restart the browser by typing chrome://restart in the address bar. Chrome keeps TLS sessions and certificate decisions in memory, so a full restart clears them. In Windows, also use Internet Options → Content → Clear SSL state. This only fixes stale data on your device. If the site’s certificate itself is broken, the warning comes back.

Clearing the SSL state helps when…	It does not help when…
The site owner just fixed or replaced the certificate	The certificate is expired, revoked or for another domain
You clicked “Proceed” once and want the warning back	The server sends an incomplete chain
Chrome remembers the wrong client certificate	Your device clock or date is wrong
Your device lacks a newer root certificate (update the root store)	Antivirus or a proxy intercepts HTTPS

How to clear SSL certificates in Chrome

Chrome has no single “clear SSL” button. Instead, restart the browser and, if needed, reset the site’s security policy. Follow these steps in order and test the site after each one.

Does Chrome cache SSL certificates?

Yes, in a limited way. Chrome keeps TLS session data, intermediate certificates and your “Proceed anyway” decisions in memory, and remembers which client certificate you picked for a site. It does not permanently store a website’s certificate as trusted. A full restart clears these caches.

How to clear SSL certificates in Edge

Microsoft Edge is built on Chromium, so the same steps apply with an edge:// prefix: edge://restart, edge://net-internals/#sockets and edge://net-internals/#hsts. Then also clear the Windows SSL state below.

Delete or reset an SSL certificate in Chrome

To remove a certificate you installed yourself, such as an old client certificate or a test root, open Settings → Privacy and security → Security → Manage certificates. On Windows and macOS this leads to the operating system store, where you delete it. Do not remove built-in root certificates; that can break many websites.

How to clear the SSL state in Windows

Windows keeps its own SSL session cache, used by Windows apps and services that rely on the built-in TLS stack. Clearing it takes a few seconds:

1. Press Win + R, type inetcpl.cpl and press Enter.
2. Open the Content tab.
3. Click Clear SSL state, then OK.
4. Restart the browser or app that showed the error.

To remove a personal certificate, open certmgr.msc, find it under Personal → Certificates, right-click and choose Delete. Export a backup first if you might need it again.

Tip: If clearing changes nothing, check the website itself with our SSL checker. If it fails there too, the problem is on the server, not on your device.

Update root certificates on your device

A root certificate is a CA certificate your device trusts by default. If the root store is outdated, newer certificates can show as untrusted. Updating it fixes errors that clearing the cache cannot. How roots and intermediates link up is explained in our guide to the SSL certificate chain.

System	How roots are updated
Windows	Windows Update, plus automatic root updates when a new root is first needed. Install pending updates.
macOS	System Settings → General → Software Update. Root updates ship with macOS updates.
Ubuntu / Debian	sudo apt update && sudo apt install --only-upgrade ca-certificates
RHEL / Fedora / Rocky	sudo dnf update ca-certificates
Firefox	Ships its own root store; updates with Firefox itself.

Update SSL certificates on Linux

To trust an extra CA, such as a company root, add it to the system store and rebuild the bundle:

# Ubuntu / Debian (file must end in .crt, PEM format)
sudo cp company-root.crt /usr/local/share/ca-certificates/
sudo update-ca-certificates

# RHEL / Fedora / Rocky
sudo cp company-root.crt /etc/pki/ca-trust/source/anchors/
sudo update-ca-trust

To remove a root you added, delete the file and run sudo update-ca-certificates --fresh (Debian/Ubuntu) or sudo update-ca-trust (RHEL family).

How to refresh an SSL certificate in Firefox

Firefox uses its own certificate store and its own TLS cache. Quit Firefox fully and reopen it. To remove a security exception you added, open Settings → Privacy & Security → Certificates → View Certificates, go to the Servers tab, select the entry and click Delete. To reset HSTS for one site, right-click it in the history list and choose Forget About This Site. This also deletes that site’s cookies and history.

Refresh certificates on macOS

Quit and reopen Safari or Chrome to clear session caches. To delete a certificate you added, open Keychain Access, select the login or System keychain, find the certificate, and delete it. Then install pending macOS updates for the current root store.

Still seeing the warning?

Check three device issues first: the date and time, HTTPS scanning in antivirus software, and a company proxy that replaces certificates. If none apply and the warning appears on other devices too, the website has a certificate problem. Look up the exact message in our list of SSL certificate errors.