Get started with SSL for SaaS

​​ Prerequisites

Before you can start creating custom hostnames, you need to have access to SSL for SaaS .

If you have not used the Cloudflare API previously, review our API Quickstart .

​​ Step 1 — Create fallback origin and CNAME target

The fallback origin is where Cloudflare will route traffic sent to your custom hostnames (must be proxied).

The CNAME target — optional, but highly encouraged — provides a friendly and more flexible place for customers to route their traffic .

1. Create a new application and select the Free plan.

2. Navigate to DNS.

3. Create two DNS records:

• A proxied A or AAAA record pointing to the IP address of your fallback origin (where Cloudflare will send custom hostname traffic).
• A CNAME record that points your CNAME target to your fallback origin (can be a wildcard such as *.customers.saasprovider.com).

4. Enable Custom Hostnames for your zone:

   • If you are an Enterprise customer, upgrade your zone to an Enterprise plan and contact your Customer Success Manager to enable SSL for SaaS Certificates.
   • If you are not an Enterprise customer, go to SSL/TLS > Custom Hostnames to enable Cloudflare for SaaS.

5. Set the Fallback Origin via either the dashboard or API.

   • Dashboard:

     1. Navigate to SSL/TLS > Custom Hostnames.
     2. In the Custom Hostnames card, enter the hostname for your fallback origin.
     3. Click Add.

   • API: Using the hostname from the A or AAAA record you just created, update the fallback origin value Open external link .

​​ Step 2 — Review validation and verification options

Each Custom Hostname requires successful Certificate Validation and Hostname Verification.

• Certificate Validation : Upon successful validation, the certificates are deployed to Cloudflare’s edge network.
• Hostname Verification : Upon successful validation, Cloudflare proxies traffic for this hostname.

Depending on which method you select for each of these options, additional steps might be required for you and your customers.

​​ Step 3 — Issue certificate

Once your account has been provisioned, you are ready to issue certificates.

For each custom hostname certificate you request, Cloudflare issues two certificates that are bundled in chains that maximize browser compatibility (unless you upload custom certificates ). The primary certificate uses a P-256 key, is SHA-2/ECDSA signed, and will be presented to browsers that support elliptic curve cryptography (ECC). The secondary or fallback certificate uses an RSA 2048-bit key, is SHA-2/RSA signed, and will be presented to browsers that do not support ECC.

Once issued, certificates are valid for one year. Renewals depend on your chosen method for Domain Control Validation .

​​ Step 4 — Monitor and view certificates

Once you issue certificates, Cloudflare will initiate the domain validation process using the method you specified.

With a CNAME in place, the entire process — from validation to issuance to edge deployment — completes in approximately 90 seconds.

​​ Monitor certificate status

For help tracking a certificate’s status, refer to Monitor certificates .

​​ View certificates

Once domain validation has been completed, the certificates will be issued and distributed to Cloudflare’s edge.

To view these certificates, use openssl or your browser. The command below can be used in advance of your customer pointing the app.example.com hostname to the edge ( provided validation was completed ).

$ openssl s_client -servername app.example.com -connect $CNAME_TARGET:443 </dev/null 2>/dev/null | openssl x509 -noout -text | grep app.example.com

​​ Step 5 — Have customer create a CNAME record

Your customer needs to set up a CNAME record at their DNS provider that points to your CNAME target .

For example:

app CNAME john.customers.saasprovider.com

This routes traffic from app.customer.com to your origin.