An Extended Premium Validation (EV) SSL certificate is a digital certificate issued in conformance with the extended validation guidelines defined by the CA/Browser Forum.

The introduction of Extended Premium Validation (EV) SSL certificates will tighten the security of Internet transactions as certificate requestors will be subject to a thorough, standardized vetting process which all issuing Certification Authorities (CAs) must adhere to.

Extended Premium Validation (EV) SSL certificates are particularly useful for companies whose Internet domains are considered at a high risk of being targeted by phishing schemes and other types of Internet fraud. High-risk domains include domains owned by high-profile online financial services, banking sites, auction sites, popular retailers and other sites that conduct Internet transactions likely to be targeted by Internet fraud.