AD CS: not-before is the validity start

Not-before is printed on the certificate

An issued row can show not-before, the start of the validity window on that certificate. That date is part of the certificate. It is not, by itself, the clock on the request form.

Not-after, if you also have it, is the end of that same window. The two dates bound validity. They do not describe a sign-in, and this page does not add a way to request a certificate.

Submission is another column

If the request view shows a submitted time, that is when the CA recorded the request. It can be earlier than not-before. Quote it as submission. Do not overwrite it with not-before so the story is one date.

If the submitted time is absent, write “submission time not on this row.” Do not copy not-before into that sentence.

What to file

File the request id, not-before, and the submission time if it is present. Label each date. A sentence about “when it becomes valid” uses not-before. A sentence about “when it was requested” uses the submission time.

Worked case: 1 January read as the request

Request 318 shows submitted 2025-12-20 and not-before 2026-01-01. A draft says the request was made on 1 January because that is the first date on the certificate.

The note quotes 20 December as submission and 1 January as the validity start. The request was not moved to January. The certificate’s start date stays a validity field.

request: 318
submitted: 2025-12-20
not-before: 2026-01-01
write: submission and validity start
not: requested on 1 January