Created on
12-30-2025
07:29 AM
Edited on
01-04-2026
10:30 PM
By
Jean-Philippe_P
| Description | This article describes the issue of being unable to import a PKCS#12 certificate on a FortiGate firewall, and provides a step-by-step solution to resolve the problem. |
| Scope | FortiGate. |
| Solution |
In some cases, when importing a PKCS#12 certificate to the FortiGate, the following error is received:
'The imported local certificate is invalid.'
For PKCS#12 certificate uploads specifically, with duplicates already existing, the firewall does not say it is a duplicate. It returns the error above instead.
Check if there are any duplicate existing certificates on the firewall. This can be done by comparing the serial numbers of the existing certificates with those of the one being imported. The serial number of the new certificate can be checked by installing it on a different device.
If there is a duplicate, then no further action is needed.
Another possible reason for this error is that the certificate file is corrupted. In that case, it has to be procured again from the Certificate Authority on a different device from where it was corrupted in the first place.
If there is no duplicate, see the following article for further troubleshooting steps: Troubleshooting Tip: A guide to FortiGate and certificate issues. |
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