A method and system are disclosed for renewing and revoking certificates. In one embodiment, a certificate may include a renewal extension field with renewal information. Multiple sets of renewal information may be recursively embedded. Upon determining that a certificate will shortly expire, a server may determine that the certificate has a renewal extension field with renewal information, and may request a symmetric key from a certificate authority to decrypt the renewal information. The certificate authority may respond by providing a symmetric key, and the server may use the symmetric key to decrypt the renewal information, which may include updated field values for the certificate. If a server requests a symmetric key too early, i.e., too long before a certificate expires, then certificate authority may deny the request, and the server may determine to wait and then try requesting the symmetric key again. In another embodiment, a certificate authority may revoke a certificate by providing a short lifespan and not providing a symmetric key to decrypt the renewal information.