How to Add & Manage DNS Records in cPanel

Using AutoSSL with Cloudflare

If your website uses Cloudflare alongside cPanel AutoSSL, certain Cloudflare SSL settings can occasionally prevent AutoSSL from renewing properly. This guide explains how to temporarily adjust those settings so your SSL certificate can renew successfully.

Common AutoSSL Error

You may see an error similar to:

Local HTTP DCV error: The content of the DCV file did not match the expected value.

This usually happens because Cloudflare is forcing HTTPS redirects or validating certificates too strictly during the AutoSSL verification process.

The most common causes are:

  • Always Use HTTPS
  • Full (Strict) SSL mode

Step 1 — Change Cloudflare SSL Mode

  1. Log into your Cloudflare dashboard.
  2. Select your domain name.
  3. Navigate to SSL/TLS.
  4. Under the Overview tab, locate the SSL mode.
  5. Change the mode from:
Full (Strict)

to:

Full

This still keeps traffic encrypted while allowing AutoSSL to validate and renew correctly.

Step 2 — Disable "Always Use HTTPS"

  1. Inside Cloudflare, open SSL/TLS.
  2. Select the Edge Certificates tab.
  3. Locate:
Always Use HTTPS
  1. Temporarily toggle this setting Off.

This prevents Cloudflare from redirecting validation requests before AutoSSL can complete.

Step 3 — Run AutoSSL in cPanel

  1. Log into your cPanel account.
  2. Open SSL/TLS Status.
  3. Click Run AutoSSL.
AutoSSL renewals may take several minutes to complete.

Step 4 — Re-enable Strict SSL (Optional)

Once AutoSSL successfully renews the certificate, you may switch Cloudflare back to:

Full (Strict)

Many customers choose to leave Cloudflare set to Full to help avoid future renewal interruptions.

Optional: Force HTTPS Using .htaccess

If you disabled Cloudflare's HTTPS redirect feature, you can still force HTTPS directly from your hosting account.

Edit Your .htaccess File

Add the following rules to your website’s .htaccess file:

RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]

This will automatically redirect all visitors to the secure HTTPS version of your website.

Summary

  • Change SSL mode from Full (Strict) to Full
  • Disable Always Use HTTPS
  • Run AutoSSL inside cPanel
  • Optionally re-enable stricter SSL settings afterward

These steps resolve the majority of Cloudflare-related AutoSSL renewal issues.

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