# SAML connection options cert vs signingCert

**URL:** <https://community.auth0.com/t/saml-connection-options-cert-vs-signingcert/108105>\
**Category:** Get Help\
**Tags:** connections-management-api, management-api\
**Created:** [May 30, 2023, 11:49am UTC](https://community.auth0.com/t/saml-connection-options-cert-vs-signingcert/108105 "2023-05-30T11:49:48Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![auth0user1995](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/auth0/user_avatar/community.auth0.com/auth0user1995/32/47614_2.png) [@auth0user1995](https://community.auth0.com/u/auth0user1995)\
**Post date:** [May 30, 2023, 11:49am UTC](https://community.auth0.com/t/saml-connection-options-cert-vs-signingcert/108105/1 "2023-05-30T11:49:48Z")

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Hello, We are trying to create SAML Connection through [Auth0 Management API Create Connection Call](https://auth0.com/docs/api/management/beta/v2/create-a-connection)

Q1- What is the use of signingCert option while creating SAML connection?

- This seems a required field. We are getting an error: Bad Request/ 400, ‘The signing Certificate public key is required.’

- Also, referred to [this community post](https://community.auth0.com/t/what-are-the-supported-properties-when-creating-a-saml-connection-via-the-management-api/79016/9), signingCert option is left empty?

Q2- How to derive value for ‘signingCert’ ?

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**Author:** ![jstatham](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/auth0/user_avatar/community.auth0.com/jstatham/32/6328_2.png) [@jstatham](https://community.auth0.com/u/jstatham)\
**Post date:** [January 12, 2026, 11:24pm UTC](https://community.auth0.com/t/saml-connection-options-cert-vs-signingcert/108105/2 "2026-01-12T23:24:39Z")

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Just hit my head against the wall for this. What was actually required to complete the signingCert and related fields is just the metadataUrl in my case

metadataUrl: [https://Thehostapp/sso/saml/metadata](https://Thehostapp/sso/saml/metadata)

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**Author:** ![gerald.czifra](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/auth0/user_avatar/community.auth0.com/gerald.czifra/32/75301_2.png) [@gerald.czifra](https://community.auth0.com/u/gerald.czifra)\
**Post date:** [January 16, 2026, 5:42pm UTC](https://community.auth0.com/t/saml-connection-options-cert-vs-signingcert/108105/4 "2026-01-16T17:42:30Z")

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Hi @jstatham

Thank you for sharing this information with the Community!

As this topic can still be valuable to other members, I will share some documentations with useful information on the matter:

- the **signingCert** is used to sign SAML responses/assertions in order to establish trust between the parties and verify the authenticity of the exchange. It is a key component of a SAML integration and I recommend reading through our general doc on [Sign and Encrypt SAML Requests](https://auth0.com/docs/authenticate/protocols/saml/saml-sso-integrations/sign-and-encrypt-saml-requests) for more details;
- the Signing Certificate needs to be obtained from the Identity Provider’s side and correctly formatted, usually as a PEM, more information can also be found in this [Support Article](https://support.auth0.com/center/s/article/The-Supported-Formats-for-SAML-Connection-Signing-Certificate-are-NOT-Consistent-Between-Dashboard-and-Management-API);
- I will also provide our [Configure Auth0 as SAML Service Provider](https://auth0.com/docs/authenticate/protocols/saml/saml-sso-integrations/configure-auth0-saml-service-provider) documentation here, in case it comes in handy.

Hope this helped and thank you for your input!

Best regards,  
Gerald

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**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/auth0/original/3X/b/5/b560f266932fcce5d57f09a6595bd50518cae3f3.jpeg) [@system](https://community.auth0.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [January 30, 2026, 5:43pm UTC](https://community.auth0.com/t/saml-connection-options-cert-vs-signingcert/108105/5 "2026-01-30T17:43:13Z")

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