How to stop "Select a certificate for authentication" appearing at google.com using Edge browser

Question

How to stop "Select a certificate for authentication" appearing at google.com using Edge browser

Leonard Wapner 50

Using Edge and going to www.google.com I now see the prompt, "Select a certificate for authentication" appearing at this site. I can cancel or x out of this and all is well. But it reappears whenever I return to this site. How can I stop this from popping up each time I go to Google?

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2 answers

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Answer 1

Manoel Barros 19,455 Independent Advisor

Hi!

Are you in a corporate, educational, or home environment? Which of these environments does your computer belong to?

Does the problem occur in other browsers?

Do you have personal or company certificates installed on your computer?

Do you use any antivirus software, such as Avast, AVG, or McAfee? Open Windows Settings (Windows + I) > Apps > Installed Apps > Check if you have any antivirus software installed.

Do you use a VPN?

Leonard Wapner 50 Reputation points

2026-06-17T02:21:18.8166667+00:00

Home user - Windows 11. The problem is intermittent, also occurring on Chrome but not on DuckDuckGo. It also occurred on Google's AI site (I forget which that is. CoPilot? Gemini?) I us Defender only and no VPN.
Manoel Barros 19,455 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-06-18T01:13:59.2966667+00:00
Thanks!

I'm going to ask you to try creating a new user to check if the problem is with your current user account.

Go to System Settings (CTRL + I) > Select ''Accounts'' > 'Family and other users'' > ''Add another person to this PC'.

On the Accounts screen, choose the option ''I don’t have that person’s login information' > Then select ''Add a user without a Microsoft account''.

Click on the newly created user > Click "Change account type" > Under Account Type, change the option "Default User" to "Administrator" > Click "OK".

Enter the username, and password (optional, leave blank if you do not want to put password) > Click ''Next'.

Press the shortcut CTRL + ALT + DEL (DELETE) > Select ''Exit'' option > On the Login screen, choose the new user created.

See if the problem will occur with this new user.
Leonard Wapner 50 Reputation points

2026-06-18T01:51:33+00:00

Thanks, Manoel. The problem was intermittent and has not occurred the past two days. If it returns, I'll consider the additional steps you suggest.
Manoel Barros 19,455 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-06-18T15:47:40.5733333+00:00

Okay, thanks for your feedback!

Please be aware that the topic is automatically closed after a few days of inactivity.

Answer 2

The prompt is caused by Edge trying to use a client certificate for authentication when a site (or a misconfiguration) suggests one is needed and multiple matching certificates are available. To stop the “Select a certificate for authentication” dialog from appearing, configure Edge so it does not auto‑select or prompt for a certificate in this situation.

In managed or advanced setups, this is controlled by the (now deprecated) ForceCertificatePromptsOnMultipleMatches policy, which works together with AutoSelectCertificateForUrls:

If AutoSelectCertificateForUrls is not configured for a site, Edge always prompts the user to select a certificate when one is requested.
If AutoSelectCertificateForUrls is configured for a site and there are multiple matching certificates:
- Enabled ForceCertificatePromptsOnMultipleMatches: Edge prompts the user to select a certificate.
- Disabled or not configured: Edge automatically selects a certificate and does not prompt.

To prevent the repeated prompt for Google in a managed environment:

Ensure there is no AutoSelectCertificateForUrls entry that targets google.com or its subdomains.
If such an entry is required for other sites, set ForceCertificatePromptsOnMultipleMatches so that Edge does not prompt when multiple certificates match (i.e., leave it disabled or not configured), or adjust the certificate selection rules so only one certificate matches.

On Windows, the policy can be set via Group Policy or the registry (for administrators):

Group Policy path: Administrative Templates/Microsoft Edge
- Policy name: Configure whether Microsoft Edge should automatically select a certificate when there are multiple certificate matches for a site configured with "AutoSelectCertificateForUrls" (deprecated)
Registry path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge
- Value name: ForceCertificatePromptsOnMultipleMatches
- Value type: REG_DWORD
- Example value to enable prompting: 0x00000001 (for suppressing prompts, leave the policy not configured or set accordingly in Group Policy).

Because this policy is deprecated and does not work in Microsoft Edge version 104 and later, newer versions should instead use the replacement policy PromptOnMultipleMatchingCertificates to control whether users are prompted when multiple matching certificates exist.

If the environment is not domain‑managed and no certificate policies have been intentionally configured, the repeated prompt typically indicates an underlying certificate or site configuration issue. In that case, removing any client certificates that are being offered for google.com or having an administrator review certificate deployment and Edge certificate policies will stop the dialog from appearing.

References:

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How to stop "Select a certificate for authentication" appearing at google.com using Edge browser

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