Click the "Select File" button above, and choose your PEM file.
You’ll see a preview, if available.
Click the "Convert file to..." button to extract text information.
Convert PEM to another file type
To convert PEM Certificates to another format, you need OpenSSL or other Developer software.
Convert a file to PEM
To convert other file formats to the "Security Certificate" file type, you need software like OpenSSL or a similar tool.
About PEM files
.PEM files are Base64-encoded ASCII text files used to store cryptographic certificates, private keys, and certificate authorities (CAs). Originally designed for email security, they are now the standard container for web server SSL/TLS configurations. You can view the raw text of a .PEM file using any basic text editor, but managing and parsing the cryptographic contents requires specialized command-line tools like OpenSSL or Java Keytool. The main disadvantage of .PEM files is poor cross-platform compatibility. Systems like Microsoft Windows IIS and Java environments do not natively accept .PEM formats. Additionally, a single .PEM file can contain multiple stacked certificates and keys, which confuses software that expects a single certificate. Users frequently encounter "invalid format" errors because of invisible carriage returns (CRLF) or corrupted header lines caused by opening the file in standard word processors. To fix compatibility issues, you must convert the file. For Windows IIS, convert to PFX or P12 to bundle the private key and certificate into a single password-protected file. For Java applications, convert to JKS. For strict binary requirements on older hardware, convert to DER. Drop your file here to analyze and convert it securely right in your browser without typing complex OpenSSL commands.
Convert.Guru analyzes your PEM file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
If you want to convert PEM file to CRT, PFX, PPK, CER, P12, JKS, DER, KEY, HTML, HTM, CSS or JS, you can use OpenSSL or similar software from the "Cryptographic Key and Certificate Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert RSS, CSS, CGI, SITEMAP, PL, WEBMANIFEST, JSON, JS, XML, HTML, ICO or HTM files to PEM, try OpenSSL or another comparable tool in the "Cryptographic Key and Certificate Storage" category.
The PEM Converter Story
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our PEM converter.