An Identity System obtains and maintains real time certificate status. The Identity System retrieves real time status information for the System's certificates and stores a record of the status. The Identity System also stores validation information for the certificate, including the time the real time status was retrieved and a validation interval of time extending from the status retrieval time. Smaller validation intervals reduce the potential for the real time status changing during the validation interval. When the Identity System exports or displays a certificate for a user, the Identity System can employ the stored validation information and certificate status to ensure the certificate's validity.