High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! At the heart of every certificate authority or certification authority (CA) is at least one Root Key(s) or Root Certificate(s) and usually, at least one Intermediate Root Certificate(s). These Digital Certificates are made from a Public and a Private Key. A Root Key Ceremony is a procedure where a unique pair of Public and Private Root Keys is generated. Depending on the Certificate Policy, the generation of the Root Keys may require notarization, legal representation, witnesses and ‘Key Holders’ to be present. `Best practice` is to follow the SAS 70 standard for Root Key Ceremonies.