One embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method that includes accessing, by a mobile device management system, a profile for a mobile device. The method also includes negotiating, by the mobile device management system, with a certificate authority to obtain a certificate for the mobile device. The negotiating with the certificate authority includes imitating the mobile device based on the profile. The negotiating with the certificate authority also includes, based at least on the imitation, transmitting one or more certificate enrollment messages to the certificate authority. The negotiating with the certificate authority further includes, based on the one or more messages, receiving, at the mobile device management system, the certificate for the mobile device. The method further includes transmitting the certificate to a control agent hosted on the mobile device for installation.