diff --git a/src/client-config.cpp b/src/client-config.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c75615d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/client-config.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,115 @@
+/* -*- Mode:C++; c-file-style:"gnu"; indent-tabs-mode:nil; -*- */
+/**
+ * Copyright (c) 2017, Regents of the University of California.
+ *
+ * This file is part of ndncert, a certificate management system based on NDN.
+ *
+ * ndncert is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms
+ * of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either
+ * version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * ndncert is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY
+ * WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A
+ * PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received copies of the GNU General Public License along with
+ * ndncert, e.g., in COPYING.md file.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+ *
+ * See AUTHORS.md for complete list of ndncert authors and contributors.
+ */
+
+#include "client-config.hpp"
+
+namespace ndn {
+namespace ndncert {
+
+void
+ClientConfig::load(const std::string& fileName)
+{
+  try {
+    boost::property_tree::read_json(fileName, m_config);
+  }
+  catch (const boost::property_tree::info_parser_error& error) {
+    BOOST_THROW_EXCEPTION(Error("Failed to parse configuration file " + fileName +
+                                " " + error.message() + " line " + std::to_string(error.line())));
+  }
+
+  if (m_config.begin() == m_config.end()) {
+    BOOST_THROW_EXCEPTION(Error("Error processing configuration file: " + fileName + " no data"));
+  }
+
+  parse();
+}
+
+void
+ClientConfig::parse()
+{
+  m_caItems.clear();
+  auto caList = m_config.get_child("ca-list");
+  auto it = caList.begin();
+  for (; it != caList.end(); it++) {
+    CaItem item;
+    item.m_caName = Name(it->second.get<std::string>("ca-prefix"));
+    item.m_caInfo = it->second.get<std::string>("ca-info");
+    item.m_probe = it->second.get("probe", "");
+
+    auto challengeList = it->second.get_child("supported-challenges");
+    item.m_supportedChallenges = parseChallengeList(challengeList);
+
+    m_caItems.push_back(item);
+  }
+}
+
+std::list<std::string>
+ClientConfig::parseChallengeList(const ConfigSection& section)
+{
+  std::list<std::string> result;
+  auto it = section.begin();
+  for (; it != section.end(); it++) {
+    result.push_back(it->second.get<std::string>("type"));
+  }
+  return result;
+}
+
+void
+ClientConfig::addNewCaItem(const CaItem& item)
+{
+  auto& caList = m_config.get_child("ca-list");
+
+  ConfigSection newCaItem;
+  ConfigSection newCaChallengeList;
+  newCaItem.put("ca-prefix", item.m_caName.toUri());
+  newCaItem.put("ca-info", item.m_caInfo);
+  if (item.m_probe != "") {
+    newCaItem.put("probe", item.m_probe);
+  }
+  for (const auto& challengeType : item.m_supportedChallenges) {
+    ConfigSection challengeSection;
+    challengeSection.put("type", challengeType);
+    newCaChallengeList.push_back(std::make_pair("", challengeSection));
+  }
+  newCaItem.add_child("supported-challenges", newCaChallengeList);
+  caList.push_back(std::make_pair("", newCaItem));
+
+  parse();
+}
+
+void
+ClientConfig::removeCaItem(const Name& caName)
+{
+  auto& caList = m_config.get_child("ca-list");
+  auto it = caList.begin();
+  while (it != caList.end()) {
+    if (it->second.get<std::string>("ca-prefix") == caName.toUri()) {
+      it = caList.erase(it);
+      break;
+    }
+    else {
+      it++;
+    }
+  }
+  parse();
+}
+
+} // namespace ndncert
+} // namespace ndn
diff --git a/src/client-config.hpp b/src/client-config.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fbc71f3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/client-config.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+/* -*- Mode:C++; c-file-style:"gnu"; indent-tabs-mode:nil; -*- */
+/**
+ * Copyright (c) 2017, Regents of the University of California.
+ *
+ * This file is part of ndncert, a certificate management system based on NDN.
+ *
+ * ndncert is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms
+ * of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either
+ * version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * ndncert is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY
+ * WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A
+ * PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received copies of the GNU General Public License along with
+ * ndncert, e.g., in COPYING.md file.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+ *
+ * See AUTHORS.md for complete list of ndncert authors and contributors.
+ */
+
+#ifndef NDNCERT_CLIENT_CONFIG_HPP
+#define NDNCERT_CLIENT_CONFIG_HPP
+
+#include "ca-config.hpp"
+#include <boost/filesystem.hpp>
+
+namespace ndn {
+namespace ndncert {
+
+class CaItem
+{
+public:
+  Name m_caName;
+  std::string m_caInfo;
+  std::string m_probe;
+  std::list<std::string> m_supportedChallenges;
+};
+
+class ClientConfig
+{
+public:
+  class Error : public std::runtime_error
+  {
+  public:
+    using std::runtime_error::runtime_error;
+  };
+
+public:
+  void
+  load(const std::string& fileName);
+
+  void
+  addNewCaItem(const CaItem& item);
+
+  void
+  removeCaItem(const Name& caName);
+
+PUBLIC_WITH_TESTS_ELSE_PRIVATE:
+  void
+  parse();
+
+  std::list<std::string>
+  parseChallengeList(const ConfigSection& section);
+
+public:
+  std::list<CaItem> m_caItems;
+
+PUBLIC_WITH_TESTS_ELSE_PRIVATE:
+  ConfigSection m_config;
+};
+
+} // namespace ndncert
+} // namespace ndn
+
+#endif // NDNCERT_CLIENT_CONFIG_HPP
diff --git a/tests/unit-tests/client-config.t.cpp b/tests/unit-tests/client-config.t.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f9c7530
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit-tests/client-config.t.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+/* -*- Mode:C++; c-file-style:"gnu"; indent-tabs-mode:nil; -*- */
+/**
+ * Copyright (c) 2017, Regents of the University of California.
+ *
+ * This file is part of ndncert, a certificate management system based on NDN.
+ *
+ * ndncert is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms
+ * of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either
+ * version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * ndncert is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY
+ * WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A
+ * PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received copies of the GNU General Public License along with
+ * ndncert, e.g., in COPYING.md file.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+ *
+ * See AUTHORS.md for complete list of ndncert authors and contributors.
+ */
+
+#include "boost-test.hpp"
+#include "client-config.hpp"
+
+namespace ndn {
+namespace ndncert {
+namespace tests {
+
+BOOST_AUTO_TEST_SUITE(TestClientConfig)
+
+BOOST_AUTO_TEST_CASE(ReadConfigFile)
+{
+  ClientConfig config;
+  config.load("tests/unit-tests/client.conf.test");
+  BOOST_CHECK_EQUAL(config.m_caItems.size(), 2);
+
+  const auto& item = config.m_caItems.front();
+  BOOST_CHECK_EQUAL(item.m_caName.toUri(), "/ndn/edu/ucla/CA");
+  BOOST_CHECK_EQUAL(item.m_caInfo, "UCLA's ceritificate authority, located in BH4805.");
+  BOOST_CHECK_EQUAL(item.m_probe, "Please use your email address to apply a namespace first. UCLA email is preferred.");
+  BOOST_CHECK_EQUAL(item.m_supportedChallenges.size(), 2);
+  BOOST_CHECK_EQUAL(item.m_supportedChallenges.front(), "PIN");
+}
+
+BOOST_AUTO_TEST_CASE(AddAndRemoveCaItem)
+{
+  ClientConfig config;
+  config.load("tests/unit-tests/client.conf.test");
+
+  CaItem item;
+  item.m_caName = Name("/test");
+  item.m_caInfo = "test";
+  item.m_probe = "test";
+  std::list<std::string> list;
+  list.push_back("TEST");
+  item.m_supportedChallenges = list;
+
+  config.addNewCaItem(item);
+  BOOST_CHECK_EQUAL(config.m_caItems.size(), 3);
+  auto lastItem = config.m_caItems.back();
+  BOOST_CHECK_EQUAL(lastItem.m_caName.toUri(), "/test");
+
+  config.removeCaItem(Name("/test"));
+  BOOST_CHECK_EQUAL(config.m_caItems.size(), 2);
+  lastItem = config.m_caItems.back();
+  BOOST_CHECK_EQUAL(lastItem.m_caName.toUri(), "/ndn/edu/ucla/zhiyi/CA");
+}
+
+BOOST_AUTO_TEST_SUITE_END() // TestClientConfig
+
+} // namespace tests
+} // namespace ndncert
+} // namespace ndn
diff --git a/tests/unit-tests/client.conf.test b/tests/unit-tests/client.conf.test
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..745a43b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit-tests/client.conf.test
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+{
+  "ca-list":
+  [
+    {
+        "ca-prefix": "/ndn/edu/ucla/CA",
+        "ca-info": "UCLA's ceritificate authority, located in BH4805.",
+        "probe": "Please use your email address to apply a namespace first. UCLA email is preferred.",
+        "supported-challenges":
+        [
+            { "type": "PIN" },
+            { "type": "EMAIL" }
+        ]
+    },
+    {
+        "ca-prefix": "/ndn/edu/ucla/zhiyi/CA",
+        "ca-info": "Zhiyi's own ceritificate authority",
+        "supported-challenges":
+        [
+            { "type": "PIN" }
+        ]
+    }
+  ]
+}
\ No newline at end of file