diff --git a/acertmgr.py b/acertmgr.py
index fe2e4d6..1e56b8e 100755
--- a/acertmgr.py
+++ b/acertmgr.py
@@ -16,8 +16,18 @@ import re
 import shutil
 import subprocess
 import tempfile
+import threading
 import yaml
 
+try:
+	from SimpleHTTPServer import SimpleHTTPRequestHandler
+except ImportError:
+	from http.server import SimpleHTTPRequestHandler
+
+try:
+	from SocketServer import TCPServer as HTTPServer
+except ImportError:
+	from http.server import HTTPServer
 
 ACME_DIR="/etc/acme/"
 ACME_CONF=ACME_DIR + "acme.conf"
@@ -31,6 +41,36 @@ class FileNotFoundError(OSError):
 class InvalidCertificateError(Exception):
 	pass
 
+# @brief custom request handler for ACME challenges
+# @note current working directory is temporarily changed by the script before
+#       the webserver starts, which allows using SimpleHTTPRequestHandler
+class ACMERequestHandler(SimpleHTTPRequestHandler):
+	# @brief remove directories from GET URL
+	# @details the current working directory contains the challenge files,
+	#          there is no need for creating subdirectories for the path
+	#          that ACME expects.
+	#          Additionally, this allows redirecting the ACME path to this
+	#          webserver without having to know which subdirectory is
+	#          redirected, which simplifies integration with existing
+	#          webservers.
+	def translate_path(self, path):
+		spath = path.split('/')
+		assert(spath[0] == '')
+		spath = spath[1:]
+		if spath[0] == '.well-known':
+			spath = spath[1:]
+		if spath[0] == 'acme-challenge':
+			spath = spath[1:]
+		assert(len(spath) == 1)
+		spath.insert(0, '')
+		path = '/'.join(spath)
+		return SimpleHTTPRequestHandler.translate_path(self, path)
+
+# @brief start the standalone webserver
+# @param server the HTTPServer object
+# @note this function is used to be passed to threading.Thread
+def start_standalone(server):
+	server.serve_forever()
 
 # @brief check whether existing certificate is still valid or expiring soon
 # @param crt_file string containing the path to the certificate file
@@ -87,6 +127,16 @@ def cert_get(domain, settings):
 	if not os.path.isdir(challenge_dir):
 		raise FileNotFoundError("Challenge directory (%s) does not exist!" % challenge_dir)
 
+	if settings['mode'] == 'standalone':
+		port = settings.get('port', 80)
+
+		current_dir = os.getcwd()
+		os.chdir(challenge_dir)
+		HTTPServer.allow_reuse_address = True
+		server = HTTPServer(("", port), ACMERequestHandler)
+		server_thread = threading.Thread(target=start_standalone, args=(server, ))
+		server_thread.start()
+
 	try:
 		cr = subprocess.check_output(['openssl', 'req', '-new', '-sha256', '-key', key_file, '-out', csr_file, '-subj', '/CN=%s' % domain])
 
@@ -101,6 +151,10 @@ def cert_get(domain, settings):
 			shutil.copy2(crt_file, crt_final)
 
 	finally:
+		if settings['mode'] == 'standalone':
+			os.chdir(current_dir)
+			server.shutdown()
+			server_thread.join()
 		os.remove(csr_file)
 		os.remove(crt_file)