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Introduction
“Digital Signature Certificates” is the full form of DSC which is a handwritten signature document used by scanning it for filing e-forms. It confirms one’s own identity and is highly protected by the certified authorities. This Digital Signature Certificate acts as an identity proof for purposes like aadhar card, pan card, driving licence, passport, visa and so on. It helps in signing the digital documents. It consists of information about a person’s name, email address, certificate’s expiry date, pin code, sometimes house address and likewise. These are encrypted so that no one can access these illegally for some illegal purpose, only the owner or the company can have access to it.
Table of content
- Benefits of Digital Signature Certificate
- Types of Digital Signature Certificate
- Documents required for submission of Digital Signature Certificate
- Components of the Digital Signature Certificate
- How to apply for Digital Signature Certificate?
- Uses of the Digital Signature Certificate
- Interesting Facts about DSC
- Conclusion
- FAQs
Benefits of Digital Signature Certificate
The benefits of Digital Signature Certificate are;
- It provides authentication to one’s personal details or information about the company
- It is a time saving process and also reduces the cost
- Easy to maintain
- It provides better security or safety to the data
- It reduces the risk of data loss and provides integrity
Types of Digital Signature Certificate
There are three classes of digital signature certificates;
- Class 1 certificate (Sign): This certificate involves the signing of documents like pdf files for tax, for MCA (Ministry of Cooperative Affairs) signing and so on. It also matches the individual’s information with their stored database information regarding the consumer
- Class 2 certificate (Encrypt): It involves the downloading of the certificate after being signed and verified and these are encrypted. This type of certificate is issued to the higher authorities like the director or signatory of an organisation or a company
- Class 3 certificate (Sign and Encrypt): It includes both encrypting as well as signing and is highly secured. This certificate is issued for the person whose identity proof is verified by the Registration Authority. These are used in online training, online vending, e-bidding, GST (Goods and Service Tax) application filing, patent and trademark e-filing and so on
Documents required for submission of Digital Signature Certificate
The documents required are as follows;
- Photo identity proof
- Pan card
- Aadhar card
- Proof of address
- Submission of application form for digital signature certificates
The validity of this certificate is 3 years.
Components of the Digital Signature Certificate
Digital Signature Certificate includes;
- A unique number for digital identification of individuals
- Name, email address, contact number and house address of the applicant
- Signature of the applicant as well as sign of Certification Authority
- The expiry date and the date of issue is also present on the certificate so that it can be renewed on time
How to apply for Digital Signature Certificate?
The following steps have to followed in order to apply for digital signature certificate;
- Firstly, log in to the Certifying Authority Licence website for the purpose of issuing DSC
- Now select the entity for the certificate you need by clicking on ‘Digital Certification Services’ section
- The form has been downloaded and is filled accurately by the applicant with all the identity proofs like address proof, aadhar card (if required), photo Id proof and also a demand draft having Local Registration Authority’s name on the draft. Attach the digital signature as well as photo to the form
- Finally the form has to be submitted and after completion the digital signature certificate has been issued by the Certifying Authority in 3-7 days
Uses of the Digital Signature Certificate
The uses of digital signature certificates are as follows;
- It is used for digitally signed emails.
- It is used to fill the e-application forms.
- It is used in MS word, Google docs, MS Excel or in pdf format to sign the documents digitally.
- It is also used in patent and trademark e-filing, income tax, e-vending, e-tendering, e-procurement and likewise
- It is used in secure transactional interaction between a client (web browser) and a database system.
Interesting Facts about DSC
- Digital Signature ensures that no tampering of data is done once the document has been digitally signed.
- Ministry of Company Affairs has launched a prestigious e-Governance programme named MCA21
- A DSC is normally valid for 1 or 2 years, after which renewal is required.
- These Digital Signature Certificate used for e-forms has the same legal recognition and validity as handwritten signatures
- The Information Technology Act, 2000 has provisions for use of Digital Signatures on the documents submitted in electronic form in order to ensure the security and authenticity of the documents filed electronically.
Conclusion
DSC stands for Digital Signature Certificate in which the signature is used digitally for filing e-forms. It is a safe, secured and encrypted process. Anyone can apply for this certificate and is basically used for signing the important documents. This certificate is issued after verifying all the personal details of the individual digitally by the Certifying Authority. With the help of this certificate, the person can be present digitally according to their comfort and time and don’t have to present physically in front of the Authority. It saves lots of money as well as time for the applicant.
