DIGITAL SIGNATURES

Digital Signature Certificates (DSC) are the digital equivalent (that is electronic format) of physical or paper certificates. Few Examples of physical certificates are drivers’ licenses, passports or membership cards. Certificates serve as proof of identity of an individual for a certain purpose; for example, a driver’s license identifies someone who can legally drive in a particular country. Likewise, a digital certificate can be presented electronically to prove one’s identity, to access information or services on the Internet or to sign certain documents digitally.

Need for Digital Signature Certificates.

Physical documents are signed manually, similarly, electronic documents, for example e-forms are required to be signed digitally using a Digital Signature Certificate.

Who issues the Digital Signature Certificates?

A licensed Certifying Authority (CA) issues the digital signature. Certifying Authority (CA) means a person who has been granted a license to issue a digital signature certificate under Section 24 of the Indian IT-Act 2000.The list of licensed CAs along with their contact information is available on the MCA portal.

Types of Digital Signature Certificates

The different types of Digital Signature Certificates are:

Class 2: Here, the identity of a person is verified against a trusted, pre-verified database.

Class 3: This is the highest level where the person needs to present himself or herself in front of a Registration Authority (RA) and prove his/ her identity.

DSC of either Class 2 and Class 3 signing certificate category issued by a licensed Certifying Authority (CA) needs to be obtained for e-Filing on the MCA Portal.

Legal status of Digital Signature

Digital Signatures are legally admissible in a Court of Law, as provided under the provisions of IT Act, 2000.

Troubleshooting Errors When Using DSC

When you try to register a Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) or upload a form with signature on it, you
may face errors such as,

 “Your Certifying Authority (CA) is not trusted. Please use a trusted CA”.
 “User Id against this Digital Certificate already exists.”
 “Your certificate has been revoked.”

The errors can be fixed by following the prescribed procedure.

Contact Estate Registration for more details!