What is Digital Signature Certificate
Digital Signature Certificate is referred to as a digital key issued by the certifying authority regarding validation and certification of a person’s identity holding the certificate. It is made with a mathematical scheme which makes it hard to be duplicated. The mathematical scheme makes sure that even when the documents are sent to the receiver, there are no changes made.
DSC (Digital Signature Certificate) contains some vital information about the user like name, country, email address, the date when the certificate is issued, and the name of the issuing authority.
The Government of India has made it mandatory for organizations and individuals to use Digital Signature certificates to keep the system safe and secure. It can be used in several places but no physical presence is required. This increases the level of convenience as companies do not have to spend hours signing hard copy documents.
The digital signature is a certificate, when attached to the documents, becomes a piece of evidence that is given by the signature holder, in the agreement of the IT law.
Digital Signatures are a very important part of the process of documentation because it is impossible and illegal to tamper with them.
The government and most of the private sector companies in India collect their tenders electronically through Digital Signatures.
Every business and individual who has to get their accounts audited for filing the income tax returns, has to do it compulsorily using Digital Signature.
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has given out orders that the private sectors must file all their applications, forms, and reports using digital signatures only.
If a company wants to register itself under GST, it can only be done by verifying all the necessary documents and GST applications through digital signature.
The whole paperwork has been shifted to using soft copies for the same and that can be sent to anyone across the world within no time. Digital Signature has great importance in the documentation and now is commonly used to log into websites that offer e-tender, e-procurement, etc.
DSC holds a lot of benefits, such as:
- authentication, i.e. Digital Signature Certificate helps keep the personal information of the individual authenticated while conducting the business online.
- This also saves a lot of time and money. Rather than signing the documents physically, scanning them, and then sending them via email, you can sign the digital PDF copy of the same document and send it. The Digital Signature Certificate holder should not necessarily be present for authorizing a business. This makes the work much quicker.
- Maintains the integrity of the data. Once the document is signed, there cannot be any other changes that can be done to it by someone else. This keeps the data safe and secure.
- Digital Signature certificates give an assurance to the receiver about the singer’s position and authenticity.
How to make Digital Signature?
Digital Signatures are very important for the business organization. For filing tax returns, registering the company under GST, etc, there are so many reasons where a Digital Signature certificate plays an important part.
So, how should one create Digital Signature? Digital Signatures should be secure as they verify the identity of the person that is signing. It should not be duplicated and has to be original at all costs.
Therefore, to make Digital Signature, you can either sign up to any online website that gives you steps to create the Digital Signature for free or else visit a good digital marketing agency that will help you create a legitimate Digital Signature for your business organization.
Make sure, Digital Signature verifies your and your business’s identity, therefore, it should not go wrong. Hence, get your DSC made by an authorized agency.
Read our latest blog – A Complete Guide to Digital Signature Certificate.
How to validate digital signatures?
It is important that you set the validation preferences in advance. This makes it easier to understand that the Digital Signatures are valid when a PDF is opened and the details about verification appear with the signature.
Whenever you receive a signed document, you might want to validate the signature to verify the person who has signed the document.
The validation might occur automatically, depending upon the way you have configured the application.
The determination of Signature validity is done by checking the authenticity of the Digital Signature’s ID certificate and document integrity.
Authenticity validity helps in confirming that the singer’s certificate exists in the list of trusted identities. It also helps in confirming whether the signing certificate is valid or not based on the user’s reader configuration.
Document integrity verification helps in confirming if the signed content is changed after signing or not. If the content is changed, document integrity verification helps in confirming the same.
How to Add a Digital Signature in a pdf?
To sign a PDF, you can either type, draw, or insert an image of your signature which is handwritten. Adding your text like your name, company’s name or date is also acceptable. And once the document is saved, the signature becomes a part of the PDF.
How to add a Digital Signature? Here are the steps:
- Open the PDF you wish to sign and click on the sign icon.
- You will get two options – fill and sign and request a signature.
- Choose the first option – fill and sign.
- The form fields are automatically detected. Hover the mouse where the Signature has to be done for a blue box to display.
- Type your text in this blue box and the field will be filled.
You can also add initials or your signature with similar steps.
- you will see two options on the sign tool – add a signature and add initials
- You will see the Signature or the initial panel.
- In this panel, you can type, draw, drag an image of your Signature and your PDF is signed.
How to add Digital Signature in word document
To add a digital signature to a word document has a simple process.
- in the word document, right-click on the signature line.
- from the menu, select the option sign.
- For adding a printed version of your signature, type your name next to the ‘X’ that appears.
- to select an image, click on the select image and drag the image of your signature into the file.
- To insert a handwritten signature (only for PC users), sign your name next to the X mentioned there using the inking feature. The Digital Signature has successfully been entered into your word document.
How to renew Digital Signature?
To renew the digital signature, follow the steps given below:
- log in with the user ID by using the existing Digital Signature Certificate.
- You will find an option saying “change DSC details”.
- Fill in the required details which have to be mapped with your DSC
- Select the renewed DSC.
Please make sure that your DSC is renewed from time to time and does not remain expired.
How to use a digital Signature pen drive?
There is a special USB that can store the Digital Signature files and sign docs.
DSC cannot be stored in any regular pen drive. Once the DSC has been downloaded and moved to the drive, it cannot be copied or moved from it and can only be used for signing.
You need to apply or specify the media for a Digital Signature. You need an e-token to carry the DSC data on the hard disk. An e-token is just like a USB dongle but has a lot of differences. If the media has been specified in the e-token, no changes can be made in the DSC.
Conclusion
Digital Signature certificates are an important part of a business organization. This plays an important role while a business or an individual has to file tax returns or register their company under GST.
Digital Signature also saves a lot of time. Instead of signing pages and spending so much time, digital Signatures can be done online without any wastage of paper and money.
In terms of safety, Digital Signature Certificate is extremely safe. It gives assurance to both the sender and the receiver about the authentication of the documents. Digital signage cannot be forged or tampered and even if it is, that is illegal.
There are three classes of Digital signatures that are issued by the certifying authority. Each certificate that is obtained defines which kind of DSC one must apply for, considering the needs.
Before applying for Digital Signature, the applicants must confirm which type of DSC is required for their business.
Class 1 Digital Signature Certificate: These certificates are issued to private subscribers or individuals that are further used for confirming the name and the email of the user that lies in the database of the certifying authority.
Class 2 Digital Signature Certificate: This is a very popular Digital Signature certificate in India and is frequently used. It is issued to companies as well as to individuals for signing purposes.
Class 3 Digital Signature Certificate: These certificates are more secure and are used for signing in online websites for e-tendering, e-procurement, e-auctions, etc.
If you have a business that needs a Digital Signature Certificate, contact DigiExcel as they are authorized to issue Class 2 and Class 3 Digital Signature certificates under the IT Act, 2000.