What is Digital Signature?

A digital signature is just another form of a signature. It helps to authenticate electronic documents just like a handwritten sign helps to verify physical documents. To verify documents and to get access to specific services on the Internet, one requires a Digital Signature Certificate. It’s a must for IPO e-filing, Patent e-filing, and Trademark e-filing. It is helpful for e-Trading, e-Procurement, e-Filing of income tax returns, and registering companies online, too.

Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) can be issued through the Controller of Certifying Authorities (CCA), Government of India, and licensed by Code Solutions- CA. CA means a person who has permission to issue a digital signature certificate under section 24 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 and has been granted a license.

DSC varies in its class. The Class I DSC validates the email address of its users. They allow the Class II DSC to a person when his/her identity verifies against pre-verified data. They issue Class III to a person who verifies their identity by being physically present at the authorized Govt. body. This class III is the most trusted DSC. The fees for issuing a DSC may vary from one institution to another and have the validation of 1-2 years.