DSC Registration in India

DSC stands for Digital Signature Certificate. Now, before understanding what digital signature is, lets first
know what a signature means. A signature is simply a proof in the hands of receiver to know that the
document which he or she has received is coming from a correct entity or a verified correct source.

Now, dealing with digital signature certificate, the online business scenario is the requirement of the
current age and there are many things which are associated with it. Signature is the finest accessible
technique to do convenient and safe online transactions and digital application. Digital Signature
Certificate is a secured form of digital key that is issued by the certifying authorities for the identity
validation and certification of the person holding this certificate. Now the question arises that what is
digital key? So, a digital key is a small USB device which is fused into print. It launches the website
automatically on a computer when it is plugged in. It is therefore a tool for the clients to trigger
engaging communication with the target audience in the interactive and novel way. Digital Signature
Certificate is a mathematical technique used to validate the authenticity and integrity of a digital
document, message or software. The signature created by the digital signature makes use of public
key encryption. A public key encryption is a cryptographic system which uses two keys i.e. a public key
which is known to everyone and a private  or  secret key which is known only to the recipient of a
particular message.

Example: If A wants to send a secure message to B then A uses B’s public key to encrypt the message. B
then uses his or her private key to decrypt that particular message.

There is one important element to the public key system and that is the public and private keys are
related with each other in such a way that only the public key can be used to encrypt the messages and
only the corresponding private key is used to decrypt that particular message. Further, it is almost
impossible to deduce the private key if you already know the public key.

A digital signature certificate (DSC) is the one which contains information about the user’s name, email
address, pin code, country, date of issuance of the certificate and also the name of the certifying
authority. In India, eMudhra has been authorized as one of the certifying authority for issuance of Digital
Signature Certificate by the Controller of Certifying Authority for the issuing of digital signature purpose.
Other certifying authorities may include Code Solutions, Safescrypt, National Informatics Centre, and
Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology.

The kind of Digital Signature Certificate that one must apply for depends upon the type of applicant and
the purpose for which the Digital Signature Certificate is obtained. DSC must be obtained according to
the need of a person. Based on the level of the validation, the Digital Signature Certificate is issued in
three classes which are issued by the certifying authority. These are:-
Class 1 Certificates- It is the most basic form of digital id and it not used in any of the government
services. These are issued to the individual or to the private subscribers and are used to confirm that the
user’s name, email and the contact details from the clearly defined subject lie within database of
certifying authority. Class 1 certificates are issued for the use of both business personnel and private
individuals. These certificates confirm that the information which is provided by the subscriber in the
application does not conflict with the information in well-recognized consumer databases.

Class 2 Certificates- These certificates are also issued for both business personnel and private
individuals use. These are issued to the director or to the signatory authorities of the companies for the
purpose of e-filing with the Registrar of Companies (ROC). It is the most used Digital Signature Certificate
amongst the three and it is used for signing documents, filing IT returns, filing GST Returns and also for
filing MCA forms. As DSC is the easiest of all the DSCs so there is not any firm rule to apply this DSC,
however, the applicants must of some of the documents such as: Passport size photograph, Pan Card,
Aadhar Card, so that the process of issuing class 2 DSC remains simple. It is mandatory for the
individuals who have to sign few manual documents while filing of the returns with the Registrar of
Companies.

Class 3 Certificates- This certificate is issued to individuals as well as to the organizations. Class 3
certificates are basically used in online participation or bidding in online tenders and e- auctions
anywhere in India. It is used to tenders and is also costly than Class 2 DSC. Any vendor who wishes to
participate in online tenders must necessarily have a Class 3 digital signature certificate.

There are certain requirements while one applies for digital signature online. These
requirements are:-

1.  Submission of the Digital Signature Certificate Application form duly filled by the applicant
Every individual who is applying for a Digital Signature Certificate is required to fill in an Application
Form for the online submission and verification of the personal details by the certifying authority
2. Produce Photograph ID proof
3. Produce a valid Address proof

Steps to apply online for a digital signature certificate

STEP 1: Log on and select your type of the entity

Log on to the website of a Certifying Authority licensed to issue Digital Certificates in India.
Once you go on the page, you will be guided to the section of Digital Certification Service.
Now under the section of the Digital Certification Services, firstly, click on the type of entity for which
you are willing to obtain the DSC:’ for the purpose of individual or organization’, etc.
In case you are willing to apply for an individual DSC, click on ‘individual’. A new tab consisting of the
DSC Registration Form will appear on to the screen. Download that DSC Registration Form in your PC.

STEP 2: Fill the necessary details

Once you have done with the downloading of the form your PC, fill in all the necessary details as per
required in the form, the details may include:
1. Class of the DSC
2. Validity
3. Type: Only Sign or Sign and Encrypt
4. Applicant Name & Contact Details
5. GST Number and Identity Details of Proof Documents
6. Residential Address
7. Declaration
8. Proof of identity Document
9. Address Proof Document
10. Attestation Officer
11. Payment Details
Once done with the filling up of all the necessary details you must affix your recent photograph and also
put your signature under the declaration. Then check thoroughly for the completion of the applied form.
Also take a print of the form once completed and also preserve it for the future requirement.

STEP 3: Proof of identity and address

The supporting documents which are provide a proof of identity and a proof of address must be attested
by an attesting officer. Ensure that the sign and the seal of the attesting officer are visibly clear on the
supporting documents of proofs.

STEP 4: Payment for DSC

A demand draft or a cheque must be obtained towards payment for the application of the DSC in the
name of the Local Registration Authority where you are going to submit your application for verification.
You can find the details of the Local Registration Authority according to your city of residence by
searching for a Certifying Authority licensed to issue Digital Certificates online.
STEP 5: Post the documents required
Enclose the following in an envelope.

For Class 2 and Class 3 DSC

I. Photo ID : It is to be issued by the government of India for the Subscriber who has the
subscriber signature
II. Proof of Address: The subscriber address for the Individual certificate and for the digital
certificate with the Organization, the organizational address is required.
III. Proof for the Right to do business: Business registration document is also required for
the Organizational certificate
IV. For the issuing of a Class 2 DSC, a physical verification of the original documents against
the copy of the documents submitted is mandatory before the attestation.
V. For the issuing of a Class 3 DSC, not only the physical verification of the original
documents against the documents submitted is mandatory but also the physical verification
of the person is also a compulsion.
VI. For the physical verification of a Class 3 and the video recording of the interactive
session with the Digital Signature Certificate applicant should be not less than 20 seconds.
VII. In case of using Aadhaar eKYC based service for the verification of the individual,
guidelines that should be followed is given in the section 6 of Guidelines for e-
authentication using the Aadhaar eKYC services .

For the Government Officers or for the Banks: The government organization that includes
State or Central Government and also their respective departments, any agency or instrumentality on
which the Government has deep and also pervasive control, Government Corporations, Government
Companies etc. The requirements of identity verification are mentioned below:
a) The identity card of the subscriber.
b) The subscription form for Digital Signature Certificate should be forwarded or should be
certified by the Head of Office i.e. the competent authority of the Department or the
Head of Office.
c) A letter or a notification from the Head of Department authorizing the Head of Office
d) The attestation of the documents must be carried out by the Head of the Office or it
must be carried out by the Gazetted Officer
e) In case the mobile number of the applicant is certified by the department, a separate
mobile verification is not required in such a case.
f) For the certificate of Class3 the physical verification of the subscriber should be certified
by the Head of Department.
g) The identity of the Organization and the identity of the Head of Department should be
verified by CA. The identity of the Head of Department should be ascertained by at least
one personal interaction, Government Identity card, signature and seal of the
 department, disclosures of the website RTI, telephonic call to the departmental phone
etc.

BANKS:
a) The authorization letter with the seal and the signature, by the Bank Manager. But
in the case of the Bank Manager, the authorization should be by his or her reporting
officer.
b) Copy of Bank PAN Card attested by the Bank Manager
c) Certified copy of the organizational identity of the Bank Manager.
d) The application forms must be preserved by CA.

In case of organizational RA:

a) An organizational RA should have a legal agreement with the CA
b) The companies or the Corporate should become the Organizational RA of CA to obtain the Digital
Signature Certificate for their organizational person. The Organization Name of both the applicant
and the verified organizational RA name should be the same.
c) For Class 3 certificate the organization RA should certify the physical verification of the Digital
Signature Certificate applicant.
d) Attested copies the following should be collected and verified by SafeScrypt CA at least once in a
year.
e) The Digital Signature Certificate application should be forwarded along with a letter to the CA and
after the verification by the Organization RA along with the copy of the organizational person's
organizational identity attested or certified by the organization RA.

For Foreign Nationals:

In respect of the Verification the of identity credentials of Foreign Nationals applying for DSC under
IT Act 2000, the following method must be followed.
Verification of identity and the address documents for foreign nationals:
1. Foreign national is residing in the native country
If the native country is a signatory of Hague Convention: For attestation, photo, proof of identity
and proof of address on the Digital Signature Certificate application should be notarized by
Public Notary of that foreign country and also apostilled by the competent authority of that
particular foreign country. If the native country is not a signatory of the Hague Convention: For
attestation, photo, proof of identity and proof of address photo on the Digital Signature
Certificate application should be notarized by the Public Notary of that foreign country and also
consularized by the competent authority of that particular foreign country . Documents which
are required are as follows:
 Passport
 Application form with Photo
All must be attested.
2. Foreign national residing in India
The individual Embassy must certify the following documents:-
 Resident Permit certificate issued by the Assistant Foreigner Regional Registration. Officer who
is an officer of the Bureau of Immigration India.
 Passport
 Visa
 Application form with Photo which should be attested
c) Foreign national neither in India nor in the native country
The following documents should be certified by the local embassy of the country to which the
person belongs
1. Passport
2. Visa
3. Application form with Photo(attested)

d) Foreign Nationals holding OCI passport For foreign nationals with Indian dual citizenship (OCI
passport issued by Govt of India and living in India)
1. For DSC with Indian address, the identity and address proof requirements shall be same as Indian
nationals living in India.
2. For DSC with foreign address, the copy of their native country passport shall be treated as
identity and address proof.
3. No appostilisation and consularisation is required.
4. For DSC application and attestation requirements shall be same as Indian nationals living in India.
5. If applicant not in India then he/she will have to follow the process of a foreign DSC applicant
Organisational person DSC:
For organizational person DSC, letter of authorization from organization should be certified in
addition to Proof of identity and address of the DSC applicant as given above.
Physical verification of persons for Class 3 DSC for foreign nationals:
For Class 3 Physical verification, a CA should make available a tamper proof video capture facility.
By- Bharti Mishra