Digital Signing · documents, filings and email
A signature the other side can check, years later
A pasted image of your name proves nothing. A digital signature certificate binds the signature to a verified identity and to the exact bytes you signed, so anyone opening the file afterwards can see who signed it and whether a single character has changed since.
- It survives the argumentA signed file carries the proof inside it. Months later, with the email thread gone and nobody from either side still in the job, the document still says who signed it and that the figure in it was not edited afterwards.
- The portals simply require itIndian government filing is not a preference: MCA21, the income tax portal, EPFO, ICEGATE and the tender sites accept a Class 3 Digital Signature Certificate on a token and nothing else.
- Recipients see it without doing anythingA document signing certificate on Adobe’s trust list shows as valid in Acrobat and Reader on every machine. Nobody has to install your certificate or take your word for it.
- One certificate, everything you signNo per-document charge, for the whole term. The only cost that scales is the time you stop spending printing, signing and scanning.
What people sign with these
- PDF contracts and approvals
- Company and tax filings
- Tender and auction bids
- Email, signed and encrypted
- $13.99DSC on a token, for Indian filings
- $75.99document signing, for PDFs
- $16signed and encrypted email
- Unlimiteddocuments signed — no per-file fee
What the certificate actually proves
Three claims, and they are the entire product. Everything else on this page is about which certificate makes which of them, and to whom.
A certificate authority checked the identity before issuing — a mailbox, a named person, or a registered company, depending on which certificate you buy. That checked name is what appears in the signature panel.
The signature covers the exact content signed. Change a digit in the amount afterwards and the signature stops verifying — not quietly, but with a warning in the reader, which is the point.
A timestamp from an independent authority fixes the moment of signing, so the signature still verifies after the certificate expires. Without one it stops verifying the day the certificate does.
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And, so you are not disappointed, what it does not do
- It does not read the document. Nobody checks that the contract is fair or the figures are right. The certificate attests who signed and that nothing changed after.
- It is not a scan of your handwriting. An image of a signature pasted into a PDF carries no proof at all and is trivial to copy off another document.
- It does not sign software. Signing an installer or a driver needs a code signing certificate, which is validated differently and bought here.
Which one, by what you are signing
The four routes differ in who is checked and who has to trust the result. Prices are live from the catalogue.
Short version. If the signed file is going to someone outside your organisation, buy document signing. If a government portal told you to get one, buy the Class 3 DSC. If it is about mail, or proving who you are to a portal that accepts certificates, buy S/MIME. They are not substitutes and the cheapest is rarely the one you were asked for.
The certificates
Grouped by the job rather than by brand, because the brands overlap and the jobs do not.
Documents and PDFs
Signed so that anyone, anywhere, opening the file in Acrobat sees it as valid.
PDF Signing Certificate (Adobe Digital Signature)
Signs PDFs so Acrobat and Reader show a green tick to everyone who opens the file, with no setup at their end. The one to buy if the document leaves your organisation.
- Issued in 1-5 days
eMudhra Document Signer Certificate
Issued to the organisation rather than a person, so invoices, certificates and statements can be signed by a server without anybody plugging a token in.
Indian statutory filings and tenders
Class 3 signature certificates on a FIPS-certified USB token, couriered to you.
eMudhra Class 3 Digital Signature Certificate
The general-purpose Class 3 signature. MCA21, income tax, GST, EPFO and most tenders accept it, so it is the right answer when the portal has only told you to get a DSC.
DSC for e-Tender, e-Auction and e-Procurement
The combined signing and encryption pair that e-tender and e-procurement portals ask for. Bids need the encryption certificate as well; this is both.
eMudhra Class 3 DSC for Foreign Nationals and Foreign Organisations
Class 3 for directors and organisations outside India, where the identity check runs on a passport and an attested address rather than Aadhaar.
Personal Digital Signature Certificate
Class 3 for an individual signing as themselves rather than for a company - proprietors, professionals and anyone filing in a personal capacity.
- DSC for MCA21 and ROC e-Filing$13.99
- DSC for Company Director and DIR-3 KYC$13.99
- eMudhra DGFT Digital Signature Certificate for Foreign Trade$18.99
- DSC for Income Tax Return Filing$13.99
- DSC for ICEGATE and Customs Remote EDI Filing$13.99
- DSC for EPFO and Provident Fund Filing$13.99
- DSC for High Court and District Court e-Filing$13.99
Email and personal identity
Sign and encrypt mail, and use the same certificate to log in where one is accepted.
Comodo Secure Email Certificate
Signs and encrypts mail from Outlook, Apple Mail and Thunderbird. The sender address is verified; your name is not, which is all most people need.
Sectigo Secure Email Certificate
Comodo CA and Sectigo are one authority under two names. Identical certificate; take whichever your policy names.
CPAC Basic - Personal Authentication Signature
Adds client-certificate authentication to the mail signing, so the same certificate gets you into portals and VPNs that accept one.
CPAC Pro - Sectigo Personal Authentication Pro Certificate
The identity check extends to you personally, so your verified name travels with the signature instead of just the mailbox it came from.
CPAC Enterprise - Sectigo CPAC Enterprise Certificate
Validated to the organisation, for mail that has to carry the company identity - notices, statements and anything a counterparty will keep.
Tokens and help
The hardware itself, and assistance with enrolment if you want it.
eMudhra FIPS Certified USB Token
FIPS 140 certified crypto token. The key is generated on the device and cannot be exported, which is why a lost token means reissuing rather than restoring.
eMudhra DSC Support Plan
Help with enrolment, download and day-to-day use, for teams who would rather not learn the driver and the portal.
Also in this category
Everything else the catalogue files under signing.Comodo Email Digital Signature
Comodo email signature certificate can digitally sign your emails as well as documents. Comodo digital signature encrypt confidential...
Digital Signature Certificate for Email
A digital signature certificate can digitally sign your emails as well as documents. This email digital signature encrypts confidential...
Before you order: what makes the signature count
In India, the law names the certificate
The Information Technology Act, 2000 gives a digital signature the standing of a handwritten one when it is made with a certificate from a Certifying Authority licensed by the CCA. Class 2 certificates were withdrawn on 1 January 2021, so Class 3 is the only class still issued, and every portal has moved to it.
Elsewhere, the certificate is the evidence rather than the rule
Under the US ESIGN Act and UETA, and under eIDAS in the EU, an electronic signature is not refused legal effect merely for being electronic — a certificate is what lets you prove whose it was. These are advanced electronic signatures: eIDAS qualified signatures are a separate, heavier product issued only by qualified trust service providers.
The key is on hardware, and a lost token cannot be recovered
DSC and document signing keys are generated on a FIPS-certified token or in an HSM and cannot be exported — there is no .pfx to back up. Losing the token means revoking and reissuing, not restoring. Always timestamp: a timestamped signature keeps verifying after the certificate expires, an untimestamped one does not.
What comes with the price
- Lowest price guaranteeFind the same certificate cheaper anywhere and we match it.
- We check before you are billedSignature certificates cannot be refunded once issued, so we confirm the details will pass vetting first. Read the policy.
- Sign as much as you likeOne certificate, unlimited documents, for the whole term.
- Help through the enrolmentVideo verification, eKYC and token drivers stall on small things. We walk you through them.
- Real engineers, 24×7People who have put these through the portals before.
- Delivered, not just soldTokens are couriered across India, with tracking from the day they ship.
Questions people ask before buying one
Is a digitally signed document legally binding?
In India, yes - the IT Act 2000 gives a signature made with a licensed Certifying Authority's certificate the same standing as ink, and the government portals accept nothing else. In the US and the EU an electronic signature already has legal effect; the certificate is what proves, afterwards, that it was yours and that the document did not change.
What is the difference between a DSC and a document signing certificate?
A DSC is issued to a person under the Indian CCA regime and is what government portals check. A document signing certificate is issued under Adobe's trust programme and is what Acrobat checks, anywhere in the world. A DSC can sign a PDF, but a reader outside India may not show it as trusted; a document signing certificate cannot file your income tax return.
Will the recipient see a green tick in Adobe Reader?
With a document signing certificate, yes, on any machine and with nothing installed - the issuing authority is on the Adobe Approved Trust List, which Reader ships with. With other certificate types the reader may say the signature is valid but the signer is not trusted, which looks worse than it is.
Do I need Class 3? What happened to Class 2?
Class 2 certificates stopped being issued on 1 January 2021 by order of the CCA. Class 3 is the only class available now and every portal has been updated for it, so if an old guide tells you to buy Class 2, that guide is out of date.
Can I use the certificate on more than one computer?
For a DSC or a document signing certificate, the token travels with you and works on any machine with the driver installed - but it has to be physically plugged in, so two people cannot sign at once with one token. An S/MIME certificate can be exported and installed on your laptop, phone and desktop together.
Does an email certificate encrypt my mail as well as sign it?
Yes. S/MIME does both: signing proves the message came from that mailbox unchanged, and encryption makes it readable only by the recipient. Encryption needs the other side to have a certificate too; signing works regardless.
Can one certificate sign my software as well as my documents?
No. Code signing is validated differently and is trusted by a different set of checks - Windows, Java and the browser stores rather than Acrobat. Those are on the code signing page.
Tell us what you have been asked for
Portals and counterparties describe these certificates in their own words, and the words rarely match what anything is called in a catalogue. Send us the sentence you were given and we will say which certificate it means — including when it is the cheapest one here.