Many public services are now available online, but almost all can be used only if you have an electronic digital signature.
Why do you need an electronic signature, where to make it, how to get an electronic signature certificate? You will learn about it from this advisory article.
Why the electronic signature is necessary
A qualified e-signature is a set of cryptographic characters in the form of a separate file, which allows a person the opportunity to certify electronic documents. A key certificate acts as the basis for a signature of this kind.
The documentation certified by electronic signature has the same legal validity as the documentation certified on paper in a traditional way. Electronic signature may be used not only for signing documents but also as a way to identify a person when visiting official websites or ordering public services online.
One of the most important advantages of e-signature is that it saves a lot of time: there is no need to visit various government offices, many tasks can be done online.
What is an electronic signature
Electronic trust services is the name given to services for issuing a key certificate for an electronic signature. Such services may be provided by the tax service or private companies. As a rule, a complete list of such entities can be found on state official websites. Keys issued by private companies are fully identical to the keys registered with the public service.
Each key contains information about who generated the key. All public keys and other user information are stored in the form of digital certificates and are structured as follows:
- serial number of the certificate;
- the name of the center that issued the certificate;
- an identifier of the algorithm that enables the decryption of this certificate;
- name of the owner of the certificate;
- public key of the owner of the certificate;
- the term of validity of a key;
- the identifiers of the algorithms associated with the public keys of the certificate holders.
The exact term of validity of the key certificate is specified by the subject who provided the service of its organization – usually it is 1-2 years. The term of validity of electronic signature can be continued even remotely, if the place of residence and passport data remain unchanged.
PandaDoc – the best software for electronic signature creation
There are a number of programs with electronic signature functions, the application PandaDoc is one of the best of them. The user interface of this application attracts by its accessibility and convenience. This software allows you to certify documentation, create comments and summaries, or quickly transfer them to other subscribers.
To be able to sign documentation, you will need to configure the signature field yourself (create a signature sample), and then transfer it to the application on your device.
The PandaDoc application allows you to sign 5 documents for free, after which you can purchase an additional set of services by paying through a special service. For example, you can use free contracts. In PandaDoc it is also possible to get free assurance services by recommending the software to other users. When compared with other services offering similar services, PandaDoc application can become the most optimal choice for representatives of small businesses.