Frequently Asked Questions

A Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) is an electronic certificate issued by a government-licensed Certifying Authority (CA) that serves as a digital equivalent of a physical signature. It uses Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) to create a tamper-evident, legally valid signature on electronic documents. In India, DSCs are governed by the Information Technology Act, 2000 and IT Amendment Act, 2008.

Class 3 is the highest assurance level of Digital Signature Certificate in India. The Controller of Certifying Authorities (CCA) discontinued Class 2 DSC in January 2021, making Class 3 the only valid DSC for all government filings. It is required for income tax e-filing, MCA company filings, GST registration, e-tendering, EPFO submissions, ICEGATE customs filings and more.

A Signing-only DSC allows you to digitally sign documents and forms on government portals. A Signing + Encryption DSC additionally allows you to encrypt documents and emails, ensuring only the intended recipient can read them. For most government filings, Signing-only is sufficient. Encryption is useful for secure email communication and sensitive document exchange.

An Individual DSC is issued in the name of a person (e.g., "Rajesh Kumar"). An Organisation DSC is issued in the name of a company or organisation (e.g., "ABC Pvt Ltd - Rajesh Kumar"). Organisation DSCs are required for filing company documents and are typically used by directors, authorised signatories and company secretaries.

You can apply through our WhatsApp or website. After applying, you submit your documents digitally (Aadhaar, PAN, photo), complete a 3-minute video verification call with our team, and your DSC is issued within 24 hours. The FIPS-certified USB token is delivered pan-India by courier within 2–5 business days. No office visit required.

For individuals: Aadhaar card (front and back), PAN card, a passport-size photograph, and a mobile number linked to Aadhaar. For organisations: the authorised signatory's Aadhaar and PAN, company PAN card, GST certificate or Certificate of Incorporation (COI), an authorisation letter, and a board resolution (for companies). All submissions are accepted digitally.

Video verification (also called OVD — Officially Valid Document verification) is a live video call where our team verifies your identity against the documents submitted. The call typically takes 3–5 minutes. You will need to show your original Aadhaar or PAN card on camera. Video calls are conducted Mon–Sat between 10am–6:30pm IST.

Yes. You can apply on behalf of another individual or organisation. The applicant (the person the DSC is being issued to) must be available for the video verification call. All documents must be of the actual certificate holder, not the representative.

DSCs are issued with a validity of 1, 2 or 3 years from the date of issuance. You choose the validity period at the time of application. We recommend a 2-year validity for most users. Plan to renew at least 30 days before expiry to avoid disruption to your digital filings.

If your DSC is still valid (not yet expired), you can renew it by applying for a new certificate before the expiry date. The process is the same as a fresh application — document submission and video verification. The new certificate is loaded onto your existing USB token (if it has space) or a new token is provided.

No. Once a DSC has expired, it cannot be renewed. You must apply for a fresh Digital Signature Certificate. This is why we recommend setting a reminder 60 days before your DSC expiry date.

You can check your DSC expiry via: (1) Windows Certificate Manager — press Win+R, type "certmgr.msc", go to Personal > Certificates; (2) USB token management software (ePass2003, SafeNet, Proxkey); (3) The government portal where your DSC is registered will typically show the certificate details.

A FIPS 140-2 certified USB token (also called e-Token or crypto token) is a physical hardware device that securely stores your DSC private key. FIPS 140-2 is a US government standard for cryptographic modules. The CCA mandates that all Class 3 DSCs be stored on FIPS-certified tokens to prevent key extraction or duplication.

Your USB token has two PINs: a User PIN (for signing) and a Security Officer (SO) PIN (for admin/unblocking). If you forget your User PIN and it gets locked after multiple wrong attempts, you can reset it using the SO PIN via the token management software. If both are lost, the token may need to be reformatted — contact us for assistance.

If your token is locked due to too many incorrect PIN attempts, you can unblock it using the Security Officer (SO) PIN in the token management software (ePass2003 Manager, Proxkey Utility, or SafeNet Authentication Client). If you don't have the SO PIN, you need to contact us — we can provide the SO PIN for tokens issued through our platform.

Yes. A Class 3 DSC works on income tax, MCA21, GST, e-tender portals (GeM, CPPP, eProcure), EPFO, SEBI, ROC and most other Indian government portals. The DGFT portal is an exception — it requires a specially issued DGFT DSC. You can have both a Class 3 and DGFT DSC on the same USB token.

Yes. A director's individual DSC can be registered on the MCA portal for multiple companies where they are a director. The DSC is issued in your name as an individual — you register it on each company separately in MCA21.