Who issues DSC

Q: Who issues DSC?

Controller of Certifying Authority (CCA)

The Information Technology Act, 2000 empowers CCA to issue a license and regulate the working of Certifying Authorities.

The CCA has been appointed by the Central Government.

Certifying Authority (CA)

CA means a person who has been granted a license from the CCA to issue a DSC.

A licensed CA issues the DSC.

Registration Authority (RA)

Certifying Authority appoints Registration Authority who deals with applicant of digital signature.

Classes of DSC

There are following Classes of DSC:-

Class 1 DSC- These certificates are issued to individuals/private subscribers. These certificates shall confirm that user's name (or alias) and e-mail address form an unambiguous subject within the Certifying Authorities database.

Class 2 DSC- These certificates are made on the identity of a person verified against a trusted pre-verified database like Voter ID Card, Passport, Driving License, PAN Card, Post Office ID Card and AADHAAR Card etc.

These certificates are issued for both business personnel and private individuals use.

Class 3 DSC- These certificates are issued to individuals as well as organizations. As these are high assurance certificates, primarily intended for e-commerce applications, they shall be issued to individuals only on their personal (physical) appearance before the Certifying Authorities.

Note: Every website, on which DSC is to be used, provides the information which class of DSC will be accepted.