What to do with expired personal certificates and seals
Content
Sometimes personal certificates and seals for an electronic signature may expire. This article addresses the question of whether signatures are still valid and what you can do as the person concerned. Please note: This article refers to certificates and seals issued by A-Trust.
1. What is a personal certificate?
A certificate (also called a ‘digital identity’) forms the basis of a qualified electronic signature according to the Austrian Signature Act and eIDAS. Certificates from A-Trust are generally valid for five years. It is possible to extend the certificate up to half a year before expiration.
2. What is an electronic seal?
From a technical point of view, there is no difference between a personal certificate and an electronic seal. However, there is a difference from a legal point of view. This is because, while personal certificates enable natural persons to have an electronic signature, electronic seals enable legal entities to have a digital signature. An example of an electronic seal is a company stamp with an authorised signatory in the background.
XiTip
The electronic seal of XiTrust is stored in MOXIS Business by default. In MOXIS Enterprise, an individualised electronic seal can be configured. If you, as a MOXIS Business customer, require an individual electronic seal, please contact your XiTrust representative.
3. What to do if a certificate has expired?
If a personal certificate has expired, it must be reissued. This is possible, for example, through the citizens' office. The process is time-consuming and requires personal presentation at the office.
XiTipp
Alternativ kann man ein persönliches Zertifikat via XignUp ausstellen. Die sogenannte xIDENTITY wird in Kooperation mit A-Trust ausgefertigt und kann bequem und einfach online hier beantragt werden.
4. Is a digital signature still valid if my certificate or seal has expired?
Yes, a digital signature retains its legal validity even if the certificate or seal has expired. This is because the validity of a signature always refers to the time of signing, not the time of verification.
5. What is a signature capable of LTV and what advantages does it offer?
LTV stands for Long Term Validation. Applied to digital signatures, this means that the time stamp of these signatures is issued by A-Trust. In contrast to the computer time used by default, it offers the certification of a trustworthy organisation. Even if the certificate has expired, it remains in ‘green’ status in Adobe.
XiTip
In MOXIS Business, LTV-compliant signatures are standard, while in MOXIS Enterprise they can be configured as an additional feature. For more information on LTV-compliant digital signatures, please contact your XiTrust representative.