In order to avoid possible disputes, after the electronic signing of a contract, a time stamp has to be added, which should confirm the existence of the contract signed at a certain moment.

Through the time stamping process, an information package is associated to an electronic document, thus ensuring that it really existed under a certain format, at a certain moment.

A synchronized trusted third party, the Time Stamping Authority, using a trusted time source, makes this association. Besides the moment in time, the time stamp also includes:

• a unique imprint of the document, linking the document and issued the time stamp;
• an order number of the time stamp, which should uniquely identify it among the stamps issued by a Time Stamping Authority;
• the electronic signature of the Time Stamping Authority.

certSIGN offers you two variants of time stamping use in order to protect the information belonging to your organization:

• the time stamps that you need, issued by the public Supplier of Time Stamping Services - certSIGN;
• the time stamps issued by your own Time Stamping Authority, implemented within the organization, using the certSAFE^® TS product.

If you are going to use a Time Stamping Authority as implemented within your organization, then only those who acknowledge your policies setting out which are the conditions when the related time stamps can be used will recognize the time stamps.

certSIGN helps you to choose the best solution of using the time stamps and also offers you the applications you need, in order to insert and check a time stamp of a document.