The first step is to obtain a digital certificate, as follows:

1. Access emitere.certsign.ro website
2. Choose the type of certificate
3. Select validity: 1, 2 or 3 years
4. Fill in the registration form
5. Download the generated documents
6. Access your email and follow the required steps for identification

At the end, you will receive the certificate / certificates at the indicated postal address (free shipping in Romania).

The sales department gets the draft contract from a new partner. It is mailed to the legal department for verification. The legal department makes the necessary changes and e-mails it back to the sales department, which sends it to the partner. There the process repeats itself. After a few versions of the contract are exchanged by e-mail, it finally comes to a final version. Then, it is printed in duplicate, signed and stamped.

An order is placed to the courier, who comes, picks it up, and takes it to the partner. There it is signed, stamped, a copy is kept, then an order is made to the courier, who comes, takes the envelope and returns it. Both partners go to their respective archives, where they search for the file corresponding to that respective month, and add their own copy of the contract.

Could it be faster than that? Sure! If both partners had used a qualified digital certificate and signed the documents electronically, this process would have taken just a few short minutes, because electronically signed documents have legal value and can be easily sent by e-mail.

• Electronic signatures ensure the authenticity, integrity and legal value of documents of any kind – contracts, bank documents, invoices, etc.
• You can send legally valid documents online to several state institutions and to your colleagues, collaborators and business partners, saving time, resources and efficiency.
• The documents and information you send by e-mail are confidential.

In relation to instititutions

• ANAF – online submission of statements, access to the Virtual Private Space
• CNAS – sending reports to CNAS, accessing the electronic health records
• ITM – submission of REVISAL
• MFE – electronic signing of documentation required to obtain European funds through MySMIS
• SICAP (former SEAP) – participation in public auctions, electronic signing of tenders and documentation
• ONRC – setting up a company online

Inside the organization and between business partners

• Business Partners – electronic transmission of correspondence with legal implications
• HR department – employee contracts, job descriptions etc.
• Purchasing Department – commercial contracts, order notes, memos etc.
• Operational Activity – documents for launching new products, marketing campaigns etc.
• Sales Department – in relationship with companies or customers
• Accounting Department – electronic invoice signing

The eIDAS Regulation provides as follows:

• A qualified electronic signature has the equivalent legal effect of a handwritten signature.
• An electronic signature is not denied the legal effect and the possibility of being accepted as evidence in court proceedings simply because it is in electronic form or that it does not meet the requirements for qualified electronic signatures.
• A qualified electronic signature based on a qualified certificate issued by a Member State is recognized as a qualified electronic signature in all other Member States.

Visit the website of the Ministry of Communications and Information Society and the eIDAS Regulation for further information on electronic signature legislation and its legal effects.

The electronic signature generated with digital certificates from certSIGN offers the maximum level of security to your documents and information because:

• certSIGN is a Qualified Trust Service Provider in accordance with the requirements of European Regulation 910/2014 (eIDAS) – after successfully completing the LSTI audit
• certSIGN is a certification service provider accredited by MCSI
• certSIGN is WebTrust for CA and WebTrust EV accredited and holds the ISO / IEC 27001, ISO 20000-1 and ISO 9001 certifications
• Certificates issued by certSIGN are automatically recognized as trusted by all Microsoft operating systems and applications, due to the inclusion of the certSIGN ROOT CA G2 certificate in the Microsoft Trusted Root Certificate Program
• The cryptographic devices (token) on which the qualified certificates (and associated keys) issued by certSIGN meet the FIPS 1402 level 3 and Common Criteria EAL4 standards.
• certSIGN issues certificates with 2048-bit RSA keys
• certSAFE and shellSAFE – two of the PKI products developed by certSIGN are included in the NATO NIAPC catalog.