If in a previous article we started presenting the advantages of the qualified electronic signature – a working tool for which specialists in the fields of construction, architecture and urbanism can also opt according to the provisions of GEO no. 140/2020, today we will expand the list of benefits that already include the default legal value, the impossibility of counterfeiting, easy verification and high security, with a number of important new aspects.
1. Quick and easy signing in a few simple steps
Documents prepared by specialists in the fields of construction, architecture and urbanism – which are sent to the competent authorities and institutions in issuing permits, agreements, approvals and authorizations – can be signed extremely easily with a qualified certificate for electronic signature, using the free Adobe Acrobat Reader application. More exactly:
- open the document with the Adobe app and click on Tools → Certificates;
- click on the Digital Sign and then on the OK button in the next message;
- draw a rectangle in the place where you want to apply the signature and in the window that appears later select the desired digital certificate and click on the Continue button;
- in the next window, click the Sign button to continue signing the document;
- save the document and enter the PIN code of the token on which the certificate is located.
After entering the PIN, the signature will appear on the document where the signing rectangle was marked. Easy, right?
2. Time stamp, for extra safety
Did you know that a qualified electronic signature can also include a qualified time stamp? If you opt for this, the time stamp benefits, in the event of a dispute, from the presumption of the correct date and time that it indicates and the integrity of the data to which the indicated date and time relate. In short, you will know for sure that the signature was applied on the date and time mentioned, and the document is guaranteed authenticity at that time.
3. Long-term validation, including after the expiration of the certificate
If you opt for a qualified electronic signature created using Long Term Validation (LTV) mechanisms, it can be valid indefinitely. Specifically, LTV mechanisms allow the verification of an electronically signed document even after the expiration of the certificate.
4. 100% digital workflows
You print the documents on paper in several copies, you sign with the pen everywhere and possibly you also apply a professional stamp or initials. Then you go with the papers to the authority or institution from which you obtain the necessary approval, agreement or authorization for submission. Financial resources and especially wasted time, when you could very easily have a 100% digital workflow – from processing to transmission and storage – with the help of a qualified electronic signature.
Especially since, according to GEO no. 38/2020 in force since April last year, public authorities and institutions in Romania have the obligation to receive documents signed with electronic signature.