SMIME Certificate Process

S/MIME Certificates elevates the security of your email communications ensuring the authenticity, confidentiality, and integrity of your messages, safeguarding sensitive information from unauthorized access and tampering.

Types of SMIME Certificates

1. SMIME Simple - Mailbox Validated: SMIME Simple Certificate Process is simple & fully automated. The Subject is limited to Email Address.

• Validation Process: Email-link based verification to prove the control over the email address. emSign sends an email verification link to certificate holder's email.

• Issuance Time: Shorter issuance time. Issuance in minutes.

2. SMIME Personal - Individual Validated: SMIME Personal Certificate Process is simple & issuance is subject to an individual verification. The Subject includes only individual (natural person) attributes.

• Validation Process: Identity and Address validation of an individual through online KYC and email verification to prove control over the email. Validation of a physical identity document (Physical Document + Video Recording).

• Issuance Time: Typically, issuance in minutes. For exceptional cases, issuance would take in hours.

3. SMIME Professional - Sponsor Validated: Unlike SMIME Personal certificates, Professional certificates require the certificate request to undergo organization verification process to confirm the identity, address and organization identifier of their organization. It is the most common type of S/MIME certificate, often issued by an Enterprise to its employees. The Subject includes organization details as well as attributes of a ‘sponsored’ individual.

• Validation Process: SMIME Sponsor Validated process includes the following,

  • Full legal name & registered assumed name of the entity

  • Address of the legal entity

  • Jurisdiction of Incorporation or Registration of the legal entity

  • Unique Organization Identifier (e.g.: VAT, LEI)

  • Association/Authority of an entity/organization representative

  • Mailbox Validation either through an email verification link or One-time DCV of an email domain, similar to SSL

  • NOTE: For Sponsor individual identity verification, enterprise RA can rely upon existing internal records.

• Issuance Time: Longer issuance time compared to Personal Certificates. Typically, issuance in Hours. For exceptional cases, issuance would take 1-5 Business days.

4. SMIME Corporate - Organization Validated: Unlike SMIME Personal certificates, Corporate certificates require the certificate request to undergo organization verification process to confirm the identity, address and organization identifier of their organization. The Subject includes organization details (legal entity).

• Validation Process: SMIME OV process includes the following,

  • Full legal name & registered assumed name of the entity

  • Address of the legal entity

  • Jurisdiction of Incorporation or Registration of the legal entity

  • Unique Organization Identifier (e.g.: VAT, LEI)

  • Association/Authority of an entity/organization representative

  • Mailbox Validation either through an email verification link or One-time DCV of an email domain, similar to SSL

• Issuance Time: Longer issuance time compared to Personal Certificates. Typically, issuance in Hours. For exceptional cases, issuance would take 1-5 Business days.