What is the Digital Signature in Costa Rica?

The Digital Signature was created back in 2005, when the Costa Rican Congress approved a law named “Electronic Documents, Digital Signatures, and Certificates Act” or Ley de Certificados, Firmas Digitales y Documentos Electrónicos. The digital signature is a combination of hardware and software which allows you to authenticate your access to government web pages and to digitally sign digital documents according to the regulations your digital signature must be configured.

Legally, it is impossible for any person to reject or deny the authenticity of a document signed in this fashion since it is validated using the approved protocols to avoid and prevent falsification. The digital signature can be issued to both an individual person or a company legal representative.

If you want to obtain it you must complete the following steps and/or requirements:

• Valid ID such as a Costa Rican cédula or a DIMEX for foreign nationals, it must be last ID issued
• Schedule an appointment with an authorized bank.
• Pay the corresponding fee which may vary depending on the bank.
• At the appointment and once the verification steps are completed at the bank, the person will receive the hardware for the digital signature, which is a card and a card reader that must be installed on your computer. This will read the card through the reader at the moment of signing a document online.

Unfortunately, if you are foreign and you are not a resident, you will not be allowed to obtain the digital signature.

Some specific uses of the digital signature are:

• Sign documents online.
• Access particular websites or portals, e.g. government sites.
• Obtain health permits for businesses opening a retail location.
• Notary public matters such as: registering corporations or marriages.
• File the report of final beneficiaries for corporations.
• Legalization of a company´s books.
• Sign publishing notice as the books replacement and others.

The digital signature is personal, and you can not share the digital signature and code with anyone because this digital signature is private, and it has the same value as the physical signature.

Karen Ulate collaborated with this article.