What is a digital certificate? Everything you need to know about the concept and regulations businesses need to understand.

Digital certificates act as "electronic identity cards" to verify the identity of authorized organizations, agencies, or individuals when digitally signing documents and conducting online transactions. This article by 1C Vietnam will provide a comprehensive overview of the concept, content, and latest legal regulations regarding digital certificates, enabling businesses to maximize the value of digital certificates in their operations.

1. What is a digital certificate?

According to Clause 7, Article 3 of Decree 130/2018/ND-CP , a digital certificate is defined as follows:

"A digital certificate is a type of electronic certificate issued by a digital signature certification service provider to provide identifying information for the public key of an agency, organization, or individual, thereby confirming that the agency, organization, or individual is the signatory of the digital signature using the corresponding private key."

Furthermore, according to Clause 3, Article 5 of the 2023 Law on Electronic Transactions, the concept of a digital certificate is clarified as licenses, certificates, confirmation documents, and other approval documents issued by competent agencies or organizations in electronic data format.

Simply put: In the digital environment, a digital certificate is like an electronic "National Identity Card" or "Passport" for a business. Digital certificates help verify the identity of the entity (whether an agency, organization, or individual) when signing electronic documents, sending data, or conducting online transactions.

2. Benefits of digital certificates for businesses

The use of digital certificates not only serves legal compliance requirements but also brings strategic value to business operations:

• Ensuring legal validity: Verifying the identity of the digital signatory in accordance with the provisions of the 2023 Electronic Transactions Law, ensuring that electronic documents have the same value as paper documents with red seals and handwritten signatures.
• Optimize costs and resources: Eliminate printing, courier, and paper document storage costs; minimize personnel involved in manual administrative procedures.
• Reduced approval and signing time: Allows for remote contract signing, tax declaration, customs declaration, and social insurance declaration anytime, anywhere (24/7), helping to speed up the workflow.
• Increased transparency and reliability: Easily verify the signatory's identity through the public key on the digital certificate and ensure the integrity of the content in all transactions with customers and partners.

3. In what situations are digital certificates used?

Based on the rights and obligations of subscribers under the Electronic Transactions Law 2023 , digital certificates are applied in the following practical cases:

For personal digital certificates

Personal digital certificates enable the conduct of electronic transactions as an individual or representing a position within an organization.

- Target users: Business leaders (Directors, General Managers), chief accountants, or other authorized individuals who need to perform electronic signing and approval.

- Use cases:

• Internal approval : Signing and approving documents, reports, and decisions on the electronic office system.
• Financial transactions: Conducting online banking transactions or signing personal electronic contracts.
• Tax obligations: Filing and settling personal income tax online.

For digital certificates for organizations and businesses

This type of certificate acts as an "electronic seal," having legal validity to represent the entire legal entity of a business in all digital transactions.

- Target users : Businesses, social organizations, and administrative agencies with tax identification numbers and legal personality.

- Use cases:

• Public administrative transactions: Declaring and submitting corporate tax, customs, and social insurance documents, and carrying out procedures through the National Public Service Portal.
• Financial management: Issuing electronic invoices, verifying money transfer transactions and business payments through banks.
• Business cooperation: Signing economic contracts and memoranda of understanding with partners and customers online without needing to meet in person.

4. Content and format of the digital certificate

To ensure legal compliance and smooth technical operation, businesses need to understand the current regulations regarding the content and format of digital certificates.

The necessary information to include on a digital certificate.

According to Article 5 of Decree 130/2018/ND-CP , a complete and legally valid digital certificate must include the following information:

- Name of the digital signature certification service provider: This is the entity that issues the digital certificate and is responsible for verifying identity and ensuring the validity of the digital certificate. Examples: Viettel-CA, VNPT-CA, FPT-CA…
- Subscriber Name (Organization/Individual) : The name of the entity that owns the digital certificate.

- Serial Number: A unique identification number for each digital certificate in the provider's system.

- Validity period of the digital certificate: The period during which the digital certificate is legally valid and can be used for digital signing.

- Subscriber's Public Key: The public component of the cryptographic key pair (along with the Private Key), used to authenticate digital signatures.

- Digital signature of the digital signature certification service provider: Used to verify that the digital certificate issued is valid by the certification body.

- Restrictions on the purpose and scope of use of digital certificates: Specific regulations specifying the circumstances in which digital certificates are permitted to be used.

- Limitations on the legal liability of organizations providing digital signature certification services: Clearly define the limits of liability of organizations issuing digital certificates.

- Cryptographic algorithm: Technical information about the encryption method used.

- Other necessary content as prescribed by the Ministry of Information and Communications.

Note: When receiving the digital certificate, businesses should carefully check that the "Subscriber Name" section matches the Business License and the "Validity Period" to ensure that all future electronic transactions proceed smoothly.

5. Digital certificate format

To ensure consistency, Decree 130/2018/ND-CP stipulates that all digital certificates must comply with the format specified in the Authentication Regulations of the National Digital Signature Certification Service Provider (Root CA).

To elaborate on this, Circular 28/2025/TT-BKHCN stipulates the information format for digital signature certificates with several categories. Among these, businesses need to pay particular attention to the information format on public digital signature certificates .

This format is associated with electronic contract signing, invoice issuance, tax and customs declarations, and the provision of online public services . Adherence to this format ensures that business information (Tax Identification Number, legal entity name) is automatically and accurately recognized by the national system, eliminating the risk of data discrepancies during transactions.

6. What is the subject of a digital certificate?

According to Article 6 of Decree 130/2018/ND-CP , the subjects of digital certificates are all state agencies, organizations, or authorized persons of agencies and organizations as prescribed by law on the management and use of seals.

Note: For digital certificates issued to authorized representatives (such as Directors, Chief Accountants), the certificate content must clearly state the title and name of that agency or organization .

7. What is the difference between a digital certificate and a digital signature?

To quickly understand this relationship, businesses need to grasp the following three core points:

• Prerequisite: Businesses must have a digital certificate before they can create digital signatures.
• Key combination: A digital certificate contains a Public Key, while a digital signature is generated from a Private Key. Only when these two keys match in a unique key pair is the transaction validated.
• Legal validity: A digital signature is only considered "secure" when created within the validity period of the digital certificate. If the digital certificate expires, the digital signature will completely lose its value as proof of identity.

The relationship between digital certificates and digital signatures can be likened to the relationship between an identity card confirming "who I am" and an individual's handwritten signature confirming "I agree to this content." Businesses can quickly distinguish between them using the following table:

8. Frequently Asked Questions about Digital Certificates

8.1 What is the validity period of a digital certificate?

Typically, public digital certificates for businesses have a validity period of 1 to 3 years . According to Clause 3, Article 3 of Decree 130/2018/ND-CP , the validity period is clearly stated on the digital certificate and is determined by the Certificate Authority (CA) based on the business's subscription service package.

Approximately 30 days before the expiration date, businesses need to complete the renewal procedure to avoid disruptions to tax and customs declarations or electronic contract signing.

8.2 Is it mandatory for businesses to use digital certificates?

Yes. According to the 2023 Electronic Transactions Law , businesses in Vietnam are required to have digital certificates to fulfill online legal obligations such as tax declarations, social insurance contributions, and transactions with state administrative agencies. Furthermore, a digital certificate is a necessary condition for a business's digital signature to have the same legal validity as a company seal.

8.3 What is the process for registering and using digital certificates?

To obtain and put a digital certificate into operation, businesses need to comply with the issuance process as outlined in Chapter II of Decree 130/2018/ND-CP, with the following steps:

• Step 1: Prepare legal documents: Businesses prepare the following documents: a copy of the business registration certificate, the citizen identification card of the legal representative, and a written request for a digital certificate.
• Step 2: Select and Register with a Certificate Authority (CA): Submit your application to a public digital signature certification service provider (such as Viettel, VNPT, FPT, etc.) that has been licensed by the Ministry of Information and Communications.
• Step 3: Verification and Issuance: The provider verifies the identity. Once the application is deemed valid, the business will be issued a key pair (Private Key & Public Key) along with the corresponding digital certificate.
• Step 4: Installation and Activation: Businesses receive a storage device (USB Token, HSM) or activate a remote digital signature account (Cloud CA) to begin conducting electronic transactions.

8.4 What technical requirements should businesses be aware of when applying digital certificates to software?

According to Circular 15/2025/TT-BKHCN , for digital certificates to be legally valid in transactions, the digital signature software and digital signature verification software of enterprises must meet the following core technical standards:

• Format compatibility: The software must be able to correctly handle the new information format of the digital certificate to ensure that the national system accurately identifies the business's identity.
• Real-time status verification: The software must automatically connect to the certification service portal to check whether the digital certificate is still valid or has been revoked at the time of signing, avoiding the risk of the document being invalidated.
• Warning: The system needs to automatically monitor and remind users when their digital certificate is about to expire to avoid disrupting the contract approval or tax filing process.

1C:Document Management Office Solution - Managing internal approval processes and connecting digital certificates.

Understanding digital certificates correctly is the first step for businesses to implement secure and legally compliant digital signatures. The next step is for businesses to integrate digital certificates into their internal approval processes to optimize operations.

The 1C:Document Management digital office solution developed by 1C Vietnam helps businesses consolidate all office administration tasks, from document management to internal approval processes. In addition, the solution helps businesses effectively utilize digital certificates through its key features:

• Centralized Management & Digital Signing: Track the list, expiration dates, and access rights of each user's digital certificate. The system automatically identifies the digital certificate of the leader to perform direct digital signing on the system via computer and mobile app, eliminating external operations.
• Integrated OCR technology: Automatically recognizes and extracts data from paper documents into digital format. This feature helps standardize content quickly, eliminates manual data entry errors, and ensures accurate input data before approval.
• Digital certificate management and control: The system tracks the expiration date and verifies the status of digital certificates, ensuring that signed and approved documents always have legal validity.

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