S/MIME Certificate

The S/MIME certificate is a specific type of public key certificate, also referred to as an email certificate, and is intended for the authorization of electronic mail (e-mail) that is sent via email clients or encryption of electronic mail (e-mail) for a specific recipient of electronic mail.

The email certificate must contain at least the email (email account) for which the certificate was issued and the "emailProtection" attribute in the "Extended Key Usage" extension must be also specified in the certificate.

Generally accepted S/MIME certificates (also publicly trusted certificates) are issued only by certification authorities whose root certificates are recognized by manufacturers of application software for sending and encrypting electronic mail, such as Microsoft (Outlook), Apple (Apple Mail), Mozilla Firefox (Thunderbird), etc.

The "CA/Browser Forum Baseline Requirements for the Issuance and Management of Publicly-Trusted S/MIME Certificates" (hereinafter referred to as SMIME BR) are valid from September 1, 2023, which define the conditions for certification authorities that issue publicly trusted S/MIME certificates.

The key pair (private and public key) is usually generated in the applicant PC. The S/MIME certificate is issued with a validity period of 1 or 2 years.

How to get an S/MIME certificate?

S/MIME certificate can be issued for:

  • Natural Person (in SMIME BR referred to as "Individual-validated")
  • Natural Person  - Employee (in SMIME BR referred to as "Sponsor-validated")
  • Legal Perso (in SMIME BR referred to as "Organization-validated")

The following steps are necessary to obtain S/MIME certificate:

  • Generate a certificate request on your PC (see instructions below)
  • Send the generated request in advance to the registration authority for formal review
  • Confirm control over the email account
  • Make an appointment in advance
  • Visit the registration authority at the agreed time
  • Submit the necessary identity documents
  • Submit additional documents
  • • If payment is not made in cash or card, submit an order

Please see the Price list of our services.

Applicant identification

Natural person - The certificate issued for a natural person contains mandatory data "First and last name", "state", "e-mail". The applicant for this type of certificate submits:

  • ICitizen of the Slovak republic - valid identity card or passport
  • EU citizen - identity card or passport
  • Third-country national - residence permit on the territory of the Slovak republic or passport.
  • Power of attorney - submitted in case the statutory body of the certificate holder cannot personally visit the RA branch and had authorized another person to take over the certificate. Only the power of attorney verified by a notary is accepted!

Natural person - employee - certificate issued to a natural person - employee. This is a certificate that can only be issued with the written consent of the employer. The employer can also make payment for this certificate. The certificate issued for a natural person - an employee contains mandatory data "Name and surname", "organization name", "organization identifier", "state", "e-mail". The applicant submits this type of certificate:

  • Documents as for a natural person and in addition
  • Original or officially certified copy of the extract from the trade register not older than three months (an electronic form (PDF) is preffered) (more here: Electronic extract from the commercial register )
  • The employer's consent to the issuance of the certificate (unless the applicant is a statutory employee according to the entry in the OR)
  • Power of attorney - submitted in case the statutory body of the certificate holder cannot personally visit the RA branch and had authorized another person to take over the certificate. Only the power of attorney verified by a notary is accepted!

Legal person - The certificate issued for a legal person contains the mandatory data "Organization Name (CN), "Organization (O)" and "Organization Identifier", "City", "State", "E-mail". The applicant for this type of certificate submits:

  • Documents as for a natural person and in addition
  • Original or officially certified copy of the extract from the trade register not older than three months (an electronic form (PDF) is preffered) (more here: Electronic extract from the commercial register )
  • Power of attorney - submitted in case the statutory body of the certificate holder cannot personally visit the RA branch and had authorized another person to take over the certificate. Only the power of attorney verified by a notary is accepted!

How to create certificate signing request

Please use our Certificate request generation.

The issuance of S/MIME certificate

Send an email with the attached CSR request to radisig@disig.sk. Personnel of RA will contact you with the instructions to complete the issuance of S/MIME certificate.