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Recognized Certificates Organizational ID-Cert Class 5

This ID-Cert is issued to organizations to support Digital Signatures that purport to confirm the identities or other significant characteristics of the organizations and identify the Authorized Users who have been duly authorized to hold a particular key and make Digital Signatures for and on behalf of the organizations. It is issued to organizations which provide the necessary organizational details requested by Digi-Sign as per the Subscriber Application form, including in particular, the following:

  • (A) Business registration, or exemption from business registration, under the Business Registration Ordinance (Cap. 310);
  • (B) Registration of a company incorporated in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ("HKSAR"), or registration of an overseas company, under Part 16 of the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 622);
  • (C) For organizations other than those registered with the Company Registry or Inland Revenue Department of the Government of HKSAR:
    • documentation issued by the appropriate registration agency of the Government of HKSAR attesting to the existence of the organization;
    • reference to the relevant legislation, and/or the relevant registration agency in the jurisdiction of the applicant, and/or the appropriate organizational data source attesting to the legal formation and existence of the organization; and / or
    • written legal opinion given by a legal practitioner practicing the laws of the jurisdiction in which the organization was incorporated on the legal status, capacity, power, formality requirement of and/or restrictions in respect of the use of digital certificate by the organization;
  • (D)For bureaux, departments and agencies of the Government of HKSAR, an authorization letter.

Alternatively, the details required by Digi-Sign as per the Subscriber Application form may be made available to Digi-Sign through an Accredited Organization following the authorization of the organizations concerned.

The Subscriber Application details from the Accredited Organization must include proof of the identity of the applicant organization. Such proof must be adequate in substantiation of the respective Subscriber Application details in (a), (b) and / or (c) above.

For further explanation of above, an applicant organization includes an unincorporated company and a company incorporated in the HKSAR, an overseas company registered in the HKSAR, a statutory body, or an organization that is established under one of the Hong Kong Ordinances.

Applicants for Organizational ID-Cert Class 5 are required to appoint an Authorized Representative to administer the application. The duties of an Authorized Representative mainly include the submission of application, the receipt of secure packet in person and the delivery of secure packet to the corresponding Authorized User, and to state the personal particulars of the Authorized Representative. Such personal particulars will be checked against the information contained in one of the documents listed for Personal ID-Cert Class 1 or for Personal ID-Cert Class 8 for verification of the personal identity of the Authorized Representative. If the appointed Authorized Representative is already an existing Personal ID-Cert Class 1 or Personal ID-Cert Class 8 Subscriber, this verification will be dispensed with.

Applicants are also required to nominate the Authorized User of the Organizational ID-Cert Class 5 and to state the personal particulars of the Authorized User. Such personal particulars will be verified against the information contained in the relevant identity documents, including Hong Kong identity cards, passports, valid travel documents, or other valid identity documents that substantiate the personal particulars of the Authorized User, duly provided and confirmed by the applicants.

In the case that the applicants would expect the change of nomination of the Authorized User for the same Organizational ID-Cert Class 5 at a later stage, the applicants may opt to provide an Identification Reference instead in association with the current Authorized User to be displayed on the ID-Cert upon issuance. In such case, the applicants are responsible and liable for:

  • i) the identification and association of the current Authorized User with regard to the Identification Reference;
  • ii) any subsequent change of nomination and the identification and association of the new Authorized User with regard to the Identification Reference for the same ID-Cert; and
  • iii) the use of the ID-Cert by the current Authorized User associated with the Identification Reference to generate the digital signature.

Under such circumstances, the applicants are required to notify, provide and confirm to Digi-Sign the personal particulars of the Authorized User upon initial nomination and at any subsequent change of nomination of Authorized User in association with the Identification Reference for the same ID-Cert. The applicants have to notify Digi-Sign any subsequent change of nomination of Authorized User using the relevant change notification form on Digi-Sign’s web site. The personal particulars of the Authorized User will be verified by Digi-Sign against the information contained in the relevant identity documents, including Hong Kong identity cards, passports, valid travel documents, or other valid identity documents that substantiate the personal particulars of the Authorized User, duly provided and confirmed by the applicants. Further, the applicants agree to Digi-Sign disclosing the name of the Authorized Users in association with the Identification Reference upon request by relying parties.

These certificates may be used for the same purposes as Personal ID-Cert Class 1 certificates in respect of authentication of the identity of the subscriber and the generation of the digital signature of the subscriber.

For details of the fees and charges of this ID-Cert, please click here.