{"id":38028,"date":"2012-07-09T08:48:35","date_gmt":"2012-07-09T08:48:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.viafirma.com\/electronic-id-or-digital-certificate\/"},"modified":"2026-01-21T13:37:20","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T13:37:20","slug":"electronic-id-or-digital-certificate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.viafirma.com\/en\/electronic-id-or-digital-certificate\/","title":{"rendered":"Electronic ID or digital certificate"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n<p>Are you wondering when to use <strong>electronic ID or digital certificate<\/strong>? The purpose of this post is to give a general version of the differences between <strong>digital certificates in software format<\/strong> and those that come by default in the <strong>eID<\/strong>, in fact, many people do not know that the electronic <strong>ID<\/strong> contains <strong>two digital certificates<\/strong>, one for <strong>authentication<\/strong> and one for<strong> electronic signature.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>In previous articles we explained graphically the concept of digital certificate, its practical use and how to obtain it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Some examples of use are: the Virtual Office of the <a href=\"https:\/\/sede.agenciatributaria.gob.es\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tax Agency<\/a>, the Virtual Office of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.seg-social.es\/wps\/portal\/wss\/internet\/Inicio?ID=10432\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Social Security<\/a>, the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sedecatastro.gob.es\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Virtual Office of the Cadastre<\/a>, etc&#8230;<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Both allow the secure signing and encryption of any type of electronic document, including e-mail messages, as well as the identification of users before telematic services of the <strong>Public Administration and private entities<\/strong>, although there are some <strong>differences<\/strong> to take into account when choosing between the electronic ID card or digital certificate, let&#8217;s see them:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Software Certificate<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\r\n<li>They are provided in the web browser and in file format (extension .p12 or .pfx).<\/li>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<li>Application processes specific to each CA.<\/li>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<li>Electronic signature law: As we have commented in several posts, according to the<strong> electronic signature law<\/strong>, for the <strong>electronic signature<\/strong> to be considered a recognized signature legally comparable to the handwritten one, the signature must have been created in a <strong>secure signature creation device<\/strong>, which means that<strong> the electronic signature with a certificate in software format<\/strong> will at most become an <strong>advanced electronic signature.<\/strong><\/li>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<li>These certificates are normally defined by the PKCS#12 standard<\/li>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<li>Difficulty in the procurement process.<\/li>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<li>The expiration of the certificate will depend on the CA, with an average of 2 to 3 years.<\/li>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<li>Agility in daily use.<\/li>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<li>Possibility to export it and have it on several computers.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Electronic ID:<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\r\n<li>Expiration:<strong> The recognized electronic certificates<\/strong> incorporated to the <strong>eID<\/strong> have a validity period of 30 months. Upon expiration of the validity of the electronic certificate, the issuance of new recognized certificates can be requested, keeping the same card of the <strong>National Identity Document<\/strong> as long as such document remains valid. In order to request a new certificate, the holder must be physically present.<\/li>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<li><strong>The loss of validity of the National Identity Card<\/strong> will entail <strong>the loss of validity of the recognized certificates incorporated to it<\/strong>. The renewal of the National Identity Card or the issuance of duplicate copies of the same implies, in turn, the issuance of electronic certificates.<\/li>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<li>Electronic signature law: <strong>The electronic signature with eID<\/strong> will be considered as a<strong> recognized electronic signature<\/strong>, since it is a <strong>secure signature creation device.<\/strong><\/li>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<li>The General Directorate of the Police is responsible for issuing the <strong>electronic ID card.<\/strong><\/li>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<li>You need a <strong>eID reader<\/strong> to be able to operate with it, in addition to physically possessing both the reader and the <strong>eID<\/strong> to be able to operate.<\/li>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<li>Obtaining the certificate is free of charge, but if it is due to renewal or loss of the <strong>eID<\/strong>, you will have to pay a minimum cost.<\/li>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<li>Contrary to the software format, <strong>the process of obtaining it is quite simple<\/strong>, since it is enough to renew your <strong>eID<\/strong> or to physically go to the General Directorate of the Police, in case you only need the renewal of the certificate.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>This is as far as my neurons go, I&#8217;m sure I&#8217;m missing many more, but that&#8217;s a job I&#8217;m going to leave to you. What do you prefer: <strong>electronic ID or digital certificate<\/strong>?<\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><div class=\"vf_related_posts_wrapper\"><h2 class=\"vf_related_posts_title\">Related information<\/h2><div class=\"vf_related_posts\"><article class=\"vc_gitem-post-data-source-post\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.viafirma.com\/en\/difference-between-digital-certificate-and-digital-signature\/\" class=\"vc_gitem-post-link\"><div class=\"vc_gitem-post-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/www.viafirma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Directivos-cerrando-acuerdos-digitalmente-768x512.webp\" class=\" wp-post-image\" alt=\"directivos-cerrando-acuerdos-digitalmente\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.viafirma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Directivos-cerrando-acuerdos-digitalmente-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/www.viafirma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Directivos-cerrando-acuerdos-digitalmente-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.viafirma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Directivos-cerrando-acuerdos-digitalmente-1024x683.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www.viafirma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Directivos-cerrando-acuerdos-digitalmente-1536x1025.webp 1536w, https:\/\/www.viafirma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Directivos-cerrando-acuerdos-digitalmente.jpg 1619w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/div><\/a><div class=\"vc_gitem-post-data\"><h3 class=\"vc_gitem-post-data-source-post_title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.viafirma.com\/en\/difference-between-digital-certificate-and-digital-signature\/\">Difference between digital certificate and digital signature<\/a><\/h3><p class=\"vc_gitem-post-data-source-post_excerpt\">Learn the difference between digital certificate and digital signature and how to use each of them efficiently in your company<\/p><\/div><\/article><article class=\"vc_gitem-post-data-source-post\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.viafirma.com\/en\/how-to-get-a-digital-certificate\/\" class=\"vc_gitem-post-link\"><div class=\"vc_gitem-post-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/www.viafirma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Como-conseguir-mi-certificado-digital-para-los-tramites-online-768x512.webp\" class=\" wp-post-image\" alt=\"como-conseguir-mi-certificado-digital-para-los-tramites-online\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.viafirma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Como-conseguir-mi-certificado-digital-para-los-tramites-online-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/www.viafirma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Como-conseguir-mi-certificado-digital-para-los-tramites-online-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.viafirma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Como-conseguir-mi-certificado-digital-para-los-tramites-online.webp 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/div><\/a><div class=\"vc_gitem-post-data\"><h3 class=\"vc_gitem-post-data-source-post_title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.viafirma.com\/en\/how-to-get-a-digital-certificate\/\">How to get a digital certificate?<\/a><\/h3><p class=\"vc_gitem-post-data-source-post_excerpt\">We tell you how to get the digital certificate and how to check its validity. 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class=\"vc_gitem-post-data-source-post_excerpt\">We explain what the ID 4.0, also known as the European ID, is and all the new features it includes<\/p><\/div><\/article><\/div><\/div><\/span><\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Are you wondering when to use electronic ID or digital...","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32733,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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