Which Certifying Authority to Choose
eMudhra, Capricorn, VSign, PantaSign - a certificate from any licensed authority is the same certificate. What actually matters is something else.
The thing nobody selling you a certificate will say
A Certifying Authority is an organisation licensed by the Government of India to issue Digital Signature Certificates. The Controller of Certifying Authorities licenses them, and there are currently 23.
Here is the part that matters: a certificate from any of them is the same certificate. MCA, GST, the income tax portal, GeM, e-tender, IREPS — none of them ask which authority issued it. They check that it is Class 3, that the name matches, and that it has not expired.
So “which authority is best” is the wrong question. The right one is which type do I need. People pay more than they need to because they believe one authority is better than another, and it is not how the system works.
The certificates we supply
Whichever you want. These are the authorities whose certificates come up in business work — all licensed by the CCA:
| Certifying Authority | Where you tend to see it |
|---|---|
| eMudhra | The most widely used. No trouble on any portal |
| Capricorn | Common among contractors and tender bidders |
| VSign (Verasys) | Works on every portal |
| PantaSign | Works on every portal |
| (n)Code Solutions | One of the long-established authorities |
| SafeScrypt (Sify) | Among the oldest licensed in India |
| XtraTrust | Works on every portal |
| SignX | Works on every portal |
If you want a particular one — because your office already runs on it, or someone told you to — say so and that is what you get. If you have no preference, we issue whichever goes onto your portal with the least trouble.
Written 5 September 2026. Government requirements and portal behaviour change — message us to confirm before you rely on any date or figure here.
Three things that matter more than the authority
- Class 3 or not. Everything now needs Class 3. That is the certificate type, not the authority.
- Signing only, or signing plus encryption. Tenders and auctions need both. Turn up to a tender with a signing-only certificate and the price bid will not upload — and that is the expensive version of this mistake.
- The name has to be exactly right. Whatever is on the PAN is what goes on the certificate. One letter out and the portal rejects it.
Get any of those three wrong and the certificate will not work, whichever authority issued it. And all three are settled before the authority is even chosen.
Validity is where the money actually is
Certificates come for one, two or three years, and with every authority the cost per year falls as the term lengthens.
One year looks cheaper today. What it also buys is another video KYC next year, another round of registering it on every portal you use, and another date to remember. And if that date passes — an expired certificate cannot be extended, only replaced.
If you file GST monthly or bid regularly, two or three years is the sensible choice. The full reasoning is on our page about choosing a validity period.
Common questions
Send us your case
Tell us which portal it is for and whose name it goes in. We will issue whichever authority goes onto that portal most easily - or the one you ask for.
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