For convenience and easy access to most online services in Spain (e.g. tax, DGT, ), you cannot do without a digital signature.
In this article, I will try to explain what a digital certificate/signature is, how to obtain one, and what benefits it provides.
What is a digital certificate?
A digital certificate is an electronic document that confirms the identity of the owner in an online environment. It provides:
- Authentication: Helps verify that you are who you say you are when visiting a Spanish government agency website, signing documents, or registering on various services.
- Electronic signature: Allows you to sign documents digitally, which is legally recognized in Spain.
Why do I need a digital certificate?
The digital certificate is used to securely access public and private online services in Spain. Among the main uses are:
- Electronic signing of documents: With a certificate, you can sign important documents without having to print them.
- Online registrations and transactions: Many government portals, banking services, and other organizations require the use of a digital certificate to perform transactions.
- Tax and social services: Filing declarations, receiving information about social benefits, and other services are becoming more accessible and faster.
How to get a digital certificate in Spain?
There are several ways to obtain a digital certificate in Spain. You can get one online at the service FNMT, you can find some other services that also provide such a service, but most likely it will be paid there. But from my experience, I think the easiest way to get a digital certificate in Spain is to go to the local city hall (ayutamento) and get it from them, or at least ask where it is possible to do it. They will do it for you for free, they will tell you where to go or contact.
I made my signature (certificate) when we lived in the south of Spain in the city of Elche. There is a wonderful institution at the city hall (ayutamento) called OMAC. It is something like our Ukrainian service center. There, everything was easily resolved in 20 minutes and I already had a valid digital signature that I use to this day.
Of course, you need to have a NIE (TIE) document with you. I don't think anything will work without it.
How to use a digital certificate in Spain?
After successful identity verification and registration, you will be given the opportunity to download a digital certificate.
The certificate itself is a special file that you will need to download and install on your computer. In my case, when registering, I had to come up with a special password for this file, which I had to enter when installing the certificate on my computer. The signature itself, when we made it, came in a link (reference) to the email, and it could be downloaded. This file format "p12".You can install the certificate on any device you want (not necessarily on just one), but you will need to remember the password for installation.
Several certificates can be installed on one device (for example, a husband and wife), and when performing some actions where it is needed, the computer will see that there are several certificates and will offer to select the one on whose behalf you want to perform the action.
Here's what the option looks like when you can on the site log in to your account using a digital certificate:
Next, a window appears in the browser, offering choose a certificate which you need to use for the action. In our case, there are 2 certificates installed on the computer (mine and my wife's):
