Class 3 combo
Bidders and exporters
Signing plus encryption on one token. E-tendering, ICEGATE and reissue. Rajasthan eProc needs signing only.
₹2,410/ 2 years
How many DSCs a bid committee needs, and why
On this page
Tender portals have two sides. Bidders know theirs well: register, sign the bid, upload before the deadline. The department side is quieter but just as certificate hungry. When a department publishes a tender on CPPP it names a tender creator, a tender publisher, bid openers and a bid evaluator, and every one of those users needs a certificate on top of the portal login. This post explains which certificate the committee holds, how many to plan for, and how to get them from us.
Why the department needs its own certificates
A bid stays unreadable until the opening time because the bid data is encrypted with the public keys of the buyer and the bid openers. Somebody has to hold the matching private keys when the committee sits down to open the bids, and that somebody is the bid openers named on the tender. Without their certificates on the portal, the encrypted bids cannot be opened, however valid they are.
That is also why signing alone is not enough here. The department signs the tender documents going out and opens encrypted bids coming in, so each officer needs both halves: signing and encryption. Our DSC for bid openers and tender committees page carries the full picture, including how this differs from Rajasthan eProc, which takes signing only.
How many to plan for
The portal’s own guidance settles the number. CPPP asks for at least four bid openers per tender and suggests starting with five certificates. That is the figure to shape the order around, and it comes from the portal’s document rather than from us. Five officers means five certificates, because a certificate belongs to one person in their own name and the portal registers it against that user. There is no sharing one certificate between two officers on the same committee.
Which DSC fits
Class 3 combo, one per officer. One token carries both the signing and the encryption certificate, and each is registered on the portal separately. Current prices sit on the Class 3 DSC product page, where you place the order for each officer.
Each officer on the committee orders and pays for their own certificate. The application carries department papers: the office identity card, a letter on the department letterhead from the Head of Office or the competent authority, and the government identity document of the person who signed it, along with the officer’s own PAN and Aadhaar.
How to get it from us
We are a Registration Authority (RA) for VSign, Capricorn, eMudhra, Sify, nCODE and PantaSign. These CCA-licensed Certifying Authorities issue the certificates. Application support is included in the price.
Each officer orders and pays on the site, and then we contact them. They send the department papers and their own documents on WhatsApp or by email, or bring them to our office, and we fill and submit each application. Each officer does the Aadhaar OTP and the video KYC with the Certifying Authority, and we help at every step. The certificates arrive on USB tokens, delivered or picked up from the office.
How to register it on the portal
Once a certificate is on its token, the officer enrols it on the department portal. The department’s user organisation is set up on the portal first, then each officer enrols the signing and the encryption certificate separately. The portal belongs to the department, so that step is the officer’s own. We help at every step.
Renewal before it expires
A DSC carries a validity of one to three years. A bid opener whose certificate expires before the opening date cannot open the bid, and the tender names its openers in advance, so there is no quiet substitution on the day. Reissue before the opening date rather than on it. A certificate reissued onto a new token keeps the same name and the same validity, and the new certificate is enrolled on the portal the same way as the first one.
The certificate for this work
Frequently Asked Questions
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How many certificates does a bid committee need?
Plan around five. The official CPPP guidance names at least four bid openers per tender and suggests a department start with five certificates. Each of those officers holds their own certificate.
Does a bid opener need encryption as well as signing?
Yes. The bid data is encrypted with the public keys of the buyer and the bid openers, so it stays unreadable until the opening time. Signing alone is not enough on CPPP, which is why the committee holds the combo.
Can one department certificate cover two officers?
No. A certificate belongs to the person who holds it, in their own name, and the portal registers it against that user. Two officers on the same committee means two certificates.
Do bidders and the department need the same kind of certificate?
Usually the same kind, bought separately. The bidder signs and encrypts their own bid, while the department signs the tender and opens the bids at the opening time. Each side buys and registers its own.