Organisation Class 3 DSC: Signing with the Company Name

An organisation Class 3 DSC is a signing certificate issued in the name of a company, LLP, firm or other entity, and used by an authorised signatory. The certificate shows the entity’s name with the signatory named on it as the authorised person. This post covers what it is, when you need one instead of an individual DSC, and how to get it.

What it is

An individual DSC is issued in the signatory’s own name. An organisation DSC is issued in the entity’s name, and the signatory appears on it as the authorised person. The certificate is still a Class 3 signing certificate, and it is still held by one person on one token. What changes is whose name the certificate carries. When a form is signed with it, the filing reads as the organisation’s act, signed by its authorised signatory.

When you need one

You need an organisation DSC when the filing must be made in the name of the company, LLP or firm. GST returns for a company, MCA forms for a company or LLP, EPFO filings for an establishment and bids on e-procurement portals are all examples where the entity’s name belongs on the signature. A director who only signs for their own personal filings can use an individual DSC. When in doubt about which one a portal wants, check the portal’s DSC guidance or ask us before you apply.

What the portal needs

The organisation DSC is a Class 3 signing certificate, issued against the entity’s PAN, with the signatory named as the authorised person. The application carries the organisation’s proof, the authorisation letter and the authorised person’s ID. One certificate serves one signatory. The portals that ask for encryption, the tender portals of other states and India-wide portals, need a combo certificate instead, and the same token can carry both.

What you need before you apply

The application carries the organisation’s proof and the authorisation. You need the authorised person’s PAN card and Aadhaar card linked to the mobile, and the photo is captured in the Certifying Authority’s video KYC. For the entity, the authorisation letter is asked for, plus the board resolution if the signatory is not a director, and the authorised person’s ID proof. If the entity is GST-registered, the GST certificate is enough as proof; otherwise the business registration or incorporation certificate, the entity PAN and the last three months’ bank statement are asked for.

How to get it from us

Order and pay on the site, then send us your documents on WhatsApp, by email or at our Udaipur office. We fill and submit the application to the Certifying Authority for you. You then confirm your mobile and email with OTPs, complete the Aadhaar OTP and video KYC with the Certifying Authority, and a final eKYC OTP on your phone approves the application. We assist you through the KYC. The certificate is issued on a USB token, which reaches you by courier or can be picked up from the office. Application support is included in the price. Current prices are on the Class 3 signing product page.

Registering and renewal

Once the certificate is on your token, you register it on each portal you use, once per portal. The same organisation DSC works across GST, MCA, EPFO and the others, with a separate registration on each. A DSC is issued for 1 to 3 years. After expiry, signing stops, so plan the reissue before the expiry date. After a reissue, register the new certificate on each portal again. Our organisation Class 3 DSC page covers the same steps in more detail.