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There are several TrustID® certificates that can be used for secure email

It is important to know how you would like to secure your email before you can choose the appropriate type of certificate to best suit your personal or business needs.  Please see below for a brief overview of the options.

TrustID® Secure Email Certificates

TrustID | Secure Email | Email Identity Certificates: This low cost certificate is an excellent option if you only need to have your email address validated by the recipients of your email communications.  This certificate type does not confirm your identity; rather, it confirms that you have access to and control over the email address/account that is associated with the approved certificate. These certificates are often referred to as S/MIME certificates.

  • Authenticate your email address
  • Are used to digitally sign and encrypt email communications
  • Can be stored in your PC browser for use on a single PC or on a smart card or USB token for greater security and use on multiple PCs
  • Rely on a fully automated application process with expedited approval, following your confirmation of your email address
  • Are available to applicants from most countries
  • Are valid for one (1) or three (3) years 

TrustID® Personal Certificates

TrustID | Basic Assurance | Individual Identity |Software Storage Certificates: This moderately priced certificate is perfect for applicants who wish to be able to provide proof of identity, and can be used for various digital transactions, including securing email communications via digital signing and/or encryption.  Recipients of emails digitally signed with a TrustID personal certificate can be assured that the email was initiated by you and has not been intercepted by a fraudster.

The TrustID | Medium Assurance | Individual Identity | Hardware Storage | Trusted By Adobe® option stored on a USB token or  smart card is Adobe® AATL Enabled, making the digital signature instantly trusted whenever the signed document is opened in Adobe® Acrobat® or Reader® software, and can be used to sign unlimited number of PDF documents. 

  • Authenticate the certificate holder as the individual to which the certificate has been issued
  • Are used to digitally sign and encrypt email communications
  • Can be stored in your PC browser for use on a single PC or on a smart card or USB token for greater security and use on multiple PCs
  • Rely on automated validation of the applicant’s provided information with activation materials  returned via U.S. mail to the validated address of the applicant
  • Are available to enterprise customers and U.S. applicants
  • Are valid for one (1) or three (3) years.

Please note that validation of applicant provided information and subsequent activation material is automated for Personal Software certificates. For Medium Assurance Unaffiliated Hardware certificates, in-person identity vetting via public notary is required and a manual review of the form is required before the certificate can be approved; activation materials are returned via U.S. postal mail to the validated address of the applicant.

TrustID® Business Certificates

TrustID | Medium Assurance | Business Identity | Software Storage Certificates: This certificate is offered to individuals who wish to provide proof of identity, as well as affiliation with the business entity with whom they are associated. These certificates can be used for various business purposes, including securing email communications via digital signing and/or encryption.  Recipients of emails digitally signed with a TrustID business certificate can be assured that the email was initiated by you, as a representative of your affiliated business entity and has not been intercepted by a fraudster.

TrustID | Medium Assurance | Business Identity | Hardware Storage | Trusted By Adobe®  Certificates: Offer the same benefits of TrustID | Medium Assurance | Business Identity | Software Storage certificates but are stored in a USB token or smart card, are Adobe® AATL Enabled, making the digital signature instantly trusted whenever signed documents are opened in Adobe® Acrobat® or Reader® software, and can be used to sign unlimited number of PDF documents.

  • Authenticate the certificate holder as the individual to which the certificate has been issued, as well as the affiliation with the business entity named in the certificate
  • Are used to digitally sign and encrypt email communications
  • Authenticate you as an individual who is affiliated with an identified business or other organization
  • Can be stored in your PC browser for use on a single PC or on a smart card or USB token for greater security and use on multiple PCs
  • Are available to enterprise customers and U.S. and Canadian applicants
  • Are valid for one (1) or three (3) years based on user selection

Please note that TrustID Business certificates require that the certificate applicant provide notarized business forms to ensure eligibility to represent the affiliated business entity.  Validation of applicant provided information is automated for Business Representative Software certificates and in-person via public notary for TrustID | Medium Assurance | Business Identity | Hardware Storage | Trusted By Adobe® certificates. A manual review of the business form is required before business certificates can be approved; activation materials are returned via U.S. postal mail to the validated address of the applicant.


Use our Certificate Selection Wizard to assist with your purchase of a publicly trusted TrustID certificate.

 

Adding a digital signature to a Microsoft® Outlook email is simple. Email encryption can also be accomplished by exchanging public keys and then enabling the email encryption option in Outlook. View our information sheet about Using Outlook to Digitally Sign and Encrypt Emails.