Hongkong Post e-Cert (Organisational)

Hongkong Post e-Cert (Organisational) certificate is issued to Bureaux and Departments of the Government of Hong Kong SAR, organisations that hold a valid business registration certificate issued by the Government of the Hong Kong SAR and statutory bodies of Hong Kong whose existence is recognized by the laws of Hong Kong; and identifies a Subscriber Organisation's member or employee (the "Authorised Users") who has been duly authorised to use that e-Cert (Organisational) certificate. These certificates may be used to perform commercial operations which require the use of digital signatures of the Authorised Users.

Applicants may choose the following during the application:

1. e-Cert (Organisational)
2. e-Cert (Organisational) with "Mutual Recognition" Status
3. e-Cert (Organisational) with AEOI Functions^(Note)

An e-Cert (Organisational) certificate contains the following information of the Subscriber Organisation:

• Authorised User's name;
• Subscriber Organisation's name;
• Branch name or department name of the Subscriber Organisation;
• Subscriber Organisation company/business registration number;
• E-mail address of the Authorised User; and
• A unique Subscriber Reference Number.

Note: In applying for e-Cert (Organisational) with AEOI Functions, organisations can either hold a valid business registration certificate, or a valid certification letter issued by the Inland Revenue Department to the Reporting Financial Institution as referred in the Inland Revenue Ordinance (Cap. 112)

Summary of Hongkong Post e-Cert (Organisational)

		e-Cert (Organisational)	e-Cert (Organisational) with "Mutual Recognition" Status
Validity Period		One year or two year chosen during application	One year, two year or three year chosen during application
Certificate Features	Participating in the mutual recognition scheme under the Arrangement for Mutual Recognition of Electronic Signature Certificates issued by Hong Kong and GuangdongNote 1
	Trusted by Adobe® for signing PDF documentsNote 2
	Digital Signature
	Key Encipherment
	Storage Media	e-Cert File USB	e-Cert Token
	With AEOI Functions	Subscriber may opt for this featureNote 3

Note 1: Hongkong Post has designated the e-Cert (Organisational) with "Mutual Recognition" Status to participate in the mutual recognition scheme under the Arrangement for Mutual Recognition of Electronic Signature Certificates issued by Hong Kong and Guangdong. For the specific certificate types with mutual recognition status and the verification method of these certificate types, please refer to the official trust list published by the Economic and Information Commission of Guangdong Province (http://gdii.gd.gov.cn/list/content/post_949021.html) to confirm whether the certificate types have valid mutual recognition status and their validity period. A copy of the entries is also maintained in the trust list of the DPO for reference.

Note 2: The e-Cert (Organisational) with "Mutual Recognition" Status are trusted in Adobe Approved Trust List ("AATL") by default so that Adobe PDF reader will show a good signature when a PDF document is signed by such certificates.

Note 3: With effect from 30 December 2016, Hongkong Post e-Cert (Organisational) with AEOI Functions is available. For handling matters relating to automatic exchange of financial account information ("AEOI"), the persons authorised by the relevant organisation, including the reporting financial institution, can use the e-Cert (Organisational) with AEOI Functions to access AEOI Accounts under the AEOI Portal of the Inland Revenue Department, in accordance with its Terms and Conditions. Starting from 13 July 2018, for handling matters related to country-by-country reports ("CbC"), the persons authorised by the relevant organisation, including the Reporting Entity, can use the e-Cert (Organisational) with AEOI Functions to access CbC Reporting Accounts under the CbC Reporting Portal of the Inland Revenue Department, in accordance with its Terms and Conditions. For application, applicants should complete and submit the application form and a supplementary application form, with relevant supporting documents.

Subscription Fees of Hongkong Post e-Cert (Organisational)

New/Renewal Subscription Fee	Certificate with a 1-year validity period	Certificate with a 2-year validity period	Certificate with a 3-year validity period
First time application	** HK$50 per certificate Promotional Offer: HK$47 per certificate	** HK$200 per certificate Promotional Offer: HK$188 per certificate	Not applicable
Non-first time application or renewal	** HK$150 per certificate Promotional Offer: HK$141 per certificate	** HK$300 per certificate Promotional Offer: HK$282 per certificate
Administration fee (irrespective of the number of Authorised Users)	HK$150 per application	HK$300 per application	Not applicable
	The Administration Fee is HK$300 if the application form contains applications for certificates of 1-year validity and certificates of 2-year validity.
e-Cert File USB Fee	e-Cert File USB is the default storage medium for HK$40 each.

** For e-Cert (Organisational) (without "Mutual Recognition" status), with effect from 1 July 2023, the promotional discount on its subscription fees is provided, until further notice. For details, please refer to the relevant announcement.

Subscription Fees of e-Cert (Organisational) with "Mutual Recognition" Status

New/Renewal Subscription Fee	Certificates with a 1-year validity period	Certificates with a 2-year validity period	Certificates with a 3-year validity period
New application or renewal	HK$150 per certificate	HK$300 per certificate	HK$450 per certificate
Administration fee (irrespective of the number of Authorised Users)	HK$150 per application	HK$300 per application	HK$450 per application
	The Administration Fee is as the price of the longest validity e-Cert if the application form contains applications for variety validity certificates.
e-Cert Token Fee	e-Cert (Organisational) with "Mutual Recognition" Status is mandatory to storage in separate e-Cert Token at a price of HK$290 each.

Please note:

• Hongkong Post Certification Authority has ceased to use of e-Cert File Card as e-Cert Storage Medium with effect from 1 February 2019. For details, please refer to the relevant announcement.
• Starting from 1 January 2014, e-Cert (Organisational) is issued only with 2048-bit RSA key length. For details, please refer to the relevant announcement.

Reliance Limit of Hongkong Post e-Cert (Organisational)

The "Reliance Limit" as defined under the Electronic Transactions Ordinance in respect of one e-Cert (Organisational) certificate is HK$200,000.

Reliance Limit of Hongkong Post e-Cert (Organisational) with "Mutual Recognition" Status

The "Reliance Limit" as defined under the Electronic Transactions Ordinance in respect of one e-Cert (Organisational) with "Mutual Recognition" Status certificate is HK$200,000.

Certification Practice Statement

To know more about our practices in issuing the e-Cert (Organisational), please refer to the e-Cert Certification Practice Statement (CPS).

Click here to download the application form.