Hongkong Post e-Cert (Personal)
Hongkong Post e-Cert (Personal) certificate is issued to individuals who have a Hong Kong identity card. These certificates may be used to perform commercial operations which require the use of digital signatures of an individual.
Applicants may choose the following during the application:
- e-Cert (Personal)
- e-Cert (Personal) with "Mutual Recognition" Status
An e-Cert (Personal) certificate contains the following information of the e-Cert Subscriber:
- Subscriber's name as it appears on the applicant's Hong Kong identity card;
- The Subscriber's Hong Kong identity card number in an encrypted form;
- E-mail address (optional); and
- A unique Subscriber Reference Number.
Summary of Hongkong Post e-Cert (Personal) / e-Cert (Personal) with "Mutual Recognition" Status
| e-Cert (Personal) | e-Cert (Personal) with "Mutual Recognition" Status | ||
| Validity Period | The e-Cert (Personal) is physically valid for three years and its subscription period is one year. Subscribers may choose to pay the annual subscription fee in order to extend the subscription period. | The e-Cert (Personal) is valid for one year, two years or three years, 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 |  |
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| Trusted by Adobe® for signing PDF documentsNote 2 | |
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| Digital Signature | |
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| Key Encipherment | |
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| Storage Media | e-Cert File USB | e-Cert Token | |
Subscription Fees of Hongkong Post e-Cert (Personal)
Hongkong Post e-Cert (Personal) certificate is available to the subscriber at the cost of HK$50 ** Promotional Offer HK$48 per certificate per year and has a validity period of three years.
** For e-Cert (Personal) (without "Mutual Recognition" status), with effect from 1 July 2023, the annual subscription fee is discounted from HK$50 to HK$48 per certificate until further notice. For details, please refer to the relevant announcement.
e-Cert File USB is the default storage medium for HK$40 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.
Subscription Fees of Hongkong Post e-Cert (Personal) with "Mutual Recognition" Status
| Subscription Fees for e-Cert (Personal) with MR Status Certificates | Certificate with a 1-year validity period | Certificate with a 2-year validity period | Certificate with a 3-year validity period |
| First time application and renewal | HK$50 per certificate | HK$100 per certificate | HK$150 per certificate |
| e-Cert Storage Medium | e-Cert Token at a price of HK$290 each | ||
Notes:
Note 1: Hongkong Post has designated the e-Cert (Personal) 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. Starting from 3 October 2018, to meet the requirement of the Certificate Policy for Mutual Recognition of Electronic Signature Certificates Issued by Hong Kong and Guangdong (Version 1.1), the code of identity verification means is added to the field "Certificate Policy" of e-Cert (Personal) with "Mutual Recognition" Status. Please refer to e-Cert Certification Practice Statement (CPS) for details.
Note 2: The e-Cert (Personal) 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: An e-Cert (Personal) certificate may be issued to persons aged under 18 who have a Smart ID Card, but the certificate will display the word "e-Cert (Personal/Minor)". An e-Cert (Personal) with Mutual Recognition Status certificate shall only be issued to persons aged 18 or above.
Note 4: Starting from 1 January 2014, e-Cert (Personal) is issued only with 2048-bit RSA key length. For details, please refer to the relevant announcement.
Reliance Limit of Hongkong Post e-Cert (Personal)
Each of the e-Cert (Personal) carries a "reliance limit" (as defined under the Electronic Transactions Ordinance) of HK$200,000, except that each e-Cert (Personal) issued to minors (individuals below 18) carries a "reliance limit" of zero (0) as under the law minors may not be bound by certain contracts.
Reliance Limit of Hongkong Post e-Cert (Personal) with "Mutual Recognition" Status
Each of the e-Cert (Personal) with "Mutual Recognition" Status carries a "reliance limit" (as defined under the Electronic Transactions Ordinance) of HK$200,000.
Certification Practice Statement
To know more about our practices in issuing the e-Cert (Personal), please refer to the e-Cert Certification Practice Statement (CPS).
