Mandate certificate: What is it for and how to get it?

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Mandate certificate: What is it and who is it suitable for?

Law no. 272/2016 Coll. on trusted services for electronic transactions in the internal market and on the amendment of certain laws (hereinafter referred to as the Act on trusted services) orders public authorities to communicate electronically in the same way as it orders other persons to use mandated certificates for electronic signatures.

A mandated certificate is a type of qualified certificate intended for people who have the authorization listed in the list of authorizations under the Act on Trusted Services. These persons (so-called mandate holders) have a mandate to act on behalf of another person or public authority (so-called principal) in the digital environment. It means that they are authorized to sign documents on behalf of another person, institution or other entity.

Such persons include, for example:

• notaries and lawyers,
• mayors, mayors and their representatives,
• rectors and deans,
• experts, interpreters and translators,
• Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, State Secretaries, Ministers,
• judges and prosecutors,
• school principals and others.

Examples of the use of the mandate certificate

The holder of a mandate certificate with authorization according to the Act on Trusted Services is authorized by law or based on the law to act on behalf of another person or public institution (public authority) or performs an activity, or function according to a special regulation, for example:

• the mayor signs with his mandate certificate all documents in relation to the municipality in which he has a mandate,
• the mandate certificate for the school director is used for signing decisions on admission to study and sending the decision electronically to the student’s inbox, or his legal representative,
• the mandate certificate of the translator confirms the specific legal status of the official translator and functions as his license to provide electronic official translations, etc.

Signing with a mandate certificate

In relation to the electronic signature, the mandate certificate is a qualified electronic certificate for a qualified electronic signature.

This type of certificate is therefore used for signing electronic documents with the same legal force as if the document had been signed in the presence of a notary, while proving the authority to act on behalf of another person or public authority. Since it is the equivalent of a verified signature, it serves to simplify and streamline electronic signing processes.

According to the Trust Services Act, the mandate certificate contains:

• identification data of the mandatary (personal identification number, or passport number or identification card number, if the personal identification number was not assigned to him),
• identification data of the mandator and the public authority or person for whom the mandator performs an activity or function according to a special regulation,
• authorization designation (e.g. 1046 – Court bailiff)

Did you know that…
…the mandate certificate must not contain a pseudonym in the identification data?

How to issue a mandate certificate?

If you are interested in issuing a mandate certificate, contact a qualified trusted service provider, such as Brain:IT, operator of the NFQES portal. A qualified provider of trusted services will issue you a mandate certificate if you prove the authorization according to paragraph 2 in the manner indicated for the given authorization in the list of authorizations maintained by the office according to § 9.

In the NFQES platform, you can issue a mandate certificate in just a few clicks.

1. Register on the NFQES portal.
2. Verify your personal information.
3. Create a credential verification request.
4. Start signing.

You can use the mandate certificate in NFQES with the help of a QSCD card and a reader or without a card, using a mobile device.

A mandated certificate in NQFQS brings the following benefits:

✔️ remote signing – even without the need to use a card and a reader,

✔️ the possibility of signing everywhere – even on the Slovensko.sk portal or in other applications,

✔️ bulk signing of several documents,

✔️ non-repudiation of the signature ensured by a qualified electronic signature,

✔️ simple verifiability and increased security against cyber fraud,

✔️ saving costs for administration, printing documents and their distribution and archiving.