A Domain Validated (DV) Digital ID certificate is a quick and easy way to secure a single email address, as the Certificate Authority (CA) issuing the certificate only requires verification that the applicant actually owns the email address they wish to cover. This verification process can typically be completed in a matter of minutes. Email and document recipients can see that the email has been signed or encrypted, and has been sent by the Digital ID certificate holder and can verify the email address.
This gives recipients the trust that the email or document has been sent form a trusted email address, and hasn't been altered or tampered with during transmission.

An Organization Validated (OV) Digital ID certificate will secure a single email address, as well as verification that the Digital ID holder actually controls the email address they wish to cover, ID certificate holders also complete a light vetting process, requiring them to provide proof of identity to the Certificate Authority before being issued with their Digital ID.
These certificates are a nice middle-ground between DV and EV Digital ID certificates, as they are less expensive than EV options but offer considerably more trust indications. These Digital IDs typically include the email address and name of the person who holds the Digital ID.
These certificates typically take between 2-3 days to be issued.

EV stands for Extended Validation and makes an Enterprise Digital ID a premium type of Digital ID certificate. In addition to the requirements of DV and OV Digital ID certificates, Enterprise Digital ID certificates require that a company complete a thorough vetting process before being issued.

The main criteria for qualifying for an Enterprise Digital ID certificate would be that your business is an official company registered with a government authority. Unfortunately, if you're a sole proprietor or a partnership registered in the U.K., you cannot qualify for an Enterprise Digital ID certificate.

You do not need to provide any documentation in order to purchase a Domain Validated (DV) Digital ID certificate. All you will need to do is demonstrate that you control the email address you wish to cover, this is normally done by validating via a link sent in an email to the email address seeking the Digital ID.

Organization Validated (OV) verification requires checking your personal identity documents such as a driving licence or passport or your business registration. If the Certificate Authority (CA) can verify this information using online government databases, no additional documents will be required. However, if the online filings are not available or inaccurate or not up to date, the CA may request additional official government registration documents, which vary on a case-by-case basis.
For businesses a Dun & Bradstreet listing can usually satisfy most of the requirements for an OV Digital ID certificate.

EV certificates require a more stringent verification process than OV certificates. To understand the basis of this procedure, please refer to the above question about OV certificate verification. Please note that EV Digital ID certificates require you to complete a few extra steps, including proving both physical and operational existence as well as completing a simple telephone call with the Certificate Authority (CA) directly.

There are a few reasons why this might be the case. First, verify what email address you have chosen for the Domain Control Validation email (please note: this is the same as the Digital ID email address. You will need to be able to access this email address to demonstrate you exercise control of it). If you need to change your DCV email, you will need to regenerate and re-issue the Digital ID certificate CSR.
Also, make sure to check the Spam or Junk Mail folder of your email client.

This largely depends on the type of Digital ID certificate that you purchased and your response times. No matter which type of certificate that you purchase, the Certificate Authority (CA) will be contacting you directly and will only proceed with next steps upon your response. For Domain Validated (DV) certificates (Standard ID), these can typically be issued in a matter of minutes to one business day. For Organization Validated (OV) certificates (Pro ID), these tend to take around 2-3 business days to be issued. And for Extended Validation (Enterprise ID) certificates, these usually take between 3-5 business days to be issued.

Your private key is extremely important. You must make every endeavour to keep it safe and secure. Do not divulge your private key to anyone else.
Your private key is what is used to generate the public key that is used to sign and encrypt emails and documents. If your private key is compromised you will need to revoke it immediately and generate a new CSR and private key, and re-issue your Digital ID.

First check your backups and see if you can re-install the "private key". If you don't know how to re-install the key from your backups, contact your systems administrator. Failing that, contact DS4A Technical Support. The only alternative course of action available is a re-issuance of the certificate following the re-submitting of a replacement CSR.

CSR stands for 'Certificate Signing Request' and is necessary for all Digital ID certificates in order to complete the ID generation process. The CSR contains important information that will be contained in your certificate. There are numerous ways that you can generate a CSR. The easiest way is to make use of our 'Digital ID Installation & Set-up' service.