What is the Electronic Signature Certificate or Digital Certificate?
The FNMT Digital Certificate for a Natural Person is an electronic certification issued by the FNMT-RCM linking the subscriber with data of verification of signature and confirms their identity. This certificate is a digital file containing the user’s identification data. Through the computer in which the certificate is installed, the user will be able to identify themselves online and exchange information with other people and organizations with safety and confidentiality guarantees.
Who can apply for the Digital Certificate?
Any Spanish or Foreign citizen, older than 18 years old, who holds a DNI, NIE or NIF, will be able to apply for and obtain their digital certificate free of charge in order to sign and prove their identity safely online.
In addition, the FNMT-RCM issues Electronic Certificates for a Legal Person recognized for tax matters. In order to apply for this certificate, the entity must hold a Tax Identification Number (NIF) and its representative must have a DNI, NIE or NIF.
Can the Digital Certificate application be submitted at the Consulate General in Toronto?
The Consulate General in Toronto is involved in one of the steps, which is essential for the interested party to obtain the Digital Certificate. This procedure requires appearing in person at the Consulate General to verify the user’s identity.
Why is the Digital Certificate important?
Obtaining the Digital Certificate allows the holder to do online procedures with the Spanish Public Administration. For instance, paying taxes, applying for certificates from the Civil Registry, applying for the Spanish Criminal Record Certificate or, in the case of Spanish citizens living abroad, completing procedures to check and request a voting ballot from the Statistics National Institute (INE) website during election periods in Spain, among others.
How many steps are there to obtain the Digital Certificate?
The procedure to obtain the Digital Certificate has 3 steps, which are as follows:
- Generating the Application Code online.
- Proving the user’s identity at the Consulate General and submitting forms.
- Downloading and obtaining the Certificate.
Which technical considerations are important to have in mind?
Both steps 1 and 3, the application procedure as well as the certificate download, must be done on the same computer and with the same user. At this time, the computer cannot be reset or updated. Prior to starting the process to obtain the Digital Certificate, it is necessary to complete a set of settings in the browser following the
instructions provided by the FNMT
. Sometimes it is may be necessary to deactivate the antivirus during the procedure so that it does not interfere.
What is the procedure to follow?
1. Generating the Application Code online.
The first step to obtain the Digital Certificate requires making an application through the FNMT website, from the computer that you are going to use. For the application it can be necessary to configure your browser. On the application page, the user must include their NIF (DNI or NIE), first last name, email address, accept the conditions and click the button "Enviar petición".
When finalizing the application, the applicant will receive in the provided email account an Application Code from the FNMT that must be printed and kept. This code will be required when proving their identity at the Consulate General and later when downloading the certificate.
2. Proving the user’s identity at the Consulate General in Toronto.
After downloading the code, the interested party needs to come to the Consulate General in Toronto to prove their identity. By appointment only. Book an appointment by e-mail at
cog.toronto.nie@maec.es.
Generally, applications sent either by e-mail or by mail are not accepted. However, in order to avoid the trip to Toronto from other provinces in the
consular jurisdiction, the
FNMT Digital Certificate application will be accepted by mail after the applicant has proved their identity personally or through duly appointed representative before one of the Honorary Consuls in our
consular jurisdiction, as long as the application forms are signed in the presence of the Honorary Consul and the DNI, passport or NIE copy has their stamp and signature:
- Consulate Honorary of Spain in Vancouver (British Columbia and Yukon): chspainbc@gmail.com (1-604-770-2207 and 1-604-770-0087).
- Consulate Honorary of Spain in Edmonton (Alberta and Northwest Territories): chspain.alberta@gmail.com (1-780-708-7132)
- Viceconsulate Honorary of Spain in Winnipeg (Manitoba and Saskatchewan): chspain.manitoba@gmail.com (1-204-896-4367).
The day you come to the Consulate General or the Consulate Honorary, you need to submit the following documents:
- Document to prove identity.
- If it is a natural person, a valid ID document such as a passport, the DNI, the NIE or the NIF will be sufficient.
- If it is a legal person (company), the company’s NIF must be submitted, as well as the representative’s passport, DNI, NIE, or NIF. Likewise, a certification from the Canadian tax or registration authority proving the existence of the company translated into Spanish and duly legalized. If the applicant is not the company’s legal representative, it will also need a document justifying the representation, also translated and legalized.
- Photocopy of the identification documents. No copies will be done at the Consulate.
- Photocopy of the e-mail with the application code received after submitting the online form.
- Two copies of the Application form duly filled out and without being signed, since, it will be signed in the presence of a consular officer once the identity is proved. The application form will depend on whom and for whom the certificate is applied:
The Consulate General will stamp both forms, one of which will be given to the applicant. The other application form, together with the application code submitted by the user, will be sent within a maximum of 5 working days directly by the Consulate General to the FNMT, where the application for the certificate will be processed.
3. Downloading the Digital Certificate.
After 10 working days, the applicant will receive an email with the instructions to download the Digital Certificate from the FNMT website. It is important to keep in mind that the same computer must be used at all times, as well as the same browser and the same user, by entering the required data exactly as they had been previously entered.
After downloading the certificate it is recommended for all users to make a security copy of the certificate in an external storage device.
What can be done if there is any problem?
If you had any difficulty applying for or downloading your certificate, you will have to contact with the customer service of the electronic platform in the Fábrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre or check out in its website in the
FAQs section.
How can the Department of NIE/NIF and Digital Certificates be contacted?
You can send an email to
cog.toronto.nie@maec.es or call at (+1) 416-977-1661 EXT. 8. We will only answer with respect to information which cannot be found on the website.