E-SignIndia provides both Aadhaar eSign and Digital Signature Certificates. Which one you need depends entirely on what you are signing and where you have to submit it.
eSign is India’s online electronic signature service. Instead of holding a certificate on a USB token, the signer authenticates — usually with Aadhaar OTP or biometrics — and a Certifying Authority issues a short-lived certificate that signs the document at that moment.
Both eSign and a Digital Signature Certificate on a token produce a legally valid electronic signature under the Information Technology Act, 2000. They suit very different situations, and picking the wrong one wastes time and money.
eSign or a DSC on a USB token?
| eSign | DSC on a USB token | |
|---|---|---|
| How you sign | Online, authenticate per transaction | Plug the token in and sign |
| Certificate life | Issued per signature, short lived | Typically 1 to 3 years |
| Hardware | None | FIPS certified USB token required |
| Identity check | Aadhaar based | KYC documents at issuance |
| Works offline | No | Yes, once installed |
| Accepted for e-tendering | Usually not | Yes, Class 3 |
| Best for | High volume document signing, onboarding, agreements | Statutory filings and government portals |
When eSign is the right choice
eSign suits signing that happens at scale and online — customer onboarding, loan and insurance paperwork, rental and vendor agreements, HR documents, consent forms. There is no hardware to ship, nothing to install, and no waiting for a token to arrive. If you are signing many documents with many different people, eSign is almost always the better fit.
When you need a DSC on a token instead
Most Indian government portals still expect a Class 3 Digital Signature Certificate held on a FIPS certified USB token. That includes income tax e-filing, MCA and ROC filings, GST, EPFO and ESI, DIN and director eKYC, DGFT for import and export, and e-tendering and e-procurement portals.
If a portal asks you to register a certificate, or to select one from a token when you sign, you need a DSC — eSign will not satisfy it. See the USB token guide for which device to buy, and the downloads page for drivers and the download utility.
Is an eSign signature legally valid?
Yes. Electronic signatures are recognised under the Information Technology Act, 2000, and eSign operates within the framework set by the Controller of Certifying Authorities. The signature carries the signer’s identity and a timestamp, and the signed document can be verified by anyone who opens it.
Getting eSign from E-SignIndia
We supply eSign alongside the Digital Signature Certificates we have been issuing from Noida since 2015. Tell us what you are signing, roughly how many documents, and where they have to be submitted, and we will set up whichever of the two fits — including telling you when the answer is that you do not need us at all.
Talk to E-SignIndia about eSign. Call +91 89200 56551 or +91 120 4321443, Mon–Sat 9:30 AM–6:00 PM, or email info@e-signindia.com. We will confirm whether eSign or a Digital Signature Certificate is right for your filing before you pay for anything.