Obtain a digital certificate and create a digital signature

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This article explains how you can get or create a digital signature for use in Office documents. To learn more about how to use them in Office documents, see Add or remove a digital signature in Office files.

What is a digital signature?

A digital signature or ID is more commonly known as a digital certificate. To digitally sign an Office document, you must have a current (not expired) digital certificate. Digital certificates are typically issued by a certificate authority (CA), which is a trusted third-party entity that issues digital certificates for use by other parties. There are many commercial third-party certificate authorities from which you can either purchase a digital certificate or obtain a free digital certificate. Many institutions, governments, and corporations can also issue their own certificates.

A digital certificate is necessary for a digital signature because it provides the public key that can be used to validate the private key that is associated with a digital signature. Digital certificates make it possible for digital signatures to be used as a way to authenticate digital information.

Get a digital signature from a certificate authority or a Microsoft partner

If you plan to exchange digitally-signed documents together with other people, and you want the recipients of your documents to be able to verify the authenticity of your digital signature, you can obtain a digital certificate from a reputable third-party certificate authority (CA). For more information, see Find digital ID or digital signature services.

Create a digital certificate to digitally sign a document immediately

If you do not want to purchase a digital certificate from a third-party certificate authority (CA), or if you want to digitally sign your document immediately, you can create your own digital certificate.

• What version of Windows are you using?
• Windows 10
• Windows 8
• Windows 7, Windows Vista, or Windows XP

1. Go to C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\root\ (or C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\Office16 if you're running the 64-bit version of Office) .
2. Click SelfCert.exe. The Create Digital Certificate box appears.

1. Go to C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\\.
2. Click SelfCert.exe. The Create Digital Certificate box appears.

1. Click Start, point to All Programs, click Microsoft Office, click Microsoft Office Tools, and then click Digital Certificate for VBA Projects. The Create Digital Certificate box appears.

To view the certificate in the Personal Certificates store, do the following:

1. Open Internet Explorer.
2. On the Tools menu, click Internet Options, and then click the Content tab.
3. Click Certificates, and then click the Personal tab.

Important: If you digitally sign a document by using a digital certificate that you created, and then you share the digitally-signed file, other people cannot verify the authenticity of your digital signature without manually deciding to trust your self-signed certificate.