Hongkong Post e-Cert (Encipherment)
Hongkong Post e-Cert (Encipherment) certificate is issued to Bureaux and Departments of the Government of Hong Kong SAR, organisations that hold a valid business registration certificate issued by the Government of Hong Kong SAR and statutory bodies of Hong Kong SAR whose existence is recognized by the laws of Hong Kong SAR (a "Subscriber Organisation"). Such a certificate is designed to be used by such units of the Subscriber Organisation ("the Authorised Units") which has been authorised to use that e-Cert (Encipherment) certificate for the following purposes ONLY:-
- to send encrypted electronic messages to the Subscriber Organisation;
- to permit the Subscriber Organisation to decrypt messages; and
- to permit the Subscriber Organisation to acknowledge receipt of the encrypted message by sending an acknowledgment with a digital signature added to it to confirm the identity of the receiving Subscriber Organisation.
SUBSCRIBING ORGANISATIONS UNDERTAKE TO HONGKONG POST NOT TO GIVE AUTHORITY TO THE AUTHORISED USERS TO USE A DIGITAL SIGNATURE OF THIS CLASS OF CERTIFICATE FOR ANY OTHER PURPOSE AND ACCORDINGLY ANY DIGITAL SIGNATURE GENERATED BY THE PRIVATE KEY OF THIS CLASS OF CERTIFICATE USED OTHER THAN TO ACKNOWLEDGE RECEIPT OF A MESSAGE AS SET OUT ABOVE MUST BE TREATED AS A SIGNATURE GENERATED AND USED WITHOUT THE AUTHORITY OF THE SUBSCRIBER ORGANISATION WHOSE SIGNATURE IT IS AND MUST BE TREATED FOR ALL PURPOSES AS AN UNAUTHORISED SIGNATURE.
Further, digital signatures generated by this class of certificate are only to be used to acknowledge the receipt of electronic messages in transactions which are not related to or connected with the payment of money on-line or the making of any investment on-line or the conferring on-line of any financial benefit on any person or persons or entities of whatsoever nature and under no circumstances are digital signatures generated by these certificates to be used to acknowledge the receipt of messages sent in connection with the negotiation or conclusion of a contract or any legally binding agreement.
An e-Cert (Encipherment) certificate contains the following information of the Subscriber Organisation:
- Name of Authorised Unit;
- Subscriber Organisation's name;
- Branch name or department name of the Subscriber Organisation;
- Subscriber Organisation's company/business registration number;
- E-mail address; and
- A unique Subscriber Reference Number.
Hongkong Post e-Cert (Encipherment) certificate may be issued with a validity period of 1 year or 2 years at the cost as follows:
| Certificate with a 1-year validity period | Certificate with a 2-year validity period | |||
| New application or Renewal application | ** HK$150 per certificate | ** HK$300 per certificate | ||
| Storage Media: e-Cert file USB | HK$40 per each | |||
| Dual Certificates application (e-Cert (Encipherment) and e-Cert (Encipherment) with S/MIME Functions) | The first e-Cert requires the subscription fee plus HKD40 storage medium, while the second certificate requires only HKD40 storage medium. |  |
||
| Administration fee per application (irrespective of the number of Authorised Units) | HK$150 per application | HK$300 per application | ||
|
HK$150 if the application form contains applications for e-Certs of 1-year validity only. HK$300 if the application form contains applications for e-Certs with longest validity period equal to 2-year validity. |
||||
** For e-Cert (Encipherment), with effect from 1 July 2023, the promotional discount on its subscription fee is cancelled. The annual subscription fee for e-Cert (Encipherment) is resumed from HK$24 to the original price of HK$150 per certificate.
Please note:
- Starting from 1 October 2026, Hongkong Post Certification Authority (HKPCA) will separate S/MIME (Secure Email) functions from our certificates and enhance our mailbox validation process.
- Subscribers applying for e-Cert (Encipherment), are required to select their intended use (i.e. S/MIME or Client Authentication) at the time of application.
- A ‘Dual Certificate’ option has been added to the application form. Applicants may simultaneously apply for one e-Cert (Encipherment) with S/MIME Functions and one e-Cert (Encipherment) for other use.
- If applying for e-Cert (Encipherment) with S/MIME Functions, the Applicant must confirm by replying from the email address specified in the application after submission, before the application can proceed.
- Subscription Fee
For Dual Certificates application, the first e-Cert requires the subscription fee plus HKD40 storage medium, while the second certificate requires only HKD40 storage medium. The subscription fee and storage media fee for applying a single certificate remain unchanged. - For details, please refer to the relevant announcement.
- Starting from 1 October 2026, e-Cert (Encipherment) will be issued for usages other than S/MIME only. Their validity period will also be adjusted to one year.
- Starting from 1 October 2026, e-Cert (Encipherment) with S/MIME Functions will be issued with one year validity.
Reliance Limit of Hongkong Post e-Cert (Encipherment) and e-Cert (Encipherment) with S/MIME Functions
The "Reliance Limit" as defined under the Electronic Transactions Ordinance in respect of one e-Cert (Encipherment) certificate is HK$200,000.
Certification Practice Statement
To know more about our practices in issuing the e-Cert (Encipherment), please refer to the e-Cert Certification Practice Statement (CPS).
