Hongkong Post e-Cert (Personal)
Hongkong Post e-Cert (Personal) certificate is issued to individuals who have a Hong Kong identity card. These certificates may be used to perform commercial operations which require the use of digital signatures of an individual.
Applicants may choose the following during the application:
- e-Cert (Personal)
- e-Cert (Personal) with S/MIME Functions
- e-Cert (Personal) with "Mutual Recognition" Status
An e-Cert (Personal) certificate (including with S/MIME Functions and “Mutual Recognition” Status) contains the following information of the e-Cert Subscriber:
- Subscriber's name as it appears on the applicant's Hong Kong identity card;
- The Subscriber's Hong Kong identity card number in an encrypted form;
- E-mail address(Mandatory for S/MIME Functions, other certificate types are optional); and
- A unique Subscriber Reference Number.
Summary of Hongkong Post e-Cert (Personal) / e-Cert (Personal) with S/MIME Functions/e-Cert (Personal) with “Mutual Recognition” Status
| e-Cert (Personal) | e-Cert (Personal) with S/MIME Functions | e-Cert (Personal) with "Mutual Recognition" Status | ||
| Validity Period | The e-Cert (Personal) is physically valid for two years and its subscription period is one year. Subscribers may choose to pay the annual subscription fee in order to extend the subscription period. | One year | The e-Cert (Personal) is valid for one year or two years, chosen during application. | |
| Certificate Features | Participating in the mutual recognition scheme under the Arrangement for Mutual Recognition of Electronic Signature Certificates issued by Hong Kong and GuangdongNote 1 |  |
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| Trusted by Adobe® for signing PDF documentsNote 2 | |
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| Digital Signature | |
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| Key Encipherment | |
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| S/MIME | |
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| Storage Media | e-Cert File USB HK$40 each |
e-Cert File USB HK$40 each |
e-Cert Token HK$290 each |
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| Subscription Fee | Promotional Offer HK$48** |
Promotional Offer HK$48** |
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** For e-Cert (Personal) (without "Mutual Recognition" status), with effect from 1 July 2023, the annual subscription fee is discounted from HK$50 to HK$48 per certificate until further notice. For details, please refer to the relevant announcement.
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 (Personal), 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 (Personal) with S/MIME Functions and one e-Cert (Personal) for other use.
- If applying for e-Cert (Personal) 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 HK$40 storage medium, while the second certificate requires only HK$40 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 (Personal) and e-Cert (Personal) with “Mutual Recognition” Status 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 (Personal) with S/MIME Functions will be issued with one year validity.
Notes:
Note 1: Hongkong Post has designated the e-Cert (Personal) with "Mutual Recognition" Status to participate in the mutual recognition scheme under the Arrangement for Mutual Recognition of Electronic Signature Certificates issued by Hong Kong and Guangdong. For the specific certificate types with mutual recognition status and the verification method of these certificate types, please refer to the official trust list published by the Economic and Information Commission of Guangdong Province (http://gdii.gd.gov.cn/list/content/post_949021.html) to confirm whether the certificate types have valid mutual recognition status and their validity period. A copy of the entries is also maintained in the trust list of the DPO for reference. Starting from 3 October 2018, to meet the requirement of the Certificate Policy for Mutual Recognition of Electronic Signature Certificates Issued by Hong Kong and Guangdong (Version 1.1), the code of identity verification means is added to the field "Certificate Policy" of e-Cert (Personal) with "Mutual Recognition" Status. Please refer to e-Cert Certification Practice Statement (CPS) for details.
Note 2: The e-Cert (Personal) with "Mutual Recognition" Status are trusted in Adobe Approved Trust List ("AATL") by default so that Adobe PDF reader will show a good signature when a PDF document is signed by such certificates.
Note 3: An e-Cert (Personal) certificate and e-Cert (Personal) with S/MIME Functions may be issued to persons aged under 18 who have a Smart ID Card, but the certificate will display the word “e-Cert (Personal/Minor)”. An e-Cert (Personal) with “Mutual Recognition” Status certificate shall only be issued to persons aged 18 or above.
Note 4: Starting from 1 January 2014, e-Cert (Personal) is issued only with 2048-bit RSA key length. For details, please refer to the relevant announcement.
Reliance Limit of Hongkong Post e-Cert (Personal) and e-Cert (Personal) with S/MIME Functions
Each of the e-Cert (Personal) carries a "reliance limit" (as defined under the Electronic Transactions Ordinance) of HK$200,000, except that each e-Cert (Personal) issued to minors (individuals below 18) carries a "reliance limit" of zero (0) as under the law minors may not be bound by certain contracts.
Reliance Limit of Hongkong Post e-Cert (Personal) with "Mutual Recognition" Status
Each of the e-Cert (Personal) with "Mutual Recognition" Status carries a "reliance limit" (as defined under the Electronic Transactions Ordinance) of HK$200,000.
Certification Practice Statement
To know more about our practices in issuing the e-Cert (Personal), please refer to the e-Cert Certification Practice Statement (CPS).
