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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.
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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)
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Click SelfCert.exe. The Create Digital Certificate box appears.
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In the Your certificate's name box, type a descriptive name for the certificate.
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Click OK.
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When the SelfCert Success message appears, click OK.
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Go to C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\<Office version>\.
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Click SelfCert.exe. The Create Digital Certificate box appears.
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In the Your certificate's name box, type a descriptive name for the certificate.
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Click OK.
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When the SelfCert Success message appears, click OK.
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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.
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In the Your certificate's name box, type a descriptive name for the certificate.
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Click OK.
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When the SelfCert Success message appears, click OK.
To view the certificate in the Personal Certificates store, do the following:
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Open Internet Explorer.
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On the Tools menu, click Internet Options, and then click the Content tab.
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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.
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