California Secretary of State Digital Signatures

Application
for Inclusion on California's Approved List of Certification Authorities

FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions

Adopted Regulations
Final Text Approved By Office of Administrative Law

Initial Statement of Reasons
Secretary of State regulations regarding the use of digital signatures by public entities.

Certification Authorities
Approved List of Digital Signature Certification Authorities

CALIFORNIA DIGITAL SIGNATURE REGULATIONS

California Government Code Section 16.5

16.5.  (a) In any written communication with a public entity, as
defined in Section 811.2, in which a signature is required or used,
any party to the communication may affix a signature by use of a
digital signature that complies with the requirements of this
section.  The use of a digital signature shall have the same force
and effect as the use of a manual signature if and only if it
embodies all of the following attributes:
   (1) It is unique to the person using it.
   (2) It is capable of verification.
   (3) It is under the sole control of the person using it.
   (4) It is linked to data in such a manner that if the data are
changed, the digital signature is invalidated.
   (5) It conforms to regulations adopted by the Secretary of State.
Initial regulations shall be adopted no later than January 1, 1997.
In developing these regulations, the secretary shall seek the advice
of public and private entities, including, but not limited to, the
Department of Information Technology, the California Environmental
Protection Agency, and the Department of General Services.  Before
the secretary adopts the regulations, he or she shall hold at least
one public hearing to receive comments.
   (b) The use or acceptance of a digital signature shall be at the
option of the parties.  Nothing in this section shall require a
public entity to use or permit the use of a digital signature.
   (c) Digital signatures employed pursuant to Section 71066 of the
Public Resources Code are exempted from this section.
   (d) "Digital signature" means an electronic identifier, created by
computer, intended by the party using it to have the same force and
effect as the use of a manual signature.