Creating a digital signature - how does it work?

If you need to sign documents frequently and would like to do this fully electronically, you can create a digital signature. As long as it is valid, you can insert it into documents and sign them as often as you like.

If you want to digitally sign important documents, your identity must be verified. You therefore create a digital signature via a certification authority, which verifies the information about you and creates the encrypted signature together with you.Certification authorities are available online - "the Bundesdruckerei as well as Telesec, for example, offer free signatures. Only with the encrypted digital signature can you also validly sign official matters, for example. This is not the case if you insert your signature on the PC without identity verification.

This is what you need to create a digital signature

How to insert a digital, valid signature in an Office program:

1. Right-click the signature line.
2. Select "Sign".
3. Then click "Select Image" and insert your previously created digital signature.

In a PDF document, on the other hand, go to "Tools" at the top and then "Sign". At the top, you then have the option to select your signature as an image.

Sign on PC

If you want to sign a mail in Outlook or another Office program, use the freehand function. On a tablet or with a pen, the signature succeeds better than with the mouse. Alternatively, you can create an image of your signature that you can place under a cover letter, for example. For example, create a transparent template in GIMP, sign it, and save the image with your signature as a PNG file. Note, however, that the signature is not valid for official matters.