DSC

A Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) is an electronic equivalent of a physical signature issued by a Certifying Authority licensed under section 24 of the Information Technology Act, 2000. It binds a public key to an individual's identity and is used to authenticate filings on the MCA21 portal, Income Tax e-filing, GSTN, TDS-CPC, EPFO, ESIC, DGFT, ICEGATE and other government portals. Three classes are issued — Class 2 (legacy / low-value), Class 3 (high-assurance with video KYC), and DGFT-specific. DSCs typically carry a two- or three-year validity and must be renewed before expiry, since filings break with expired certificates.