, Activate the authentication and digital signature of the Citizen Card - gov.pt

Activate the authentication and digital signature of the Citizen Card

Your Citizen Card allows you to authenticate yourself, perform services over the Internet or sign digital documents with the same validity as a handwritten signature.

To be able to use these functions of the Citizen Card, you need to activate the digital certificates.

Service channels

Learn where you can carry out the service and what are the advantages of each channel

  • Change online

  • Search for a point of service near you:

Who can activate the authentication and digital signature of the Citizen Card?

Any person with a valid Citizen Card.

What are the documents and requirements to activate the authentication and digital signature of the Citizen Card?

To activate the digital certificates in the gov.pt mobile app you need to

At a registry office (IRN) or in a Portuguese consulate

To activate the digital certificates over the counter, you need to take your Citizen Card with you and the activation codes that are on the Citizen Card PIN code card that you received by post. The digital certificates on the Citizen Card can only be activated by the person themselves.

What is the price to activate the authentication and digital signature of the Citizen Card?

Free of charge.

When can you activate the authentication and digital signature of the Citizen Card?

The digital certificates of authentication and digital signature associated with the Citizen Card will be available 48 hours after you activate them at a Citizen Card’s pick-up desk.

Associate Professional Attributes to the authentication and digital signature of the Citizen Card

You can find out if your certificates are active in the Autenticação.gov computer application:

  • install the Autenticação.Gov computer application
  • insert your Citizen Card into the card reader and open the application
  • choose the ‘Segurança’ tab and then ‘Certificados’
  • click on ‘Validar certificados’.

Through the Professional Attributes Certification System (SCAP) you can associate professional attributes to your Citizen Card, in the Autenticação.gov portal. With the associated attributes you can authenticate yourself and sign digital documents in the quality and powers of the functions you perform as a qualified professional.

The following attributes are available:

Learn more about the professional attributes at the Autenticação.gov portal.