A new governmental mobile identity and electronic signature service, MobiSign will be soon made available to citizens and organisations and will be free of charge for both citizens living in the country and those in the diaspora.

Today, 18 May 2022, the Government approved the Concept and the Regulation on the functioning and use of the governmental mobile identity and electronic signature service MobiSign.

As outlined in the concept, the MobiSign Service is an electronic identity solution based on mobile applications and its main objective is to provide a tool to log in the digital environment and sign electronic documents, which will enhance the accessibility of electronic services, available both in the public and private sectors.

The new service is created by the e-Governance Agency, as part of the state information systems of the Republic of Moldova and aims to provide a secure, efficient and modern mechanism for electronic identification and to create advanced qualified electronic signatures by using a mobile application.

Unlike other types of digital signature available in the Republic of Moldova, the MobiSign application offers a number of major advantages: it is free of charge, it does not require card readers, it can be downloaded directly to the phone and does not create obstacles for using it on the same device of mobile signature services provided by mobile operators, it is easy to use, including outside the Republic of Moldova. In order to use MobiSign, both in the country and abroad, the user will need a phone or tablet and an Internet connection.

People will be able to obtain the right to use the service after confirming their identity and registering with the operators from service providers designated to certify the public key: Multifunctional Centres of the Public Services Agency, and diplomatic missions and consular offices for the registration of MobiSign beneficiaries from the diaspora.

Also, the solution does not preclude the possibility of implementing remote user registration by partly or fully automated mechanisms that would verify data transmitted by signature applicants, including photographs and videos, based on state records and other data sources for verification. Such an option will subsequently be assessed at an appropriate technical level in order to maintain a high level of assurance of the applicant's correct identification and to prevent potential fraud in the process.

It should be reminded that the digital identity (signature) is like an electronic identity card, used in the virtual world, giving the natural or legal person the opportunity to electronically sign certain documents, declarations or to prepare some remote applications for certain services that were usually accessible only upon physical presence and presentation of the identity document. It ensures online interaction with public institutions in order to access electronic public services. 

In the Republic of Moldova, pursuant to Articles5 and 13 of the Law no. 91/2014 on the electronic signature and the electronic document, the qualified advanced electronic signature has the same legal power as the handwritten signature, and MobiSign will be a much more modern device for the application of the qualified advanced electronic signature.