PKI, Certificate Management & Digital Signatures in the USA
DictaLabs is a PKI, digital signature and certificate management company with offices in Lahore, Pakistan and Middletown, Delaware, USA. For PKI and digital signatures in the USA, we offer certificate authorities, certificate lifecycle management, signing workflows and timestamping. Our US office is in Middletown, Delaware (+1 352-451-6005, info@dictalabs.com).
US law
Are electronic and digital signatures legal in the USA?
Yes. The federal ESIGN Act covers transactions in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce. A signature or record “may not be denied legal effect, validity, or enforceability solely because it is in electronic form” (15 U.S.C. 7001). The general US e-signature laws are technology-neutral. They do not require PKI or digital signatures. Organizations choose PKI when they want stronger evidence of who signed and whether a record changed.
ESIGN Act (federal)
The ESIGN Act (Public Law 106-229) was enacted on June 30, 2000. 15 U.S.C. 7006 defines an electronic signature as “an electronic sound, symbol, or process” attached to or associated with a record. The signer must adopt it “with the intent to sign the record.”
UETA and state law
States also have their own rules. Under 15 U.S.C. 7002, a state may modify the federal rule by adopting the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, approved by the Uniform Law Commission in 1999. Alternative state procedures may not require “a specific technology or technical specification.”
New York: ESRA
New York uses its own Electronic Signatures and Records Act. State IT guidance says ESRA gives e-signatures and e-records “the same force and effect” as non-electronic ones. It also notes that, for high-risk applications, a trusted third party can apply secure time stamping using public key cryptography.
Federal PKI (context)
The Federal PKI is “a network of certification authorities” that issue PIV credentials and other identity certificates. IDManagement.gov says federal agencies should use it for network authentication, digital signatures and signed, encrypted email. We mention it as context only.
Legal validity is the baseline. Evidence, key protection and certificate operations are where PKI helps. This page is general information, not legal advice.
Products
How US organizations can use DictaLabs products
DictaLabs offers five products. Each covers one part of a PKI program: issuing certificates, managing their lifecycle, signing, timestamping and protecting keys.
An enterprise certificate authority platform with HSM-backed keys. It supports RFC 5280 and CA/B Forum standards and publishes certificate status through CRLs and OCSP.
Certificate lifecycle management across multiple CA platforms. ACME, SCEP and EST support helps teams keep up with shorter certificate lifetimes.
Digital signatures and signing workflows for documents and approvals.
RFC 3161 and RFC 5816 timestamping. A trusted timestamp shows that a signature was made while its certificate was still valid.
A central HSM-backed cryptographic service with REST APIs. It integrates with Thales Luna, Entrust nShield, Utimaco CryptoServer, AWS CloudHSM and Azure Key Vault/Managed HSM, including over PKCS#11.
New to certificate automation? Start with our certificate lifecycle management guide.
Services
PKI, identity and audit-readiness services
DictaLabs also designs, builds and reviews PKI and identity systems. Services range from one-off consulting to managed PKI.
PKI design, development and consulting, including managed PKI.
PKI architecture, CP/CPS documents based on RFC 3647, and readiness for CA/Browser Forum and Common Criteria requirements. We help you prepare. The audit itself is done by an independent auditor.
SSO and passwordless sign-in using SAML 2.0, OpenID Connect, OAuth 2.0 and FIDO2.
Application security services for the software around your keys and certificates.
A free assessment of your current PKI, before you change CAs, tools or processes.
Compare private and public CAs before choosing a certificate source.
Use cases
Typical use cases in the USA
These are typical use cases, not customer stories.
CA/Browser Forum rules are reducing the maximum lifetime of public TLS certificates. Manual renewal gets harder as lifetimes shrink. Teams build an inventory and automate renewal. See our 47-day TLS certificate guide.
Devices, IoT fleets and internal services often do not need publicly trusted certificates. A private CA lets you set your own profiles and lifetimes. Devices can enroll over SCEP or EST.
Approvals, HR forms and vendor contracts can move to signing workflows. A PKI-based digital signature lets anyone check that the document has not changed since signing.
Software publishers sign builds and add an RFC 3161 timestamp. The timestamp shows the code was signed while the certificate was valid. Read RFC 3161 timestamping explained.
CA, signing and timestamp keys should stay in an HSM or a cloud key service. Crypto Engine puts one central service with REST APIs in front of them.
Finance, healthcare and government contractors may need stronger evidence of who signed, what changed and when. Digital signatures and trusted timestamps can provide it. Check sector rules with counsel.
Choosing an enrollment protocol? See ACME vs SCEP vs EST.
Work with us
How to work with DictaLabs in the USA
Our US office is in Middletown, Delaware. Call, email or use the contact form to start.
651 N Broad St, Suite 201, Middletown, DE 19709, USA.
Call +1 352-451-6005 or email info@dictalabs.com.
26 Block G4 Rd, Phase 2, Johar Town, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.
Request the free PKI risk assessment, or describe your project on the contact form.
Tell us what you need to secure, sign or automate.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Under the federal ESIGN Act, a signature, contract or record in interstate or foreign commerce may not be denied legal effect solely because it is electronic. State laws, such as New York’s ESRA, add their own rules and exclusions, so check your use case with counsel.
No. The general US e-signature laws are technology-neutral. ESIGN covers any “electronic sound, symbol, or process” adopted with intent to sign. Organizations choose PKI-based digital signatures for stronger evidence of signer identity and document integrity.
An electronic signature is a legal concept: any electronic sign of intent to sign. A digital signature is a cryptographic method. It uses a private key and a certificate, so anyone can check who signed and whether the document changed. Read our comparison.
Yes. Our US office is at 651 N Broad St, Suite 201, Middletown, DE 19709, USA. Call +1 352-451-6005 or email info@dictalabs.com. Our other office is in Lahore, Pakistan.
Yes, as preparation. We help with PKI architecture, CP/CPS documents based on RFC 3647, and readiness for CA/Browser Forum and Common Criteria requirements. An independent auditor performs the audit.
More frequent renewals. CA/Browser Forum rules are reducing the maximum lifetime of public TLS certificates. Start with an inventory, then automate renewal with ACME through a CLM tool such as Certinium CLM. Our 47-day guide explains the change.
Sources
Official sources
- ESIGN Act, Public Law 106-229 (June 30, 2000), govinfo.gov
- 15 U.S.C. 7001, General rule of validity, govinfo.gov
- 15 U.S.C. 7002, Exemption to preemption, govinfo.gov
- 15 U.S.C. 7006, Definitions, govinfo.gov
- Uniform Law Commission, Electronic Transactions Act
- New York State ITS, Electronic Signatures and Records Act (ESRA)
- IDManagement.gov, Federal Public Key Infrastructure 101
- ETSI EN 319 422 V1.1.1, Time-stamping protocol and time-stamp token profiles
Plan your PKI or signing project in the USA
Talk to DictaLabs about certificates, signing or timestamping. Call +1 352-451-6005 or email info@dictalabs.com.