User certificates (or client certificates or S/MIME) enable applications to:

• Sign and encrypt emails electronically
• Uniquely identify the sender of an email
• Sign documents electronically

The RWTH certification authority works within the framework of the public key infrastructure (PKI) of the DFN association (Deutsches Forschungsnetz e. V.) to support science, research and teaching.

RWTH obtains its user certificates from the GÉANT Trusted Certificate Service; the current certificate provider is Harica. Applications are made via the RA portal.

The root certificates of the certificate provider Harica are pre-installed in common browsers and e-mail applications. This means that the issued user certificates can be checked for validity worldwide.

A digital signature that is provided with such a certificate has the status of an “advanced electronic signature” in accordance with the German Signature Act.