In Grid computing, certificates play an important role, e.g., for accessing computing and storage resources.

The DFN-Verein has been an accredited member of the EUGridPMA (European Grid Policy Management Authority) since June 2005 and issues Grid certificates to it's member universities and research facilities. 

Participants in Grid projects and administrators of Grid servers can apply for their Grid certificates at the Grid Registration Authority (RA) of the RWTH.

The certificates are issued by the certification authority "DFN-Verein PCA Grid" operated by the DFN-Verein. This is a private PKI, meaning it's root certificate is not a built-in-token. This in turn means, that certificates issued by this PKI should not be used for e.g. your e-mail application (user certificates) or on your webserver (server certificates).

Grid certificates underlie the Grid Certification Guidelines of the DFN-Verein.