How much does a digital signature cost in Italy?

The certificate lasts three years. At expiry it has to be renewed for a fee: in Aruba's list renewal costs EUR 39.90 plus VAT for smart cards and tokens, with no need to buy the device again, and EUR 45.90 plus VAT for the remote signature. The condition is acting in time, because an already expired certificate cannot be renewed: at that point you have to buy a new signature, repeat identity verification and, if the device has become obsolete meanwhile, replace that too. Treat the expiry date like a tax deadline and diary it months ahead.

Where the certificate lives. With a remote signature the provider holds the certificate and you sign from a phone or browser using a one-time code: nothing is shipped and it costs EUR 45.90 to EUR 49.00 plus VAT for three years. A smart card holds the certificate but needs a reader plugged into a computer, so the reader's price is added to the card's. A USB token, from EUR 68.90 plus VAT, packs everything into a stick that works on any computer without a separate reader. For anyone signing from different places, the remote signature is the most practical choice.

No, it depends how you do it. In InfoCert's list, verification by SPID or video call costs EUR 30.00 plus VAT on top of the device price. Aruba does not charge for activation when you identify yourself with an electronic ID card, a national services card or a digital signature you already hold, while it charges between EUR 14.90 and EUR 29.90 plus VAT for other methods. This single item shifts the final bill more than any other, and it should be checked on the provider's site before completing the order rather than after.

Provider price lists are built on net amounts, so the figures in this guide exclude VAT. For a professional or a company that is the number that matters, since VAT is recoverable. For a private individual it is not: 22 per cent has to be added at checkout, so a EUR 39.00 smart card becomes EUR 47.58 and a EUR 69.00 token becomes EUR 84.18, exactly as InfoCert shows alongside its net figures. When comparing two offers, make sure you are comparing two net prices or two totals, never one of each.

A qualified digital signature carries the same legal weight as a handwritten one and covers most uses: contracts, filings with public administration, tenders, accounts and business register communications. The certificate allows unlimited signatures throughout its three-year life, so the cost does not grow with use. What falls outside it is timestamping, needed to give a document a legally certain date: some configurations include it, others sell it in bundles, and it is worth checking if you sign documents that must hold up over time.

It depends on volume. InfoCert sells bundles of three SPID-based signatures at EUR 19.90 plus VAT, aimed at people who need to sign the odd isolated document without holding a certificate. If you will sign a handful of documents over three years, that format costs less than a three-year certificate. If you sign regularly, even a few times a month, the EUR 45.90 plus VAT certificate valid for three years is clearly cheaper, because it covers unlimited signatures and does not have to be bought again each time.