Activate the Citizen Certificate
The Finnish identity card carries a Citizen Certificate on its chip. Before using the card's electronic functions, activate the certificate according to the Digital and Population Data Services Agency's instructions. Activation prepares the identity credential for use in electronic services as well as signing.
During activation, the holder creates two codes: PIN1 for identification and PIN2 for signatures. This distinction matters in a document workflow because proving your identity and authorizing a signature are separate actions, even though both use the same card.
Prepare the card-reading setup
Electronic use requires compatible card-reader hardware and software. Have the activated card and the necessary setup available on the device you will use. The signature PIN is needed for the signing action; the basic identification PIN serves a different purpose.
The agency's Citizen Certificate guidance explains activation and the certificate's use for eIDAS identification. Acceptance for signing in a document workflow should be considered alongside the certificate and device setup, rather than inferred simply from the ability to sign in to an online service.
Use the card in Nota Sign
Read the document in Nota Sign and complete its required fields. Continue with the configured Finnish ID Card method, follow the requested card-based authorization and finish the document workflow in Nota Sign. When the signing step requests the signature PIN, use the PIN2 established for that purpose.
Understand the qualified-signature condition
The Citizen Certificate includes a signature certificate. The documented method can create a qualified electronic signature when used with a Qualified Signature Creation Device, or QSCD. That device condition remains part of the method; possession of the identity card alone should not be presented as establishing the classification of every electronic signature.
