Central Seal Infrastructure (CeSI)
Secure Sealing and Verification of Administrative Documents
The Central Seal Infrastructure (CeSI) enables authorities to seal and verify digital documents to ensure their authenticity and integrity. The solution converts technical guideline BSI TR-03171 into a user-friendly and secure application.
Your Benefits at a Glance:
- Easy integration into your existing systems
- High level of security thanks to anonymised data transmission and processing
- Legal compliance with eIDAS and BSI TR-03171
- Future viability through the use of the LeiKa ID as a standardised nationwide basis for administrative documents
CeSI Product Details
Thanks to standardised interfaces, the Central Seal Infrastructure enables a wide variety of documents to be sealed and checked in compliance with eIDAS and BSI – even after printing. To this end, CeSI provides qualified electronic seals that guarantee the origin and integrity of documents: The eIDAS-compliant QSeal is integrated directly into digital documents and can be checked with a PDF reader, for example. The Visual Digital Seal (VDS) – a forgery-proof data matrix code – is applied to a document using qualified certificates to guarantee its authenticity and integrity. Verification is performed without media disruption, such as via smartphone on a display or printout. Bundesdruckerei provides a free app for iOS and Android in the respective app store.
The Central Seal Infrastructure is compliant with all relevant laws and standards that are relevant for the electronic sealing of documents. These laws include:
- eIDAS Regulation: EU regulation on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market
- BSI TR-03171: technical guidelines of the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) for digital seals
- OZG 2.0 and RegMoG: Online Access Act, which regulates the digitisation of administrative services in Germany and was amended in mid-2024 (OZG Amendment Act) and Register Modernisation Act (Act on the Introduction and Use of an Identification Number in Public Administration)
CeSI is the first solution on the market that fully implements the BSI TR. It uses the LeiKa ID to uniquely identify all German administrative documents. This in turn is a standardised procedure for describing and classifying documents in the context of register modernisation.
CeSI Components
The Central Seal Infrastructure comprises various components that mesh seamlessly with one another, making the sealing process both secure and efficient.
CeSI Areas of Application
CeSI can be used for all German administrative documents at all administrative levels and therefore offers a wide range of possible applications, such as for incoming e-mail, e-files, verification documents, or archiving. The Central Seal Infrastructure ensures the integrity of documents. It can also be used to check the authenticity and validity of those documents and to preserve their evidential value. The QSeal also replaces the written form required by law. The Central Seal Infrastructure supports the digitisation of administrative services and is also an important building block for the register modernisation.
FAQs
CeSI offers a comprehensive solution for creating, managing and verifying Visual Digital Seals (VDS) for German administrative documents. It enables authorities to provide digital documents with forgery-proof QR codes that guarantee their authenticity and integrity.
CeSI offers two types of seals to guarantee the authenticity and integrity of documents: the QSeal and the Visual Data Seal (VDS). While the QSeal can be checked with verified PDF readers, the VDS can be verified either with the free CeSI app or via the CeSI information service. Both verification versions are legally secure and have a high evidential value according to eIDAS.
CeSI is designed for authorities that want to seal digital documents securely and in compliance with the law. Citizens and companies can use the CeSI mobile app to check the authenticity of documents.
The revocation service is an important security component of CeSI. It ensures that authorities can revoke the validity of digital seals remotely. This protects the integrity of the system and fosters trust in the digital seal.
The LeiKa ID is a standardised procedure for describing and classifying documents in the context of register modernisation. CeSI uses the LeiKa ID to uniquely identify all German administrative documents.
