Although electronic signatures in Costa Rica have enjoyed legislative approval since 2005 by virtue of Law 8454, implementation and widespread adoption has been slow. Electronic signatures are one tool to reduce paper use, promote paperless practices and cut through stifling bureaucracy, but the development of compliant solutions has been mostly reserved to the private sector, until now. Thanks to a recent initiative by the Information Technology Center of the University of Costa Rica, legal documents can now be signed by means of an open source software method that works with LibreOffice, a free and open source productivity suite.

 

The LibreOffice component designed by the University of Costa Rica (UCR) is similar to similar software enhancements currently used for electronic signatures in other countries. It currently works on LibreOffice software designed for current versions of Linux and Microsoft Windows operating systems. To obtain an electronic signature credential in Costa Rica, a person must present a current cedula (national identification card) or legal residence card (also known as DIMEX) and submit an application to the Central Bank or its authorized offices in several retail banks such as Banco Nacional. The cost of the electronic signature, which includes a chip card, security certificate and a card reader that can be connected to a computing device via its USB port, is $46 and lasts for two years.

 

The documents that can be signed with the open source solution created by the University of Costa Rica must conform to the OpenDocument format that also features XML Advanced Electronic Signatures extensions, commonly referred to as XAdES, which is a framework for digital signing. To install the electronic signature component created by UCR, PC and tablet users must ensure that they are running Windows 7 or higher or its supported Linux equivalent. LibreOffice must also be up-to-date and configured with 32-bit Java JRE7. UCR offers an installer and PDF guides at http://ci.ucr.ac.cr/firmadigital

 

At this time, most public institutions in Costa Rica have implemented digital signatures (firma digital); banks such as Banco de Costa Rica, COOPENAE and Banco Popular also support this initiative.