Your legal backups from Cincel: A guide to the files that confirm your document's signature.

When signing documents with Cincel, you don't just get a digital signature; you access a robust package of legal and technological evidence. These "backups" ensure that your signed documents possess full legal validity, integrity, and non-repudiation in Mexico and internationally. 

This guide will help you understand each of the key files Cincel provides and their importance.

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• Data Message Conservation Certificate (NOM-151)

The Conservation Certificate is one of the pillars of the legal validity of your documents in Mexico.

What is it? It is a digital document issued by a Prestador de Servicios de Certificación (PSC) accredited by the Secretaría de Economía of Mexico. This certificate is generated in accordance with the provisions of Normative Appendix A of NOM-151.

Legal Framework: Complies with the Mexican Official Standard NOM-151-SCFI-2016, the Commercial Code, and the Federal Tax Code. These laws and standards establish the requirements that must be observed for the conservation of data messages and the digitization of documents in commercial acts.

 

• Utility and Validity:

The Conservation Certificate is one of the pillars of the legal validity of your documents in Mexico.

Certain Date: Grants "Certain Date" (Fecha Cierta) to your document. This is an essential requirement requested by the Servicio de Administración Tributaria (SAT) to verify the existence of operations at a specific time. It is fundamental for tax and evidentiary purposes.

Presumption of Integrity: Guarantees the integrity of the document and the inalterability of its content from the moment of its issuance. This is crucial for its validity before Mexican authorities.

Evidentiary Value: Ensures that your document is considered valid and admissible as evidence in court in Mexico, having the same legal effects as a printed document.

• Validity: Preserves the integrity of your documents for a minimum period of 10 years.

ASN.1 Format: The certificate is generated following the ASN.1 format (from RFC 3161) and contains vital information such as the version of the Digital Timestamp, the object identifier, the electronic digital fingerprint of the request, and the exact date and time it was generated. You will receive an .ASN1 file along with the signed PDF.

• Digital Timestamps

Timestamps are the evidence that your document existed at an exact moment.

What is it? They are technological mechanisms that allow verifying that a series of data has existed and has not been altered within a specific range of time. They confirm the existence of content at an exact date and time.

Legal Framework and Utility: They are an integral component of the NOM-151 Conservation Certificate, issued by a PSC. A digital timestamp can be applied to almost any type of file (image, video, Word, Excel, PDF), providing irrefutable certainty of the precise date and time the content existed.

Difference from NOM-151 Certificate: While a digital timestamp provides the exact date and time an electronic transaction occurred, the NOM-151 Conservation Certificate—by integrating one or more stamps and being issued by a PSC—grants a presumption of integrity and validity over time before an authority within Mexican territory.

 

 

• Notarization with Blockchain (Blockchain-Based Timestamps)
  

Blockchain technology adds a layer of global and immutable security to your documents.

What is it? It is a decentralized and publicly verifiable record of the existence and integrity of your document, stored on public blockchain networks such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.

• Technology and Security:

Cincel generates a unique cryptographic fingerprint (hash SHA256) of your signed document.

Proof of Existence: Indelibly and irrefutably proves that the content of your document existed at a specific date and time. This is crucial for proving authorship and the inalterability of the document.

Public Verification: Anyone can verify the existence and integrity of your document on public blockchain networks using the hash of the document.

International Standards: Documents notarized with blockchain in Cincel are compatible with the most important international standards, such as ISO/IEC and ETSI TS.

How is it maintained in a legal process? Although blockchain technology is a relatively new concept and is still being built in jurisprudence, a computer expert witness can testify to the immutability of the timestamps of public blockchains and the certification of proof of existence of the content in question before the court.

Access: The blockchain certificate is included with your signed document and contains the timestamp details, allowing you to verify it in the future.

 

 

• Audit Trail

The Audit Trail is your detailed and irrefutable digital log.

What is it? It is a digital certificate issued by Cincel that comprehensively documents all records of the signing and certification process of your document.

Content: Provides a detailed record that includes:

Of the document: Status, ID, hash, title, number of pages, author, author's email, creation date, and completion date.

Of the signers: Number of signers, signing stage, names of the signers, type of signature used (digital signature, e.firma,), IP address from which they signed, and whether identity verification (Proof of Life) or ID verification was performed.

Of the certifications: Confirmation of whether the document has its NOM-151 Conservation Certificate and notarization with blockchain.

 

 

Utility and Evidentiary Value:

Acts as an irrefutable "digital witness" of the signing process from beginning to end.

It is a fundamental tool for demonstrating consent, authenticity, and the integrity of the signatures before any possible legal dispute.

Strengthens the evidentiary value of the document in a trial by detailing each step, the identities of the signers, and the security technology applied.