Electronic certificates for minors

The electronic certificate, such as the one issued by the FNMT, can only be requested by an adult or an emancipated minor.Spanish citizens reach adult age at 18 years old.Foreign citizens must prove that they are of legal age, according to their country of origin, via a certificate from their embassy or consulate.

With regard to emancipated minors, to request an electronic certificate they need to prove their emancipation with an official certificate from the Civil Registry.Foreign emancipated minors need to prove this circumstance with a corresponding certificate from their embassy or consulate.

In relation to certificates on a card, such as the electronic signature of a DNIe, article 1.4 of Royal Decree 1553/2005, of 23 December, which regulates the issuance of the national identity document (DNI) and its electronic signature certificates, only allows Spanish adults with the full capacity to act to identify themselves electronically and to digitally sign their documents.In the case of Spaniards who are minors, or who do not have full capacity to act, it establishes that the electronic DNI will only contain the electronic identification utility, for which it will be issued with the respective authentication certificate activated.

Therefore, with the DNIe, a minor can prove his or her identity digitally, but will not have the capacity to perform electronic signatures.