There are more and more paperwork or paperwork that we can do through the Internet, from the sofa at home and without having to waste a morning waiting for large queues in the corresponding administration or office.
However, for the majority of these procedures it is necessary to use a certificate that allows us to identify ourselves electronically and that guarantees that we are the ones carrying out this procedure.
One of the most used is the FNMT certificate, which surely many people already have but which must be renewed periodically. Next, we are going to show you how to renew the FNMT certificate online.
Having this certificate on our computer allows us to carry out a lot of procedures, but above all, it prevents us from having to go in person to carry them out and everything that this entails. That is why, more and more people use the FNMT certificate. But what exactly is this certificate.
What is the FNMT certificate
The digital certificate is a means that guarantees the identity of someone on the Internet. In other words, it allows us to identify ourselves electronically in order to carry out certain procedures with the administrations.
Therefore, the FNMT certificate is a digital document that allows people to be identified on the Internet . This document contains information with our personal identifying data authenticated by an official body. With this in mind, it also allows us to electronically sign documents since the identity of a person is assured.
Important when renewing the FNMT certificate
How to know when it expires and deadline for renewal
If our Natural Person certificate is issued by AC FNMT Users , then it will have a validity period of 4 years. However, it is a data that contains the certificate itself and that we can consult to know its expiration date.
For this, we will have to access the certificate installed in our browser and view its details. Therefore, depending on the browser where we have our certificate installed, we will have to do it according to some steps or others, although they are very similar.
In case we use Internet Explorer, we must open a new window and navigate to the option Tools> Internet Options> Content> Certificates and then double click on our certificate. If we have it installed in Firefox, then the options to choose are Tools> Options> Advanced> Certificates> View Certificates and once there, we double-click on our certificate.
The renewal process of the FNMT certificate for individuals can be carried out during the 60 days prior to its expiration date, as long as it has not been previously revoked.
Check browser and PC settings
Before renewing the certificate, it is necessary that we carry out a series of configurations in our browser and computer:
- Do not format the equipment between the application process and the certificate download process.
- Perform the entire process from the same computer, same user and same browser.
- Do not make updates to the computer during the process.
- Sometimes it is necessary to temporarily disable our antivirus.
- Check that we have correctly installed Autofirma in the browser.
- Carefully read the Certification Practices Statement before requesting the certificate.
It is important to know that the compatible or supported browsers for the installation of the FNMT certificate are Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox. In the case of the Mozilla browser, Firefox 69 and higher versions are not supported, so we will have to have version 68 .
Steps to follow to renew the FNMT certificate
Basically, the certificate renewal process consists of requesting the renewal and downloading the new certificate. Therefore, the first thing we have to do is make the renewal request.
Renovation request
By virtue of Royal Decree 463/2020 , of March 14, the FNMT-RCM has authorized the renewal of expired certificates after said decree. In order to renew these certificates in Internet Explorer, you must set the date and time of your PC to one prior to the expiration of the certificate, after renewing it, you must reset the date to download it.
To make the request, we will have to go to the website of the Electronic Headquarters of the Currency and Stamp Factory from this same link. Now, to access the renewal application process, we will have to access it from a supported browser and identify ourselves with a valid certificate. Otherwise, we will not be able to access the renewal request process.
Certificate download
Approximately one hour after requesting the renewal and using the request code that we will receive in our email account, we can proceed with the download and installation of our FNMT certificate.
Now, it is important to know that to download the certificate , we must use the same computer, browser and user with which we make the request and enter the required data as indicated in the installation of the previous certificate.
To download the FNMT certificate of a natural person, we will have to fill out a form with the data, ID, first name and request code, which is what we will receive in our email account.
Let us remember that in case of having requested a software certificate, its installation must be carried out on the same computer where we make the request. If we generate our request in cryptographic card, before making the download, we must verify that said card is ready to be used.
Once our FNMT certificate has been downloaded, the steps for its installation are the same as those we carried out the first or previous time we did it in our corresponding browser, now it is advisable to make a backup copy of our certificate in case we ever have any problem on our computer.
In this way, if we make a backup for example on a cryptographic card or USB, even if our PC is damaged, lost or stolen, we can use the certificate without problems. Of course, remember that when making a backup, we will be asked to indicate a password to protect the generated file and that we must save it in a safe place, as well as remember the password, since we will need it in the event that we have than reinstalling our FNMT certificate.