Telephone Verification
The Telephone Verification requirement for getting an Organization Validated Code Signing Certificate is fairly straightforward. You must have an active, listed telephone number associated with your organization. That's it.
What is Telephone Verification?
To satisfy the telephone verification requirement the Certificate Authority (CA) must make sure that you have an active telephone number listed. And that telephone number must be verifiable by an acceptable telephone directory. The listing must also be EXACTLY the same as the information you submitted when you registered. This includes the verified business name and the physical address.
To verify this information, the CA is going to start by looking at the Online Government Databases in your local municipality, state or country to check that the listed phone number matches, in addition to the associated name and address. If this all matches up you're good to go—you have satisfied this requirement.
However, most government databases do not display telephone numbers. This means you may have to use an alternative method to verify this information with the CA. Don't worry, there are two other ways to satisfy this requirement.
Additional Methods
- Dun & Bradstreet – The CAs can refer to your organization's Dun & Bradstreet credit profile to verify details such as your physical address and telephone number. If you don't have a Dun & Bradstreet profile or cannot create one, you may need to provide additional documentation.
- Legal Opinion Letter – Sometimes called a Professional Opinion Letter or POL, the Legal Opinion Letter is a document where an attorney or accountant – in good standing – verifies that the information you have provided is correct and that your organization is a legitimate legal entity operating in good faith in its locality. These letters can be a hassle to obtain, but they satisfy 75% of the requirements for an OV Code Signing Certificate. To learn more about Professional Opinion Letters, click here.
Either of these methods will satisfy the Telephone Verification requirement in lieu of your number being listed in the Local Government Database.
