Due to administrative and legal security requirements, official documents have always had to be signed physically by hand by the public officials authorising them. Until a few years ago it was unthinkable for a document to be certified, finalized and enforceable if this process was not done physically.
Crises and extreme events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, have demonstrated the need to systematize procedures that were traditionally carried out manually. This offers significant benefits as processes can be carried out quickly and more efficiently, and users are no longer required to go to administrative offices. This reduces costs, risks and contagions and saves institutional resources.
Therefore, in accordance with the relevant institutional and ordinary regulations in Guatemala, the simple electronic signature project was implemented for documents that are sent electronically within the systems of the Guatemalan Social Security Institute (Instituto Guatemalteco de Seguridad Social – IGSS) and the advanced electronic signature for signing resolutions.