Patent ID: 7802093

Claim:
A method for issuing a digital certificate to a user having an electronic account on a network, comprising the steps of: receiving, at a proofing server, a request for a digital certificate from the user with the electronic account; sending, by the proofing server, user information to a proofing workstation via the network; generating, by the proofing server, the digital certificate for the user; setting, by the proofing server, a status of the digital certificate to hold; receiving, by the proofing server, an identification verification from the proofing workstation when the identity of the user has been verified in person at the proofing workstation based on an identification verification form previously sent to a physical address of the user; setting by the proofing server the status of the digital certificate to active in response to the in person identification verification; and storing at the proofing workstation, the digital certificate in the electronic account of the user.