How to sign a PDF with your Consejo de la Judicatura certificate

Sign PDFs with your Consejo de la Judicatura (iCert-EC, .p12) certificate from the browser, free and with nothing to install. For judicial officials and filings.

By IDK Manager Team ·

The Consejo de la Judicatura (Ecuador’s Judiciary Council) runs its own certification authority, iCert-EC, accredited by ARCOTEL, which issues electronic-signature certificates used by judicial officials and in Judiciary filings. If you have your iCert-EC certificate as a .p12 file, this guide shows how to sign PDFs free, in your browser, with nothing to install.

Total time: 2-3 minutes per PDF.

What you need

  • Your Consejo de la Judicatura (iCert-EC) certificate as a .p12 / .pfx file and its password.
  • The PDF you want to sign.
  • A modern browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge).

How to sign

The flow is the same as how to sign a PDF on firmar.ec, using your iCert-EC .p12. Everything happens in your browser — your private key is never uploaded to any server.

  1. Open app.firmar.ec/firmar.
  2. Load the PDF and place the visible seal (with your name, the iCert-EC issuer and a verification QR).
  3. Upload your Consejo de la Judicatura .p12 and enter the password.
  4. Review the summary and press Sign PDF.
  5. Download the <document>-firmado.pdf or share it.

Want to check your certificate first? Use Validate certificate: it shows the holder, validity and that the iCert-EC chain links to the ARCOTEL-accredited Consejo de la Judicatura root.

After signing

Validate your own signature at app.firmar.ec/verificar: it confirms integrity, issuer and revocation. The result is PAdES Baseline B-B (ETSI EN 319 142-1), valid in Adobe Reader, the MINTEL validator and any standard PAdES verifier.

FAQ

Is it valid for judicial documents? firmar.ec produces a standard, fully valid PAdES signature. For the Judiciary’s internal workflow and systems, follow your institution’s rules; this tool covers the technical PDF signature.

Is it free? Yes. firmar.ec is free for personal use and open source (AGPL-3.0).

Multi-signature documents (several signers). firmar.ec supports multiple signatures on the same PDF and verifies them all — common in judicial files with more than one official.