Electronic Signatures and Infrastructures (ESI); Associated Signature Containers (ASiC); Part 1: Building blocks and ASiC baseline containers

Note

ETSI standard specifying associated signature containers (ASiC), in ZIP format, grouping files with their signatures or time assertions, version 1.1.1.

Summary

Purpose

European standard ETSI EN 319 162-1 (version 1.1.1, April 2016) defines Associated Signature Containers (ASiC) ETSI EN 319 162-1 V1.1.1, § 1 Scope ETSI EN 319 162-1 V1.1.1, History. An ASiC container brings together in a single ZIP file detached signatures or time assertions and the files they cover (documents, XML data, spreadsheets…):

The signatures supported are CAdES and XAdES; the time assertions are RFC 3161 time-stamp tokens or evidence records ETSI EN 319 162-1 V1.1.1, § 1 Scope.

Who it applies to

• Member States that require an advanced electronic signature or seal for an online service offered by, or on behalf of, a public sector body: they must recognise containers conforming to Annex I to Implementing Regulation 2026/248 Art. 1(1) Art. 3(1) Annex I Art. 27(1) Art. 37(1).
• Signature creation applications of wallets, for which ASiC is an optional format Annex IV.

Key points

• Two types of containers: ASiC-S (Simple) associates a single file with a signature or a time assertion; ASiC-E (Extended) associates one or more files with one or more XAdES or CAdES signatures, each of which may cover all or some of the files ETSI EN 319 162-1 V1.1.1, § 4.1.2 Container types.
• Later additions: signatures, time assertions and files can be added to an ASiC-E without invalidating the signatures already applied ETSI EN 319 162-1 V1.1.1, § 4.1.2 Container types.
• Four baseline levels: B-B, B-T, B-LT and B-LTA, aligned with the levels of the CAdES and XAdES signatures they contain ETSI EN 319 162-1 V1.1.1, § 5.1 ASiC levels ETSI EN 319 122-1 V1.3.1 ETSI EN 319 132-1 V1.3.1.
• Combinations covered: baseline containers are defined for ASiC-S with CAdES, ASiC-S with XAdES and ASiC-E with XAdES; ASiC-E with CAdES falls under Part 2 ETSI EN 319 162-1 V1.1.1, § 5.1 ASiC levels ETSI EN 319 162-2 V1.1.1, § 4.1 Introduction.

What the acts apply, and how

• Implementing Regulation 2026/248: Member States that require an advanced electronic signature (or one based on a qualified certificate) recognise those that use a format or a container conforming to Annex I; the same rule applies to seals Art. 1(1) Art. 3(1). For containers, Annex I names EN 319 162-1 version 1.1.1, without adaptation, and Part 2 for the additional ASiC-E CAdES container of its clause 4.3.1 only Annex I ETSI EN 319 162-2 V1.1.1. These paragraphs apply from 23 February 2027 Art. 6. For signatures and seals created before 23 February 2028, Member States also recognise containers under the former profile ETSI TS 103 174 v.2.2.1 Art. 1(2) Art. 3(2) Annex II ETSI TS 103 174 V2.2.1.
• Implementing Regulation 2024/2979: Annex IV lists ASiC, in accordance with Parts 1 and 2, among the optional formats, for signing containers; the only mandatory format is PAdES Annex IV ETSI EN 319 142-1 V1.2.1. Signature creation applications must produce at least the mandatory format Art. 12(2).

Important clauses

• ETSI EN 319 162-1 V1.1.1, § 1 Scope: scope.
• ETSI EN 319 162-1 V1.1.1, § 4.3 Associated Signature Container Simple (ASiC-S): ASiC-S.
• ETSI EN 319 162-1 V1.1.1, § 4.4 Associated Signature Container Extended (ASiC-E): ASiC-E.
• ETSI EN 319 162-1 V1.1.1, § 5 ASiC baseline containers: baseline containers and levels.

Links

• Part 2, additional containers ETSI EN 319 162-2 V1.1.1.
• Related standards: CAdES ETSI EN 319 122-1 V1.3.1, XAdES ETSI EN 319 132-1 V1.3.1, PAdES ETSI EN 319 142-1 V1.2.1.
• Learning path: step 4, trust services.

ETSI standard: the site reproduces only short extracts; the full text is available from ETSI ETSI EN 319 162-1 V1.1.1. Written by Asphalia.