emSigner Installation for MCA: Step-by-Step Guide and Troubleshooting
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs requires stakeholders to install emSigner before a Digital Signature Certificate can be registered or associated on the MCA portal. It is a small utility that runs a local service on your own machine and acts as the bridge between the browser and the DSC token plugged into it.
The installation itself is straightforward. What trips people up is everything after it — the service not starting, the browser refusing to talk to it, or the token not being detected. This guide covers the installation step by step with screenshots, and then the failures that actually happen.
Before you start
- You need a Class 3 Digital Signature Certificate on a USB token, with the token drivers already installed. If you do not have one, see our digital signature certificate service.
- You need administrator rights on the machine. emSigner installs and runs a Windows service, and it will not work from a restricted user account.
- Close the browser before you begin. It has to be restarted afterwards in any case.
Step 1: Download emSigner
Download the utility from the MCA portal, which is the authoritative source and always carries the current version. A copy is also mirrored here for convenience: emSigner for Windows. If the two ever differ, use MCA’s.
Step 2: Open the download window
A new window opens. In the upper right corner you will find the option to download the setup file.
Step 3: Run the installer
Once the download completes, double-click the emSigner.msi file in the folder it was saved to.
Step 4: Setup wizard
The setup wizard is displayed. Click Next.
Step 5: Choose the destination folder
Select the destination folder and click Next. The default location is fine unless you have a reason to change it.
Step 6: Install
Click Install to begin, then Finish to exit the wizard when it completes.
Step 7: Run as administrator
This is the step most often skipped, and skipping it is why the service does not start. Right-click the emSigner icon on your desktop and choose Run as administrator — not a normal double-click.
Step 8: Confirm the service has started
A message confirms that the emSigner service has started. Click OK.
Step 9: The signer window
On a successful setup, the Digital Signature Signer window is displayed. emSigner is now listening locally on https://127.0.0.1:2015. Leave it running while you work on the MCA portal.
Step 10: Allow the local address in Java, if applicable
Where your setup still relies on the Java plug-in, open the Java Control Panel — search for Java in the Start menu, or find it in Control Panel — go to the Security tab, click Edit Site List, add https://127.0.0.1:2015, then click Add and OK.
If your machine has no Java installed and the portal works without it, skip this step. Do not install Java solely to complete it.
Step 11: Allow JavaScript for the local address in your browser
In Chrome, open Settings, then Privacy and security, then Site settings, then JavaScript. Under Allowed to use JavaScript, click Add and enter https://127.0.0.1:2015.
Chrome’s settings layout has changed over the years — older guides describe an “Advanced” section and “Content settings”, which no longer exist under those names. The destination is the same: the per-site JavaScript permission list.
Close the browser completely and reopen it. The permission does not take effect in an already-open session.
Step 12: Register the DSC on MCA
With emSigner running and the token plugged in, you can now associate or register the certificate on the MCA portal. See our separate guide on registering a DSC on the MCA portal for that process.
Troubleshooting: what actually goes wrong
The emSigner service will not start
Almost always because it was launched by double-clicking rather than Run as administrator. Close it entirely and relaunch as administrator. If it still fails, check whether another application is already using port 2015.
The browser cannot connect to emSigner
Open https://127.0.0.1:2015 directly in the browser. If nothing loads, the service is not running — go back a step. If a certificate warning appears, accept it for that local address; the certificate is self-signed by design because the service is on your own machine.
Antivirus or firewall blocking it
Security software sometimes treats a local HTTPS listener as suspicious. Add an exception for emSigner rather than disabling protection.
The DSC token is not detected
This is a token problem, not an emSigner problem. Confirm the token drivers are installed, that the token appears in the certificate store, and that the certificate has not expired. An expired certificate frequently presents as “token not detected” rather than as an expiry message.
It worked last month and does not now
Three usual causes, in order of likelihood: the certificate expired; a Windows or browser update reset the site permission; or emSigner is simply not running because the machine was restarted. Check all three before reinstalling anything.
Nothing happens when you click to sign
The signer window has to be open. Minimised is fine, closed is not.
A note on certificate renewal
A Class 3 DSC is issued for a fixed term. When it is renewed you receive a new certificate, and it has to be registered afresh on every portal where you use it — MCA, the income tax portal, GST, ICEGATE. Nothing carries over automatically, and this is discovered on a filing deadline more often than at any other time.
See our guides to registering a DSC on the income tax portal and signing TDS returns.
We can take this off your hands
We issue and renew Class 3 certificates, register them on every portal you need them on, and keep them current so a filing is never held up by an expired token. See our digital signature certificate service.
If the underlying task is an MCA filing, that is our business compliance service — see the list of ROC forms. Book a call, or sign in at the TAXAJ client portal.
emSigner and the MCA portal are updated from time to time and screen layouts change. Where this guide and the MCA portal differ, follow the portal.
