Certified Document Services (CDS) is a Trust Service enabled by the Adobe Root Certificate Authority.
CDS enables document authors to sign PDF files, using standard digital certificates, which automatically validate when authors are using Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader software with no additional client software or configuration required.
CDS is designed to enable organizations and individuals who publish high-value documents to large and disparate recipient groups to increase the assurance level that the document's integrity and authenticity are preserved. By adding a CDS signature to a PDF file, document authors can increase this assurance level without requiring recipients to deploy additional software or adopt complex configurations.
The Adobe CDS Certificate Policy establishes requirements for how CDS Certificate Authorities operate.
Visit the Certified Document Services web page to know more about the CDS Trust Program and view a list of partners that provide trusted CDS Digital IDs.