You receive an "Microsoft Outlook could not sign or encrypt this message because your certificate is not valid" error message when you send a signed e-mail message in Offline mode in Office 2003 (823926)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Office 2003, All Editions
  • Microsoft Office Outlook 2003

SYMPTOMS

If you try to reply to a signed e-mail message or to send a new signed e-mail message in Outlook 2003 while in Offline mode, you may receive the following error messages:
Microsoft Outlook could not sign or encrypt this message because your certificate is not valid.
Note These procedures apply only if you have configured your Outlook profile to connect to a Microsoft Exchange Server mailbox. To determine whether your Outlook profile is configured to connect to Exchange Server, follow these steps:
  1. On the Tools menu, click E-mail Accounts.
  2. Click View or change existing e-mail accounts, and then click Next.
  3. If your Outlook profile is configured to connect to Exchange Server, Microsoft Exchange Server appears in the list of accounts.

CAUSE

This problem occurs because the Full Details option for the offline Address Book has not been downloaded to the offline computer. If the No Details option is selected for the offline Address Book properties, you cannot send encrypted e-mail messages with the Remote Mail feature.

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, download the Full Details option for the offline Address Book. To do this, follow these steps:
  1. Start Outlook 2003.
  2. On the Tools menu, click Options.
  3. Click the Mail Setup tab, and then click the Send/Receive button.
  4. Under Group Name, verify that the All Accounts option is selected, and then click the Edit button.
  5. In the Send/Receive Settings window, click to select the Download offline address book check box.
  6. Click Address Book Settings.
  7. In the Offline Address Book window, click to select the Full Details check box.
  8. Click OK two times, click Close, and then click OK.

MORE INFORMATION

By default, the Full Details option for the offline Address Book is selected when you download the offline Address Book. However, laptop users may select the No Details option to preserve disk space. When you send encrypted e-mail messages while you are working offline, the Full Details option for the offline Address Book must be used for Outlook 2003 to find certificates or digital signatures.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:2/9/2006
Keywords:kbdigitalsignatures kberrmsg kbSecurity kbnofix kbBug KB823926 kbAudEndUser kbAudITPRO
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