Online access law: public authority mailbox and online applications

The German government wants to relaunch the Online Access Act and drive forward the digitization of the public authority landscape. The core of the changes to the law are a digital public authority mailbox for all citizens and the possibility of applying for numerous services completely online.

BundID as a central hub

The draft law by the Federal Ministry of the Interior, which the cabinet agreed on, places the so-called BundID, which has already existed since 2019, at the center of the state’s digitization efforts. The tool enables identification vis-à-vis authorities and can already be used for some online functions of the offices. However, it only gained real attention in the context of the payment of the energy price flat rate to students, which made a BundID account mandatory. Anyone who wanted to receive their money had to register and use the service. User numbers then skyrocketed.

The draft law provides for the BundID to be used as a digital post office box for all citizens. Anyone living in Germany would receive access to it without exception. This will be used to handle some of the communication with public authorities. In the future, for example, the government wants to use this mailbox to inform people when their ID card needs to be renewed or to clarify unresolved issues. Citizens will be able to submit online applications via the BundID. It will also be possible to make general contact with the authorities in this way.

However, the prerequisite for use is an ID card with digital ID function. Anyone who does not have one can only use the BundID to a limited extent. This requires an Elster certificate, which was originally intended for identification with the tax office and is primarily used for online tax returns. With this, access to all functions is necessary, which require only a low level of security.

Major services to be digital by 2024

In addition, the amendment provides for prioritized implementation of the digitization of particularly frequently requested services. It should be possible to apply for these digitally this year, or next year at the latest. These include re-registration, marriage, vehicle registration and re-registration, driver’s license applications, applications for housing and parental benefits, and building permits.

The responsible minister, Nany Faeser, sees this as a major step forward: “By 2024 at the latest, it will be possible, for example, to apply digitally for vehicle or driver’s license registration, re-registration, marriage, a building permit and parental allowance throughout Germany. This is a great benefit for citizens – and a milestone on the way to a “digital state.

It is important that the digital path remains voluntary for private individuals. It will still be possible for them to apply for and receive all services in analog form. They will also be able to continue to handle their communications with the authorities in a completely analog way. However, this does not apply to companies. After a transition period of five years, they will have to apply for all administrative services completely online.

This further digitization step, which is primarily intended to increase the efficiency of the administration but also to minimize the burden on citizens, is likely to be enormously expensive. The one-off additional expenditure is estimated at 694 million euros in the draft law.

Criticism from Bitkom

As expected, the industry association Bitkom, which represents the German information and telecommunications sector, sees the new legislation as a disappointment: for it, the pressure to digitize does not go far enough. Instead of a slow implementation of new procedures, it calls for a legal right to digital administrative services. “With the changes now planned to the Online Access Act, the German government is missing the opportunity to really consistently drive forward the digitization of the administration,” said the Bitkom president.

The lack of clear deadlines for implementation is also criticized by the FDP and the Greens, which is surprising given that both parties are part of the government that approved the draft.