Reform of digital public services by authorities initiated
Citizens and residents will be able to request services from authorities more easily digitally in the future. A change in the Online Access Act took effect on a Wednesday. Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser described the reform as "an important upgrade for a digital Germany." However, the implementation is expected to take several years in various areas.
"Citizens and residents will notice this directly in their daily lives," Faeser promised. "In many cases, it will be unnecessary to go to the office. The filing system will come to an end in many areas." Digital applications will replace paper forms. Signatures by hand and on paper will no longer be required. Many documents only need to be presented once.
For businesses, there will be fully digital procedures in the future, "which will save a lot of bureaucracy," the Minister added. "We are strengthening the competitive advantage of Germany as a location, which is crucial for a digital state."
The Bundestag and Bundesrat approved the Online Access Act reform in mid-June in the conciliation procedure. The key element is a digital citizen account, which should enable binding access to federal authority services from 2028. The previously only moderately successful BundID will be further developed into GermanyID. It is intended to serve as a central account for citizens and residents for identification and application purposes.
The federal government provides a central digital seal service, which the states can use based on an administrative agreement. For cross-state online services, the data protection responsibility now lies expressly with the authority operating the online service. "So, hundreds, often cumbersome agreements with the using authorities are no longer necessary," explained the Federal Interior Ministry.
"The reform to the Online Access Act, as described by Minister Faeser, will grant citizens and residents more power over their digital interactions with authorities, making requests for services more straightforward and eliminating the need for physical office visits in many instances."
"With the implementation of the Digital citizen account, expected to be operational from 2028, businesses and residents in Germany will experience significant reductions in bureaucracy, thanks to fully digital procedures and the use of a central account like GermanyID, which will strengthen Germany's competitive edge as a digital state."
