Stand:updated on 09.07.2021 Legally valid transmission of electronic documents to replace the legal written form
BaFin provides means for transmitting electronic documents in a legally valid manner to replace the legally prescribed written form within the meaning of section 3a of the German Administrative Procedure Act (Verwaltungsverfahrensgesetz – VwVfG).
BaFin provides the following two electronic communication addresses for the legally valid transmission of electronic documents to replace the legally prescribed written form within the meaning of section 3a of the VwVfG:
- For transmission via e-mail of documents signed with a qualified electronic signature: [email protected]
- For transmission via De-Mail: [email protected]
BaFin needs to ensure the end-to-end electronic processing of electronic documents it receives that are to replace the legal written form and it needs to be able to retain these documents long-term. To make this possible, such documents need to meet the following requirements within the meaning of section 3a (3) of the VwVfG:
We are only able to accept searchable PDF documents that meet the PDF/A standard (with Level A or Level U conformance). For signed documents (with a qualified electronic signature), the signature is to be embedded into the PDF document such that it meets the “PAdES” specification. For security reasons, submitted documents must not contain any active content.
In exceptional cases, supervisory provisions may give rise to format requirements that differ from the above, or BaFin may inform you that different requirements apply in your case. In this event, these specific requirements take precedence over the requirements set out in the preceding paragraphs.
