Electronic communication

(1) The transmission of electronic documents is permissible insofar as the recipient has opened an access channel for this.
(2) A written form ordered by a legal provision may, unless otherwise determined by a legal provision, be replaced by electronic form. An electronic document bearing a qualified electronic signature satisfies the electronic form. Signing with a pseudonym that does not directly enable the authority to identify the holder of the signature key is not permissible.
(3) The written form may also be replaced 1. by the direct submission of the declaration in an electronic form provided by the authority on an input device or through publicly accessible networks; where submission is made through publicly accessible networks, electronic proof of identity must be furnished under section 18 of the Identity Card Act, section 12 of the eID Card Act or section 78(5) of the Residence Act; 2. by the transmission to the authority of a declaration electronically signed by the person making it a) from a special electronic lawyer's mailbox under sections 31a and 31b of the Federal Lawyers' Act, or from a corresponding electronic mailbox established on a statutory basis; b) from an electronic mailbox of an authority or of a legal person under public law that was established following an identification procedure under the rules of the statutory instrument issued under section 130a(2), second sentence of the Code of Civil Procedure; c) from an electronic mailbox of a natural or legal person or of another association that was established following an identification procedure under the rules of the statutory instrument issued under section 130a(2), second sentence of the Code of Civil Procedure; d) (repealed); 3. in the case of electronic administrative acts or other electronic documents of the authority, by these being provided with the qualified electronic seal of the authority.
(4) Where an electronic document transmitted to the authority is not suitable for it to process, it informs the sender of this without delay, stating the technical framework conditions applicable to it. Where a recipient asserts that it cannot process the electronic document transmitted by the authority, the authority must transmit it again in a suitable electronic format or as a paper document.
(5) Where the authority enables the direct submission of a declaration in an electronic form provided by the authority on an input device or through publicly accessible networks, it must give the person making the declaration, before its submission, the opportunity to check the entire declaration for completeness and correctness. After submission, a copy of the declaration must be made available to the person making it.