Today more than ever, digitization has changed the way we communicate. Indeed, today not only the daily intercommunication between people has become easier with digital communication media, but also the way in which companies notify customers has changed.
If until a couple of years ago, the only legal notification channel that validated the content sent was the burofax, today certified email has become the preferred medium for companies. The benefits of this type of email are many, since it allows legally valid notifications to be sent, while shipping costs and delivery times are reduced.
In any case, despite the obvious advantages of this telematic communication channel , many wonder if email really has legal validity and if it can be compared to the traditional burofax.
That is why, in today's article, we are going to tell you about the legal regulations that regulate the sending of certified mail, what are the requirements that must be met and what differentiates this type of email from the burofax.
Validity of Certified Email vs Burofax?
In recent years, more and more public and private companies have taken advantage of the advantages offered by legally valid certified emails. In this sense, thanks to the certificate issued by the authorized companies that provide this type of service, it can be reliably guaranteed when the email was sent and its content.
It was what the Burofax did until a few years ago. In fact, it was the most widely used means to certify the content of a communication, so its use was recommended to communicate changes in conditions, expert reports or claims.
However, it is also necessary to consider that it is a means of notification that has a high cost. That is why, for many companies, it can be too expensive a channel, especially if the information must be sent frequently.
Faced with this situation, the new ally for companies is certified email , a means of notifying that offers the possibility of receiving a certificate with acknowledgment of receipt. Unlike the burofax, it is a cheaper, direct and faster channel, while its validity is similar to that of the burofax. In this sense, we must emphasize that this type of email allows us to reliably and legally validate the sending account, the receiving account, the day and time of sending, the text contained in the email and the attached files.
Then, using this means, your company will be able to certify the notification sent and justify itself before a court in case it needs reliable proof of having duly communicated the information to the client.
As we will see below, thanks to the European Regulations that recognize the legal validity of certified emails, the companies that offer this service, such as Afilnet, became a trusted third party. They are the ones who guarantee that the email is a proof of transmission, acknowledgment of receipt, of the integrity of the text included in the body of the email, in addition to verifying the identity of the sender, the recipient and their IP addresses.
In this framework, so that you better understand how it works and why it has legal validity, we are going to present you with an example. Once a client sends the email from the Afilnet platform, a leader in the communication sector , they will be able to find the authentic delivery certificate in the sent section, a file that can be easily downloaded in PDF format. reading to present before a judge. As you will see, the process to follow is simple, but extremely important.
In a few words, certified email is synonymous with efficiency and cost reduction, in a business intercommunication system with the client that is increasingly adapting to digitization. Let's not forget that it has been estimated that certified email allows you to save up to 80% compared to traditional shipments such as the expensive burofax, while guaranteeing the same legal validity.
Therefore, if you are wondering if certified email and burofax have the same legal validity, the answer is yes. In fact, both the certified email and the burofax and the registered letter are from the legal point of view similar, the only difference being the way in which the content of the notification is sent.
Regulations governing certified emails
As we have mentioned before, the certified email has legal validity, so the certificate of sending the email and its content is proof that can be presented before a Court in case of initiating a lawsuit against the client.
All this is possible thanks to the new technologies that allow the issuance of an email acknowledgment certificate, so the client will not be able to claim that they do not know they have received the notification.
However, we are sure that you must be wondering if there is a legal regulation that regulates certified Emails and that recognizes their legal validity. Obviously yes, so don't worry because you will be able to use this communication channel with peace of mind.
In fact, certified mail is recognized by the European Union as a legal notification instrument, so all the information present in the issued certificate represents irrefutable proof of communication before a judge. In short, for the EU, the legally valid email has the same value as the burofax, as we mentioned before.
Even so, we have to mention that the first recognition of the legal validity of certified mails came from the Order of the Supreme Court in 2013, one of the most important resolutions for notifications sent by email.
In this sense, the judge took up the provisions of article 162 of the Civil Procedure Law, which recognized the validity and authenticity of the acts of communication between the parties carried out by electronic means of communication, to confirm the legal validity of a notification by email between a solicitor and a delinquent client.
A couple of years later, the European legal bodies decided to regulate the legal validity of emails in a unitary manner. This is how Regulation No. 910/2014 (IDAS) was born, which entered into force on July 1, 2016, where the legal validity of electronic signatures and certified emails is recognized without a doubt as long as some basic requirements.
This is how this regulation becomes the main legal framework that regulates the use and validity of certified emails, as well as other electronic communication systems such as documents sent by telematic mail.
Requirements for a certified email to be valid
As we told you before, it is true that email has legal validity, however, in order for it to be recognized as such, it must meet some basic requirements.
So, so that you can be sure that the email you are about to send is legally valid, thanks also to the services offered by Afilnet, we are going to present the requirements that must be met.
First of all, the certified email must be issued by a certification service provider, such as Afilnet, that meets the conditions that we are going to see below.
- Proof of identity : the system selected to send the legal email has to uniquely identify the signatory to avoid cases of identity theft and sending the email to the wrong person;
- Document integrity : the platform that deals with the sending of a certified mail must guarantee that the email is not altered once it is sent;
- Conformity of both parties : the system must refer to the fact that both the sender and the recipient of the email must have knowledge of the content of the email.
If the previously detailed requirements are met, then electronic mail has legal validity based on the provisions of the eIDAS regulation.
Likewise, it is necessary that we highlight that the certified email is valid only in the countries where its regulatory recognition is contemplated. Among the countries that accept this type of mail are all the nations of the European Union, some Latin American countries (Argentina, Chile, Colombia, among others), the United States and some Middle Eastern countries.
Conclution
To conclude with today's article, we would like to point out that certified email today has become a valid alternative comparable to postal burofax or certified letter. Thanks to the legal regulations in Europe and local laws in other countries of the world, notifications sent electronically, that is, by email, have legal validity.
That is why, once the email is sent, the sender who uses the service offered by a company authorized as Afilnet, will receive the certificate that will be reliable proof of the notification sent.