The solution developed by adesso is a supplementary option to a personal appointment with the notary on site. Procedures under company law, such as appointing a managing director or changing the business address, can from now on be carried out easily and conveniently online as well. adesso created the application as part of a three-year software development project on behalf of the German Federal Chamber of Notaries. The application consists of a web-based system for the notary and, for members of the public, a web application and free smartphone app available under “Notary” in the Android and iOS app stores.
The system meets the highest data protection and security requirements. Authentication and certification can be conducted online via the video conferencing system of the German Federal Chamber of Notaries without face-to-face appointments in the notary’s office. During the video conference, the notary can provide documents, read them out and authorise clients to sign electronically (“remote signature”), protected by a digital signature certificate. The notary also signs the document electronically and records it in the electronic document archive. All the relevant data is stored in encrypted form on servers located exclusively in Germany, to ensure absolute confidentiality in the digital process as well.
The parties involved are identified by means of an electronic ID with top-level security. Clients must register using the “eID” feature of the German electronic identity card (nPA) via a QR code process developed by adesso. All relevant data and documents can then be shared with the notary. The system also checks whether the identity document has been forged or stolen, to prevent companies being formed under false identities.
Candidate notary Martin Thelen, press officer for the German Federal Chamber of Notaries, sees the project as a milestone in digitalising the notarial profession: “The notaries are actively promoting digitalisation with huge commitment. Alongside the notarial online procedure, the German Federal Chamber of Notaries has already successfully implemented two major digitalisation projects this year with the Electronic Archive of Authentic Acts.”
