Digitize Your Mail in Germany: 3 Options Compared

Having your mail digitized means your letters are received, opened and scanned, and you read them as PDFs on your computer or in an app. For ongoing mail, a digital mailbox with a scanning service is usually the easiest option. For old paperwork, a document scanning service fits better, and for a handful of letters a month your phone may be enough. Which one suits you depends on how much mail you get and whether you're there to collect it. This guide is about mail sent to you in Germany.

What does "digitizing mail" mean?

A paper letter becomes a digital file, usually a PDF. Good services make the text searchable, so you can later search for "health insurance" or "tax office". There are two very different situations:

• New mail, ongoing: letters that arrive every week, such as bills, letters from authorities or your bank.
• Old paperwork, once: folders, contracts and receipts already on your shelf.

Most people searching for this mean the first case: they don't want letters piling up in a German mailbox while they're away.

Option 1: Scan it yourself

You take the mail out of the mailbox, open it and scan it with a scanner app on your phone or a document scanner.

Good if you get little mail and are at home anyway.

Limits: you have to be there. On holiday, traveling or after moving abroad, it doesn't work. Naming and filing the files also takes time.

Option 2: A document scanning service

You send folders or boxes to a service provider who scans them and sends you the files. The originals come back to you or are shredded.

Good if you want to digitize a backlog, for example before a move.

Limits: it's a one-off project, not an ongoing service. New letters still land in your mailbox.

Option 3: A digital mailbox with mail scanning

You get a mailing address where your letters are received. Incoming mail is logged, you first see the envelope, and then you decide for each letter: scan the contents, keep the original, forward it or have it shredded. How a scan works in detail: Mail scanning explained.

Good if you get mail regularly and aren't always there: commuting between cities, on a long stay abroad, or living abroad while letters from Germany keep coming.

Limits: you have to give senders the new address or redirect your mail there. And there's a monthly fee.

The three options compared

| | Scan it yourself | Scanning service | Digital mailbox | |---|---|---|---| | Best for | few letters, at home | backlog, one-off | ongoing mail, from anywhere | | You need to be there | yes | no (ship the boxes) | no | | New mail digitized automatically | no | no | yes | | Originals | with you | returned or shredded | stored, forwarded on request | | Effort for you | high | medium, once | low | | Cost | device or app | per job | monthly |

How does a digital mailbox work?

1. Choose a location and plan. Pick a smaller or larger plan depending on how much mail you get.
2. Verify your identity. Because mail is accepted on your behalf, you verify once online. This works from abroad too.
3. Use the address. Give it to your bank, insurer, health insurance and authorities.
4. Redirect your mail. For the transition, set up a forwarding order (Nachsendeauftrag) with Deutsche Post from your old address. More on that: An alternative to mail forwarding.
5. Get notified. New mail is usually logged within 24 to 48 hours on business days. You get a notification in the app or by email, first with a scan of the envelope.
6. Decide. Scan the contents, keep the original, forward it or have it shredded.

If German letters are hard to read for you, the app can translate scanned letters with AI and explain them in plain words, in every plan and in 11 languages.

What does it cost?

Clevver's digital mailbox has three plans (per month incl. 19% German VAT for customers in Germany, as of October 2026; if you live elsewhere, your country's rate applies):

| Plan | Per month | Letters included | Envelope / content scans | Letter storage | |---|---|---|---|---| | Lite | €11.84 | 5 | 2 / 2 | 5 days | | Standard | €23.74 | 20 | 5 / 5 | 10 days | | Professional | €41.59 | 50 | 10 / 10 | 20 days |

Anything beyond the allowance is billed by use. Scanned letters are stored encrypted in your archive with full-text search, and there are apps for iOS and Android.

When you compare providers, don't just look at the base price. What matters is how many scans are included and what forwarding costs.

Is it okay for privacy?

A trustworthy provider only opens your mail because you've told it to. Check these points:

• Instructions: you decide for each letter whether it's opened.
• Storage: where are the scans kept? At Clevver, encrypted on servers in Germany.
• Service providers: which third parties process the scans, for example for text recognition or translation? The privacy policy should say.
• Deletion: can you delete scans yourself and have originals shredded?

What a digital mailbox doesn't replace

• It's not a registered address: you still register your residence where you actually live.
• Some originals still matter: bank cards, certificates or documents you have to show in original get forwarded to you.
• Deadlines keep running: in Germany, a letter generally counts as received once it reaches the address, not when you open the scan. Keep notifications on.
• It's not a company address: the digital mailbox is for personal mail. For business mail, a legal notice or trade registration, there's the virtual office, which already includes a digital inbox.

The difference between a digital mailbox, E-Post and a postbox is explained in Digital mailbox, E-Post, postbox: what's the difference?

An example: three months on the road

Jonas is traveling through Southeast Asia for three months. Before he leaves, he books a digital mailbox in Berlin, gives the address to his health insurer and bank, and sets up a forwarding order for everything else. On the road, he gets a push notification when mail arrives. He has his tax assessment scanned and sends the PDF to his tax advisor. His new credit card stays stored as an original until he's back.

Planning something similar? Away for a while: hold, forward or digitize your mail? compares the options.

FAQ

What does it mean to have mail digitized? A service provider receives, opens and scans your letters. You read them as PDFs on your computer or in the app instead of collecting them from a mailbox.

Is it legal to have my mail opened and scanned? Yes, if you instruct the provider to do so. Check where the scans are stored and which service providers process them.

How does my mail get to the digital mailbox? You give senders the new address, or set up a forwarding order from your previous address.

How much does it cost? Clevver's digital mailbox starts at €11.84 a month incl. VAT (as of October 2026). How many letters and scans are included depends on the plan.

Do I still get the originals? Yes. For each letter, you decide whether it's scanned, stored, forwarded as an original or shredded.

Can I have old paperwork digitized too? That's what document scanning services are for. A digital mailbox is built for new mail as it arrives.

This article is a general overview and isn't legal advice. Prices without guarantee, as of October 2026. Still have questions? → Contact us