Mail Scanning: What It Is, How It Works, and What It Costs

A mail scanning service accepts your letters at an address, opens them, scans them, and makes them available to you as a PDF. You read your mail online without ever picking it up yourself.

Depending on the provider, this gets called mail scanning, a scan service, or a digital mail service. It's always the same underlying process, with differences in the details.

How mail scanning works

1. The letter arrives. The sender mails it to your address at the provider.
2. Arrival gets logged. You usually get a notification, often with a photo of the envelope.
3. You decide. Open and scan, keep it unopened, forward it, or dispose of it.
4. You get the scan. As a PDF in an app or web portal.
5. The original. Depending on your choice, it's stored, mailed to you, or destroyed.

At Clevver, this is called digital mail. Data sits on servers in Germany, and a data processing agreement (DPA) is available. For what makes a good address for this in the first place, see Renting a PO box: process, cost, and alternatives.

Who benefits from mail scanning?

Freelancers and businesses who travel a lot and need official mail, invoices, or contracts quickly.

Expats and digital nomads who want to keep a German mailing address. More on that in Living without a fixed address.

Individuals with a second home or frequent time abroad.

Landlords and property owners who don't want mail going to their own address.

What does mail scanning cost?

The cost depends on what's included in the plan:

• A base fee for the address
• The number of included scans or letters per month
• Extra fees for individual scans, archiving, or forwarding
• The location of the address

Check the relevant product page for current pricing. When comparing offers: "from" prices often apply only to the address, without scans included. Check whether scans are actually included in the price.

Data protection and postal secrecy

Your mail contains personal information, so a few things are worth checking:

• Opening only with your consent. You give the provider permission to open mail. You can restrict this to specific senders or keep mail unopened if you prefer.
• Server location. Where are the scans stored? At Clevver, in Germany.
• A DPA. Important for businesses processing personal data.
• Retention periods. How long are scans kept, and how can they be deleted?

What mail scanning doesn't replace

Your registered residence. An address for mail scanning isn't a home address, your registration obligation stays where you live.

Deadlines. A scan sitting in your inbox isn't a response. If a notice goes unread for three days, the deadline still runs. Turn on notifications.

Signature-required delivery. For registered mail and packages requiring a signature, how it's handled depends on the provider.

Example: an expat with a German bank account

Picture a software developer who moved to Spain. Her bank, the tax office, and her health insurer keep mailing letters to Germany. She uses mail scanning: she reads anything important the same day, tosses marketing mail, and has contract originals kept in storage. Her parents no longer have to collect her mail for her. This example is invented.

FAQ

What is mail scanning? A service where your letters get accepted, scanned, and made available digitally.

Is having mail scanned secure? It depends on the provider. Check server location, encryption, and whether a DPA is available.

Can individuals use mail scanning too? Yes. It's not only for businesses.

How fast is a scan available? That depends on the provider and your specific order, ask about typical turnaround time. Still have questions? → Contact us