De-Mail (German pronunciation: [deːˈeːmɛɪ̯l]) is a German e-government communications service that makes it possible to exchange legal electronic documents between citizens, agencies, and businesses over the Internet.
The project was originally called Bürgerportal and has been implemented by the German government in cooperation with private business partners in an effort to reduce the communication costs of public administration and companies.
The De-Mail law (which serves as the legal basis for the service) went into effect on May 2, 2011.
[1] With the introduction of De-Mail, the German legislation implemented the EU Directive on services in the internal market, which demanded that authorities accept legally binding electronic communications by the end of 2009.
Usage should be voluntary for all users, and should only be an additional option to postal mail.