Registered Email and Legal Validity: What the Courts Say

The use of registered email as a legally valid means of communication is now a well-established reality. Spanish and European courts recognize its evidential value, provided that the service complies with the requirements of the eIDAS Regulation and guarantees the authenticity, integrity, and delivery of the message.

In this article, we review the main legal precedents and explain why registered emails have the same evidential strength as a burofax or notarial act in judicial proceedings.

The Legal Basis: eIDAS Regulation

The Regulation (EU) 910/2014, known as eIDAS, defines in Article 3.36 the concept of Electronic Registered Delivery Services (ERDS), under which registered email falls.

In addition, Article 43.1 states:

“Data sent and received using an electronic registered delivery service shall not be denied legal effect or admissibility as evidence in legal proceedings solely on the grounds that they are in electronic form or do not meet the requirements for qualified services.”

In other words, registered email —even if not a qualified service— cannot be rejected as evidence in court as long as it properly certifies the sending, content, and delivery of the message.

What Judges Look For

In practice, courts assess three key elements when determining the evidential validity of an electronic communication:

1. Authenticity: that the message genuinely originates from the stated sender.
2. Integrity: that the content has not been altered.
3. Delivery: that the message has reached (or been made available to) the recipient.

A registered email service such as eEvidence documents each of these stages with qualified timestamps, cryptographic hashes, and technical records, all compiled in a digitally signed document: the eEvid.

Key Spanish Case Law

Recent Spanish rulings have clearly reinforced the admissibility and evidential strength of registered email:

• Provincial Court of Madrid, Section 28, 23/12/2024 (No. 18026/2024):
  Explicitly recognizes the validity of registered email to prove the prior communication required by Law 1/2025 (MASC).

• Provincial Court of Pontevedra, 131/2024:
  Rules that a registered email providing proof of content and receipt meets the legal standard for reliable communication.

• Provincial Court of Zaragoza, 1107/2025:
  Accepts electronic registered delivery as sufficient to demonstrate the attempt at mediation required before legal proceedings.

These rulings confirm a consistent judicial trend: what matters is not the medium (paper or digital), but the ability to prove facts in a technically verifiable way.

European Jurisprudence

At the European level, several rulings and technical opinions support the principle of technological neutrality in evidentiary matters: what counts is the evidence, not the channel.

The eIDAS Regulation itself was designed to promote interoperability and legal equivalence among electronic means, recognizing the reliability of services that can verifiably certify digital communications.

How a Registered Email Provides Legal Proof

A registered email sent via eEvidence generates an electronic document (the eEvid) containing:

• Technical identification of sender and recipient.
• Full copy of the message and attachments.
• Qualified timestamp and electronic signature.
• Record of transmission and delivery (or rejection).

This document can be electronically verified and constitutes full legal proof of the message’s sending and content.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Does registered email have the same legal value as a burofax?

Yes. Courts consider both to be valid means of reliable communication, as long as they prove origin, content, and delivery.

Must the service be “qualified” under eIDAS?

No. Article 43.1 of the eIDAS Regulation states that no legal effect can be denied to a non-qualified registered delivery service if it provides sufficient evidence.

What if the recipient does not open the email?

Proof does not require confirmation of reading — only that the message was made available to the recipient on their mail server. This satisfies the legal requirement of notification.

Can a judge reject registered email as evidence?

They should not. As long as the service technically proves integrity and delivery, the judge may assess its evidential value just like other recognized means of proof.

Conclusion

Registered email has become a fully valid method for proving legal communications. Its judicial recognition, both in Spain and across the European Union, demonstrates that courts embrace digitalization when supported by verifiable technical evidence.

With solutions like eEvidence, companies and professionals can notify, claim, or prove communications with the same legal certainty as a burofax, but with the agility, immediacy, and efficiency of the digital era.