What Registered Email Does Not Prove (And Why It's Not a Problem)

In the previous article, we explained how the email certification process works and how eEvidence generates solid technical evidence about the content, delivery, and exact moment of a communication.

However, there is a recurring question —especially in legal and compliance environments— that should be addressed clearly and honestly:

Why doesn’t a registered email prove that the recipient read the message?

The short answer is simple: because it is neither technically reliable nor legally necessary. And, most importantly, it does not represent any probative weakness.

The Myth of “Reading” as a Legal Requirement

In many conversations, the idea appears that a communication is only valid if it is proven that the recipient read it. This perception comes, to a large extent, from an erroneous parallel with direct human communication.

From a legal standpoint, reading has never been the required standard, neither in the physical nor in the digital world.

• A registered letter does not prove that the recipient opened and read it.
• A burofax does not prove that the content was read and understood.

The law does not require proving an internal act (reading), but an objective and verifiable fact: that the information was correctly communicated.

What Registered Email Does Prove

A registered email provides exactly what the legal framework needs to consider a notification valid:

• Existence of the content on a specific date.
• Integrity of the message, demonstrating that it has not been altered.
• Technical delivery to the recipient’s server.
• Identity of the sender and recipient.
• Exact date and time of sending and delivery.

This set of elements allows demonstrating that the recipient had the real and effective possibility of accessing the information.

That is, legally, the notification.

What It Does Not Prove (And Why It Cannot)

A registered email does not prove that:

• The recipient opened the message.
• Read the content.
• Understood it.
• Acted accordingly.

And it does not do so for two fundamental reasons:

1. Reliable Technical Impossibility
   There is no universal technical mechanism that allows proving human reading without voluntary intervention by the recipient. “Read receipts” can be ignored, blocked, or falsified.

2. Legal Irrelevance in Most Cases
   The legal system does not require accrediting internal behaviors of the recipient, but the diligence of the sender in communicating.

Attempting to prove reading would be demanding something that neither paper, nor burofax, nor public administration have ever been able to demonstrate.

The Legal Key: Making Available

The central concept is making available.

A communication is considered valid when:

• It is sent through an appropriate channel.
• It is delivered in the recipient’s technical environment.
• It is done in a way that the recipient can access it.

Registered email fulfills this criterion in an especially robust way, because it also generates independent technical evidence, issued by a trusted third party.

If the recipient decides not to open the message, delete it, or ignore it, that decision does not invalidate the notification.

What If I Need to Certify Something More Than Delivery?

There are scenarios in which simple making available is not sufficient, and in which it is necessary to certify an additional step by the recipient, such as:

• Effective access to the communication.
• Download of a specific document.
• Conscious acceptance of conditions.
• Evidence that the recipient has viewed sensitive content.

For these cases, eEvidence offers a complementary alternative to traditional registered email: delivery via link.

In this model, the registered email does not directly contain the document, but a unique and traceable link, whose opening and download are technically recorded. In this way, not only is the notification certified, but also the effective access to the content.

We have explained in detail the differences between both approaches here: 👉 Registered Email vs Delivery via Link: When to Certify Delivery and When to Certify Access

Both models do not compete with each other: they complement each other and respond to different legal needs.

How to Choose the Right Model

• Traditional Registered Email
  Ideal when the law requires reliable notification, deadlines, proof of content and delivery.

• Delivery via Link
  Recommended when you need to prove that the recipient actively accessed the information or downloaded a document.

Choosing the right channel is an essential part of a well-designed legal communication strategy.

Conclusion

A registered email does not need to prove reading, because the law has never required that. What it requires is proof of communication, and that is where electronic certification provides its true value.

When the case requires going one step further, delivery via link allows certifying effective access, always maintaining technical evidence and traceability.

In legal communication, there is no single valid tool for everything, but informed decisions according to risk and probative objective. eEvidence provides both, integrated into the same ecosystem of trust.