Impact and changes of the OZG 2.0 law

Last Updated on 1. April 2025 by mgm-marketing

Despite recognisable progress, the digitalisation of administrative services in Germany is lagging behind the expectations of the population. By the end of 2023, only 81 out of 581 services had been implemented online. More than two-thirds (404) have not been digitalised – Digitale Verwaltung not found, one might say.

The OZG Amendment Act was passed to kickstart the digital transformation. This OZG 2.0 includes a legal entitlement to digital administrative services from 2029, strengthens open standards, accelerates the modernisation of registers and brings with it a multitude of other useful changes.

But what does it mean in concrete terms for citizens? How will the economy benefit? And what challenges will the administration face?

At the NEGZ Brown Bag Meeting on 15 March 2024, I will present the most important effects and changes and put them in context for the audience. This article summarises the most important points of the law.

Objectives of the OZG 2.0

The OZG 2.0 law builds on the progress achieved by the OZG initiative and sets new standards for digital administration in Germany. It focuses on the following seven core areas:

1. Consolidation of cooperation: The proven structures of cooperation between the federal and state governments will be consolidated to ensure that digitalisation goals are implemented efficiently and sustainably.
2. Simple and modern procedures: A comprehensive portal network enables simple, modern and digital processing of administrative procedures. Citizens and companies benefit from intuitive user guidance and user-friendly access to government services.
3. End-to-end digitalisation: The law aims to fully digitalise the administration. In the future, it should be possible to submit applications easily and securely online from home.
4. BundID as a central citizen account: The introduction of the BundID establishes a standardised digital citizen account throughout Germany. This enables the unique identification and authentication of citizens and makes it easier to apply for services.
5. Eliminating paperwork: The ‘once-only’ principle ensures that citizens do not have to resubmit evidence that is already on file with the administration. The electronic retrieval of data from the relevant authorities and registers, with the consent of the applicant, makes the application process more efficient and convenient.
6. Digital applications: Paper forms are being replaced by digital applications. These enable a legally secure, simple and standardised application process without a handwritten signature.
7. Control over your own data: The data protection cockpit is being expanded into a comprehensive transparency and control tool. This gives users control over their data and allows them to view how their data is stored and used by the authorities.

The aim of the above measures is to further advance the digitalisation of public administration and to tangibly improve the quality of life for citizens and businesses.

Amendments and changes to the OZG 2.0

1. Right to digital public services: From 2029, citizens will have a legal right to apply for public services digitally. This means that all public authorities will be obliged to make their services available online.

1. Strengthening the use of open standards and open-source software: The law promotes the use of open standards and open-source software in the development of administrative services. This is intended to increase the interoperability and sustainability of IT systems.

1. Setting deadlines for standards: The Federal Ministry of the Interior and for Homeland Affairs (BMI) must work with the IT Planning Council to define the necessary standards for digital administration by 2026.

1. Expansion of the data protection cockpit: The data protection cockpit will be expanded into a comprehensive transparency and control tool for users. In the future, citizens will be able to see what data public authorities have stored about them and how it is used.

1. Anchoring the modernisation of registers: The modernisation of registers will be anchored in the OZG 2.0 law. The aim is to modernise public administration data storage and improve data exchange between authorities.

1. Strengthening of monitoring: The monitoring of the implementation of the OZG 2.0 will be strengthened. To this end, an independent scientific institution will be commissioned to evaluate the law every three years.

1. Introduction of an electronic seal: In the future, the BMI will provide a sealing service to verify the authenticity of official letters and replace the signature.

1. ELSTER certificates and eID: state accounts are to be shut down within three years and replaced by the central federal account (Bund-ID). Communication is to be encrypted end-to-end.

Conclusion

The OZG 2.0 law is an important step towards the further digitalisation of the German administration. It brings numerous advantages for citizens, businesses and the administration. However, implementing the law will be a major challenge and will only succeed if everyone works towards a common vision and strategy and does not just focus on fulfilling legal requirements. The dependencies on implementation through the standard specifications of the IT Planning Council represent additional complexity factors. Since the digitalisation of administration is a very long-term project, further successors to OZG 2.0 are to be expected.