In this section, we will review the concept of notification from a legal point of view, and we will see what the specific characteristics of notification are when it is carried out by electronic means, that is, when we make an electronic notification. We will also see what the regulatory framework that regulates electronic notification is, and we will analyze what the benefits and potential savings are for administrations, citizens and companies from using the electronic medium.
1. Notification in the administrative procedure
The general regulation of notifications is contained in articles 40 to 46 of Law 39/2015, of October 1, on common administrative procedure for public administrations.
This contains: the concept of notification, the conditions of validity and content, the relationship between effectiveness and notification, cases in which it is mandatory to practice it by electronic means, the deadline for completing it, its minimum content and the effects of defective notifications.
It establishes that interested parties must be notified of administrative resolutions and acts that affect their rights and interests, and must exercise them within 10 days from the date on which the act is issued (article 40.2 of the same law).
Every notification must contain at least:
- The full text of the resolution.
- Grounds of appeal: with indication of whether it is final or not in the administrative process, the expression of the appeals that are appropriate, the body before which the possible appeals must be presented and the deadline for filing the appeals (without prejudice to the fact that interested parties may exercise, if applicable, any other appeals that they deem appropriate).
The elements for the validity of the notification are listed in the following section.
2. Characteristics of electronic notification
We can define electronic notification as the practice of notification by electronic means, with the same legal effects as traditional paper notification.
Its specific characteristics are:
| Electronic media preference | All notifications made on paper must be made available to interested parties on the body's electronic headquarters, so that they can access them voluntarily (article 42.3 of Law 39/2015). |
| Mandatory | Article 14.2 of Law 39/2015 lists the subjects obliged to interact electronically with the Public Administrations. In the same vein, it provides that, by regulation, they may oblige other groups to communicate with them using only electronic means (due to their economic or technical capacity or other accredited reasons that guarantee access to and availability of the necessary technological means). |
| Consent | It is required that the interested party, who is not obligated, indicates this means as preferred or has consented to its use. |
| Reliable accreditation | The notification system must allow proof of the sending or making available, the receipt or access by the interested party (or their representative), the dates and times, the full content and the reliable identity of the sender and recipient. The accreditation of the notification, which will include all these elements, will form part of the administrative file. |
| Sending notifications | A notice will need to be sent to the interested party informing them that a notification is available at their electronic headquarters. This will be an SMS or email, as long as this data is recorded. -Practice of notification: Notification is understood to have been carried out for all legal purposes at the moment in which access to its content occurs. |
| Notification rejection | Having evidence of the notification being made available, if 10 calendar days pass without its content being accessed, it shall be understood that it has been rejected, unless the technical or material impossibility of accessing it is proven ex officio or at the request of the recipient. The effects of considering that the notification has been rejected are in accordance with the provisions of article 41.5 of Law 39/2015, which shall be recorded in the file (specifying the circumstances of the attempted notification), the procedure shall be considered completed and the procedure may continue. |
3. Regulatory framework for electronic notification
From a legal point of view, electronic notification – as well as its characteristics – are regulated in the following regulatory framework:
- Law 39/2015, of October 1, on common administrative procedure for public administrations
- Articles 41 and 43 → Regulation of the general conditions for the practice of notifications and the practice of notifications by electronic means
- Article 42.1 → Making available in the electronic office all notifications made on paper
- Law 26/2010, of August 3, on the legal and procedural regime of public administrations in Catalonia
- Articles 43, 56 and 57 → Regulation of electronic communications, notification practices and necessary technical requirements
- Law 29/2010, of August 3, on the use of electronic media in the public sector of Catalonia
- Article 13 → Right of citizens and companies to a personalized space where they can access communications and notifications sent by the administration
- Law 9/2017, of November 8, on Public Sector Contracts
- Article 151 → Regulation of the resolution and notification of awards
- Additional Provision 15a. → Regulation of the means of communication that can be used in the procedures regulated by the Law
- Royal Legislative Decree 6/2015, of October 30, approving the revised text of the Law on Traffic, Circulation of Motor Vehicles and Road Safety
- Article 60 → Domicile and Electronic Road Address (DEV) of holders of an administrative authorization
- Article 90 → Practice of notification of the complaint
- Royal Decree 203/2021, of March 30, which approves the Regulation on the action and operation of the public sector by electronic means
- Article 41 – Specifies the core of procedural information that must be sent in administrative communications to interested parties by electronic means.
- Article 42 – Details aspects of the practice of notifications through electronic means.
- Article 43 – Completes the regulation of the notice of availability of the notification by enabling the creation of electronic contact databases.
- Articles 44 and 45 – Material and operational aspects are specified in relation to the practice of notification through the DEHU and notification-e-seu-e or associated e-seu, both in relation to the procedure and the effects and validity of the same.
4. Benefits and savings with electronic notification
Electronic notification offers us the possibility of gaining efficiency and effectiveness compared to traditional paper notification.
The efficiency problems of paper notification, which cause the deadlines for carrying out notification to extend beyond what would be desirable, are the following:
- The interested party is not always at home
- When the interested party is not at home, the notification must be retried again at a different time, during the 3 days following the first attempt.
- If notification cannot be made, it must be published on the corresponding notice board and Official Gazette.
Regarding the problems of effectiveness of paper notification, in many cases it is not possible to make the interested party aware of the notified act, because although publication on the notice board or Official Bulletin serves the administrative procedure to consider the notification as having been made, the reality is that many interested parties will not find out about the existence of the notification and, therefore, the content of the notification will not be known to the interested parties.
In this section we will see how electronic notification allows us to improve efficiency – saving time and money – and gain greater effectiveness in notification.
4.1. Improving efficiency and effectiveness
Electronic notification allows public administrations to gain efficiency and effectiveness when making notifications, as they ensure that a greater number of interested parties learn about the content of the notification and at the same time save time and money in the process, as we explain below.
Time saving
Substantial reduction in the resolution time of administrative procedures
- Immediacy in the notification, and also in its acceptance or rejection, due to the fact that the interested party can access its content from anywhere and at any time
- Time limit to 10 days maximum for accepting or rejecting a notification. No more retries or subsequent publications in official bulletins if the notification cannot be carried out.
Savings in direct and indirect costs
- Approximate savings of between 3 and 6 euros per notification
- Office supplies expenses (paper, printer, ink, etc.) are eliminated.
- Costs associated with certified mail are eliminated.
- It saves time for people in the organization.
- When the e-NOTUM service is used to make electronic notifications, Catalan public administrations save themselves the cost of maintaining the system, since the AOC Consortium takes care of this expense.
Greater reporting efficiency
The administration manages to practice notification in a greater number of cases compared to traditional paper notification
- The interested party receives informal notices by email and SMS informing them that they have an electronic notification.
- Easy access to the content of the notification, as the interested party can access it from anywhere and at any time
4.2. Savings for citizens and companies
Although electronic notification represents an opportunity for public administrations to save time and money by increasing their efficiency and effectiveness in the practice of notifications, as we have seen in the previous point, it is also necessary to take into account that the use of the electronic channel to access notifications entails a series of benefits for citizens and companies, which are the following:
Reduction of the time in which the citizen and/or company learns of the content of the notification
This is because when the administration generates the electronic notification, the citizen learns about it through an email and/or SMS notification, which allows them to access the notification almost immediately after it has been generated. This is especially interesting in the case of traffic fines, since bonuses of up to 50% are usually established if it is paid within a relatively short period of time from the moment it is notified.
Saving time and money on travel
In paper notification, it is common not to find the recipient of the notification at their usual address and the postman often leaves a piece of paper in their mailbox so that they can come and collect the notification at the Post Office during a certain time slot. This involves a loss of time for the citizen, who must find time inside or outside of working hours to collect it, and can also involve an economic cost if the trip to the Post Office has to be made by car or public transport. With electronic notification, on the other hand, the citizen can access its content from anywhere and at any time slot from the moment the notification is generated, without the need to travel.