OZG and digital administration: the online services

The OZG obliges authorities to offer online services: ELSTER for taxes, eID for the ID card, "Servicekonto" in cities. It works: tax return, child benefit, criminal record, vehicle registration. It fails: registration (some cities are in-person only), first residence permit. Problem: each state has its own portal. Start with account.bund.de — the BundID bundles services.

• ●ELSTER registration takes ~10 days — do it before deadlines
• ●The eID in the card is the free online identity
• ●A photo of the filled form — faster than postage