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Certified email services combine the speed, convenience, and simplicity of email with the legal security provided by traditional registered mail. It is, without a doubt, a tool of great aid for any company or professional who wishes to make the most of the benefits the digital environment offers.
In this post, we explain what a certified email is and what are its advantages. You will also discover how to send a certified email, thanks to the services offered by Signaturit.
What is a certified email?
In basic terms, we can say that a certified email is simply communication by email that guarantees the integrity and authenticity of the communication in question.
Therefore, as we previously mentioned, this type of email can replace the more traditional registered mail service.
To send a certified email, the following three parties must intervene in the process:
- The sender of the email, i.e., the person or entity that sends it.
- The recipient of the communication via email.
- A trusted third party. Namely, a certification service provider, such as Signaturit.
Thus, a certified email constitutes reliable proof of the following:
- The effectiveness of electronic mail transmission.
- The receipt of the communication in question by the addressee.
- The integrity of the content. Here, we are referring to the text in the email as well as any attached documents.
- The date the email is sent and received.
- The identity of the sender and the recipient, including their IP addresses.
Advantages of certified emails
Speed
The process of sending a certified email is just as fast as that of a conventional email.
Ease of use
The tools for sending certified emails are simple to use and do not require any specific technical qualification. If you know how to send a standard email, you know how to send a certified email.
Cost savings
In the vast majority of cases, it is unquestionable that the cost of applications for sending certified emails is much lower than that of sending certified letters.
Companies that use our certified email have saved 87% in shipping costs.
Legal validity
As we will outline in the next section, communication by certified email has full legal validity. Although recognised in the judicial sphere, certified emails, of course, must be endorsed by a duly accredited certification service provider.
Environmental benefits
Substituting certified letter mailings with certified emails has clear environmental benefits. Ink and paper use is no longer needed, and it also eliminates the pollution associated with transport.
“With Signaturit, we can send certified emails quickly and easily, at a lower cost than the traditional system.”
Ricardo Torres. Partner of [A]CODE Abogados.
Legal validity of certified emails
Current European Union legislation, the eIDAS (electronic IDentification, Authentication, and trust Services), establishes the framework to ensure electronic interactions between businesses are safer, faster, and more efficient across all Member States.
The eIDAS regulates certified email services within the “electronic registered delivery service”. As such, a certified email is considered an electronic registered delivery service.
Reference to the legal validity of certified emails exists in Article 43 of the Regulation “Legal effect of an electronic registered delivery service”, which states the following:
“Data sent and received using an electronic registered delivery service shall not be denied legal effect and admissibility as evidence in legal proceedings solely on the grounds that it is in an electronic form or that it does not meet the requirements of the qualified electronic registered delivery service.”
Ergo, in this day and age, a certified email is fully valid as a means of reliably certifying any communication made in this way.
How to send certified emails
Sending a certified email is a simple process. The specific procedure may vary slightly depending on the service provider and the tools they use. Nevertheless, it will always be similar.
In any case, there are only a few steps needed to send a certified email. They are:
- Access a specific application to send certified emails.
- Enter the email address of the recipient.
- Include the content of the communication. Of course, it is also possible to attach other documents to the content of the email.
It is the straightforward mechanism employed by Signaturit in our certified email platform.
If you already use management software, there is no issue. The tool can be integrated into your software using our API to send certified communications without changing platform or location.
Free certified emails
As we have already outlined, one of the advantages of certified mail compared to other means of notification is its lower cost.
However, because it requires the intervention of a certification service provider and the use of a specific software tool, it is not a free service.
Interested in checking out the convenience of a certified email service? Request a free trial with Signaturit without any commitment. In doing so, we will give you access to our certified email solution to try it out at no cost, as well as to our electronic signature solution to send documents for signing.
Conclusion
As seen from our explanation in this article, a certified email is a perfect tool to facilitate the change from registered letters to the digital domain.
At an affordable cost and without technical complications, your company can streamline all correspondence without losing an iota of validity and gaining several benefits along the way.
