De-Mail is ending.Proof is not.
The last provider shuts De-Mail down on 31 December 2026, and new accounts are already unavailable. The need to prove receipt and content of a message remains. SecureMail proves both for ordinary email, to any address, with no special mailbox for the recipient.
De-Mail alternative: proof of delivery for ordinary email
De-Mail was meant to become Germany’s legally secure email and never caught on: it only worked between De-Mail accounts, and the large providers pulled out long ago. Anyone who relied on De-Mail to prove delivery and content needs a route that works with any address. This page shows what carries over and what does not.
The end in four steps
- 31 Aug 2022
Deutsche Telekom terminates all De-Mail customers; its service is switched off shortly afterwards.
- May 2024
1&1 discontinues De-Mail at WEB.DE and GMX.
- 31 Aug 2024
The use of De-Mail in German public administration ends.
- 31 Dec 2026
The last provider ceases operation. New accounts are already unavailable.
Sources: teltarif.de guide on De-Mail and E-Postbrief, and heise online, retrieved in September 2026. Provider operating details may change.
What De-Mail did, and what carries over
Six properties that decide the switch.
What goes away with De-Mail
Two things a switch does not replace. If you need them, know it before you move.
The statutory presumption of authenticity
A sender-confirmed De-Mail carried a presumption of authenticity that could only be shaken by serious doubt. Only a qualified electronic signature has that effect. SecureMail’s proof of delivery documents handover and content but creates no such presumption.
Formal routes to authorities and courts
Where an authority or court prescribes a particular electronic channel, that channel applies. For communication with customers, clients, suppliers and business partners this is no restriction.
Switching in three steps
Secure your records
Export messages from the De-Mail mailbox while access lasts and move them into an audit-proof archive.
Choose senders
Decide for which senders or departments the proof of delivery is sent automatically, immediately or as a daily summary.
Inform recipients
Replace the old De-Mail address with the ordinary one for your partners. Nothing else needs setting up on their side.
Frequently asked questions
Until when will De-Mail still work?+
According to the last provider, until 31 December 2026. New accounts can no longer be opened. Secure your records beforehand; after that, an export cannot be relied upon.
Do our recipients need a special mailbox?+
No. That was De-Mail’s biggest hurdle. SecureMail works with any ordinary email address. If the opening is to be proven too, the recipient opens a link into the message portal, with no account and no registration.
Is SecureMail’s proof worth as much as a De-Mail confirmation?+
For receipt it proves what matters: the handover to the recipient’s mail server, with that server’s own acknowledgement. What it lacks is the statutory presumption of authenticity attached to a sender-confirmed De-Mail. Only a qualified electronic signature has that effect.
Can we keep our old De-Mails?+
Yes, provided you export them in time. Conbool Archive takes over the messages, keeps them immutable for the retention period and makes them searchable.
What about communication with authorities?+
Use of De-Mail in German public administration already ended in August 2024. Where an authority prescribes a particular electronic channel, use that. For all other partners, SecureMail replaces the proof you previously kept through De-Mail.
Plan the switch
Tell us what you used De-Mail for. We will show you which part carries over and say plainly which does not.