Although it may sound from the title of this post that I’m about to talk about birds, this is not the case, no. PEC stands for ‘Posta Elettronica Certificata’, which is the Italian for ‘certified electronic mail’.
Basically, PEC is supposed to replace, or at least offer, a legally valid equivalent to, regular recorded delivery surface mail. In other words, the letters and packages you have to sign for.
Yesterday, whilst browsing around a computer store here in Milan, I noticed a poster telling me that having a PEC email account is now a legal requirement for all businesses in Italy, including those, like me, who are registered for VAT (IVA) in Italy. Oh dear, I don’t have a PEC account.
Today, I looked into getting one, and came away feeling a little confused. Why?
Chaotic Italian Legislation
Initially, the Italian government, in its wisdom, decided that everyone in business and the public sector in Italy was legally obliged to have a PEC certified email account. A law to this effect was introduced. Everyone promptly complained. This caused the Italian authorities to do an about turn on the PEC front, and the legislation was modified to render PEC email accounts non-obligatory.
Following another about turn, PEC email accounts once again became obligatory, although to make matters even more hazy, it appears as though an about, about-turn has been made once more, and, from what I’ve understood, Italian law 2 of 2009, dated 29 January this year, states that having a PEC is no longer a legal requirement.
What the situation will be in another two months time is anyone’s guess.
Nice Idea, Shame about the Implementation
One of the reasons for the messy legislation, and the uncertainty concerning making one these certified mail PEC things a legal obligation, is that the PEC system is very much Italy specific. So while Italian companies might benefit from it while conducting business in Italy, foreign companies doing business in Italy would not be able to. The PEC certified mail system does not appear to comply with international standards either, mainly because there are no international standards regarding email certification as yet.
Depending on your point of view Italy is either ahead of the certified mail game, or, rather, has jumped the email certification gun!
Meanwhile, quite a number of companies in Italy have set themselves up as certified email providers, although they are probably not doing that well in view of the confusion as to whether businesses are obliged to have such a certified email account or not.
The Need for Certified Electronic Mail
Businesses, and individuals for that matter, seem to want certified email services, and, ideally, such a service would be valid internationally. As of writing from what I can tell, no internationally acceptable, and legally valid, standard for certified email services has been adopted.
From a legal point of view, it is already possible for companies to prove that they have received an email. For example, the difficulty which arises when I send you something, but you claim never to have received it. I can prove it left my computer, but unless you do something which indicates that you got the mail, it may be difficult for me to prove that the email landed in your in box. This, in certain cases, read litigation, could cause problems.
The Italian PEC email certification system would simplify things in circumstances such as the example given above. However, it would only be any good in Italy. This is in itself, I suppose, a step in the right direction as we move towards abandoning surface mail for anything other than packages.
What I do
I use an SSL connection to my email provider for both incoming and outgoing mail for added security and certainly. That’s port 465 outgoing, and port 993 for incoming email, for the technically minded.
If I send someone something important, such as an invoice, I select the ‘Return Receipt‘ option in my Thunderbird email client, if I remember, although I usually do. In the case that the email receipt does not arrive, I’ll call the person who I sent the email to. Actually, I may call anyway, seeing as many recipients of emails send receipts but do not always read the attached mails in detail! And yes, I am guilty of this, as my accountant knows. Sorry, accountant.
Back to PEC
Whether or not the Italian PEC certified email system will ever become obligatory for businesses in Italy is still very much a question of ‘watch this space’, and for the moment, businesses must be wondering what to do. To PEC or not to PEC, that is the question. With apologies to Shakespeare.
Further information and sources:
Wikipedia entry on PEC in Italian: Posta Elettronica Certificata
IBLS – Internet Business Law Services, detailed article on PEC email certfication system in English from 2007: INTERNET LAW – The Italian certified e-mail system
Bev says
Is there any way to set up a PEC email account from the United States, on behalf of a US company? I work for a company which needs to file a claim in a bankruptcy case in Italy, and the only way to file the claim is to email it to a PEC address in Italy. I tried to use the site “Aruba” to get a certified legal email, but am not able to register for a PEC email account because we aren’t an Italian company. Any suggestions?
Porky says
I’ve tried to apply to a postdoc in Italy that is said to be open internationally, but the only way to apply is to send PEC email. Is this a joke? This means that only Italian students can apply!!!
Rudi says
Dear all,
Is it mandatory to communiacte between a foreign (german) company and an italian customer via PEC mail ?
Some of our italian customers have given us their PEC Mail adresses to send them bills, which does obviously not work from our normal mailserver .
Sam wrote it PEC is to his knowlege only needed if you want to send or receive legal documents with a government office via email. But our customers say it is mandatory. But as far I have googeled the topic it would be a nice to have or the dont know better.
best regards and thanks for the discussion
Rudi
Sam says
You can signup for a FREE PEC @ https://www.postacertificata.gov.it/home/attivazione-casella.dot although you have to go to the Poste to complete the activation.
Regards
Sam
http://www.servwise.com
Sam says
Thanks for your write up on this, I run a hosting company in Italy and have been tentatively looking into PEC as a lot of our customers have asked if we provide it.. My Italian is not so great so it has been hard for me to properly research it but I have gathered from the WIKI the following –
1. It seems that all PEC traffic must go through government controlled servers which leads me to think that this is just a way for government to snoop on private communications.
2. PEC service can be provided only by operators accredited by the CNIPA (Centro nazionale per l’informatica nella pubblica amministrazione) which is the public body responsible for the certification of certified electronic mail and to become a PEC account provider you must have a business with share capitol of at least 1mil Euros. This restriction means that only v-large email providers are even allowed to offer the service to customers leading to an unfair and monopolistic system.
Most of our customers don’t know what PEC really is and why it is a bad thing, they get told by their accountant (like we were) that PEC is a legal requirement (I don’t believe it is or could actually is or could ever be)
We will certainly be trying to inform our customers of these and other issues with PEC.
However if you read the gov website on PEC https://www.postacertificata.gov.it/home/decreto-del-presidente.dot they state that PEC is only needed if you want to send or receive legal documents with a government office via email and is a service provided for FREE.
Scott says
Just wanted to post an update to my situation. Today my Great Grandfather’s birth certificate arrived from San Cataldo. A very big thank you to both Al and Alex for your help with my plight. Without both your help I don’t think I would have been able to get this.
It’s funny that I came to this site through a Google search for how to deal with the PEC email system in Italy and not only did I receive help from Al and Alex with the email but also with obtaining my goal of getting the birth certificate. And as an added bonus to me I also found a great site in ‘blogfromitaly.com’ as I am now an avid reader. The articles are very interesting. Thanks again to both of you for your help and thanks again to Alex for this great site.
Scott
Al says
Thanks for the update.
Two weeks since you sent the fax. All things considered, not too bad!
Al
Alex Roe says
Glad to have been of assistance – but it was Al who helped get things moving!
Good to hear that you are getting closer to getting that birth certificate, Scott.
All the best from Italy,
Alex (not super Al)
Scott says
Al, YOU ARE AWESOME!!! Thank you very much for your help. I did receive an email from San Cataldo today with the following text:
–Questo e’ un Messaggio di Posta Certificata–
Il giorno 09/03/2011 alle ore 12:53:28 (+0100) il messaggio con Oggetto
“Invio estratto di nascita di Cala’ Salvatore” e’ stato inviato dal mittente “messina@pec.comune.san-cataldo.cl.it”
e indirizzato a:
sjcxxxxt@yahoo.com “posta ordinaria”
Il messaggio originale e’ incluso in allegato, per aprirlo cliccare sul file “postacert.eml” (nella webmail o in alcuni client di posta l’allegato potrebbe avere come nome l’oggetto del messaggio originale).
L’allegato daticert.xml contiene informazioni di servizio sulla trasmissione
L’identificativo univoco di questo messaggio e’: opec230.20110309125328.29092.06.1.15@pec.aruba.it
The attached .eml file I opened was the original email from San Cataldo that read:
Subject: Invio estratto di nascita di cala salvatore
Message: In riferimento alla sua richiesta, si invia estratto di nascita
It appears to me that a pec email can send to a non pec email but goes through the pec.aruba.it server and verifies that the non pec email is an ‘ordinary’ email and not a pec email.
There was no attachment with an informal copy of the birth certificate. I use Google translate to translate and from what it said I believe they sent me the birth certificate I requested??? I am assuming they sent it via the post office???
Al, my Great Grandfathers’ name was Salvatore Cala’ and he came to the US in 1907 from San Cataldo.
Again Al, I very much appreciate your help with this. I don’t know how to thank you enough.
Scott
PS. I did email to the email addresses you referenced above but have not ever received a response from any of them.
Alex Roe says
I second that, Al is indeed awesome!
Alex (not Al!)
Scott says
Hello Alex and Al,
I tried to fax to the number listed on the San Cataldo website. I got a confirmation from my end but since I fax through the internet as I don’t have a fax I am not sure if it was received and if my request will be fulfilled. Is it possible if you guys could maybe email them and see if they received my fax and are going to send me the birth certificate? I would really appreciate any help I could get as I am at a dead end here. I faxed it to 0934-511208. Or maybe we could set up a time that I could call one of you and conference a call to San Cataldo(via Skype) and talk to them to see what the status of my request is. Again, I would really appreciate it. Please let me know. I haven’t received an email from you as yet but I’m thinking maybe you only have a pec email that can’t email to me? This pec email system may work inside Italy but to communicate from outside Italy is really very difficult. This may be one of the unintended consequences of this system when it is only in Italy and not adopted worldwide.
Al says
Ok Scott!
Seeing that you were “at a dead end here”, I decided on the spur of the moment to call the Comune di San Cataldo.
I spoke to Mr Viola who confirmed that they had received your fax and were processing your request for your great grandfather’s birth certificate.
Shortly they should be sending you an e-mail with an “informal copy” of the birth certificate. Subsequently the “original” birth certificate by mail (postage to be paid by the recipient) or via the Consulate. (He couldn’t be more specific, the head of the department wasn’t in)
Mr Viola also added that the following non-pec email addresses:
urp@comune.san-cataldo.cl.it
portale@comune.san-cataldo.cl.it
should be valid.
At least that’s what he says!
I’m crossing my fingers and hoping that things will proceed as planned by Mr Viola.
Al
P.S./ BTW, like you, I’m “just” an “international” reader of Alex’s Blog from Italy.
What was your great grandfather’s last name?
And they do speak English there. Granted, maybe not everybody! 🙂
Toma says
Another case of trying to avoid bureaucracy by creating bureaucracy. When will it ever end?!
Being in IT and registered for VAT in Italy I have looked at PEC and it bothers me greatly. My understanding is that all emails pass through a centralised govt server where they are registered, recorded and certified. I repeat – GOVERNMENT, RECORDED. If my understanding is correct both citizens and businesses should be concerned with the privacy implications, as well as the monopolistic restriction on choosing and changing your email provider.
Alex Roe says
In theory, the PEC idea is not so bad – it means you can avoid waiting in the post office to get a letter registered which is a pain in Italy, as you might know, Toma.
Re the government recorded aspect – I suspect many of the emails we send are ‘monitored’ without us knowing about it. At least with the PEC service we will be aware from the start that we are being watched!
It also depends what we send – if it’s official stuff, then there should not be too much to worry about, as you would have sent the communication anyway.
And if something like this cuts down on spam (don’t think it will, but it could) then I will be happy.
I’d quite like to be able to ‘authorise’ people to email me – that would solve the spam hassle.
Cheers,
Alex
Scott says
Alex and Al,
I have just tried to call the phone of Dr. Maria La Placa and the phone was answered by a gentleman and he did not speak English(and I do not speak Italian) but I think I got from him that no one there speaks English so I couldn’t communicate with him. I am at a loss at what to do at this point. I’d appreciate any help you guys could provide me with.
Thank you in advance,
Scott
Scott says
Just a follow up. I have tried to email all the non-‘pec’ email accounts on the San Cataldo website including Dr. Maria La Placa and the only replies that I have received are automatic replies that say the person I’ve emailed only uses the pec email and to resend to the pec email account.
Scott
Scott says
`Hello Alex and Al,
I appreciate both your efforts with my problem. Feel free to email me as that’s probably a better way to communicate. I look forward to your emails.
Scott
Scott says
Alex, thanks for the help. I have tried the email addresses you suggest and all the listed email accounts without ‘pec’ on the San Cataldo website but have not gotten a reply. I did get an email back from one that said the person doesn’t use that account anymore and to send the email to a ‘pec’ account with all other information(name) being the same. Could it be that San Cataldo only uses ‘pec’ email and has abandoned all other non-‘pec’ email accounts? Do you know of any other way around this problem? Is it possible if this is the case that you have a ‘pec’ account and maybe I could forward you the email for you to forward it to San Cataldo? It is merely a request for a birth certificate of my great grandfather from them and for them to send it to me here in the US? I appreciate whatever you could do to help me in this matter.
Scott
Alex Roe says
Hi Scott,
Sorry to hear that you’ve still been unable to get anywhere.
I’m not sure sending a request from my PEC account would work – I’d probably need some kind of authorisation from you to act on your behalf – but I don’t know how we could do this, or whether it would work. It’s not something I have done, or do.
I’ll have a think about it. Would it be OK if I emailed you directly after I’ve done some digging?
As an aside, these PEC accounts are a nuisance if you are not in Italy, but want to communicate with authorities in Italy. There does seem to be a way to create a PEC account for non-Italians who are not resident in Italy – at no cost – but, the site is in Italian, and to ‘activate’ the PEC account, you need to go to a post office in Italy – not a fat lot of help for people like you, I know!
As I said, I’ll get back to you.
Best,
Alex
Al says
Hi Scott,
This is Al, not Alex Roe.
If the Comune di San Cataldo uses only “pec” email, why do they have so many non-“pec” email accounts on their website?
For instance:
U.R.P. which means Ufficio Relazioni con il Pubblico (Public Relations Department)
(Every Italian Comune has a U.R.P.)
Telefono : 0934 – 511209 – Fax: 0934-511208
E-Mail : urp@comune.san-cataldo.cl.it
At the head of this Department – Dirigente: Dr.ssa Maria La Placa
Tel. 0934-511295 e-mail: laplaca@comune.san-cataldo.cl.it
Maria La Placa has a University Degree. Hopefully she speaks English and can help you out.
She’s also the senior manager of “Institutional Services”, which includes the “Ufficio Anagrafe” (Public Records Office).
The first line of my email would be (in bold): Richiesta certificato di nascita del mio bisnonno … (Request for a birth certificate of my great grandfather).
If emailing doesn’t work, why don’t you try calling them?
Al
Scott says
Hello, I came across your blog while trying to figure out how to email to a pec email account. I am in the USA and am trying to email to Comune di San Cataldo who has pec and every time I try and email to them(through my yahoo email account and using Thunderbird email client) the email gets returned as a failure. Do you know how I would email to a pec account from USA. I have no idea what pec is as we do not use that system. I have try 10 different times and each time with the same result. I appreciate any help you could provide.
Thank you in advance,
Scott
Alex Roe says
Hi Scott,
I took a look at the Comune di San Cataldo website, and it looks to me that you cannot get your email through because your Yahoo account is not a PEC type email account – in which case it’s being identified as possible spam by the PEC system and rejected.
From what I can gather, to send a PEC email, you need a PEC email account, so you will have an email address which looks something like: scott@pec.emailprovider.com
What is PEC? It’s a system peculiar to Italy which allows people to send important emails – legal notices, official notifications, and advice in much the same way as registered/recorded delivery letters are sent by normal mail.
To open a pec email account, if your Italian is OK, try here: http://www.pec.it/ the cost is €5 plus Italian VAT at 20% per year.
Hope this helps,
Alex
Al says
Hi Scott,
Try this :
“Servizi al cittadino e alle imprese”
Responsabile dell’ufficio: Dott.ssa Laura Morello
Telefono 0934511249
E-mail: morello@comune.san-cataldo.cl.it
Also: portale@comune.san-cataldo.cl.it
These aren’t PEC type email accounts!
Best,
Al
frank maguire says
In reaction to Alex comments on PEC this is to point out that RPost Registered E-mail service (www.rpost.com) is being used internationally to provide the sender with legal proof of delivery, content (including attachments) and atomic clock time stamps.
The service is recipient agnostic, not requiring action, downloads, passwords, etc. on the part of the recipient in order to generate a Registered Receipt that is automatically returned to sender by e-mail and archived.
The Registered Receipt can be used to regenerate the original e-mail and attachments should a dispute arise over content. The Registered Receipt contains a dgital snapshot of the server-to-server conversation that occurred in the sending and receiving of the Registered E-mail and is capable of providing delivery information up to an including “read / opened.” This information is encrypted and encapsulated and attached to the Registered Receipt.
Alex says
Thanks for this, Frank.
Very interesting. As a matter of interest, is your service used in Italy by Italian companies? More pertinently, do you know of any instances in which e-mail processed by your system has been cited in Italian court cases, and held valid?
I see from the rpost website that the legality of the service has been researched extensively, and is regarded as being legally valid by a number of legal experts.
Any plans to offer this service in Italy?
I look forward to your response.
Best regards,
Alex
Frank has replied to me via email, and is kindly going to get back to me with answers to the questions I posed to him.