Case Study
Digital Identity Instead of Activation Letter: How Nect Redefines ELSTER Access
A practical report from NECT & ELSTER.
Initial Situation:
Activation letters
instead of digital identification
It is July 31, 2025, shortly before midnight. Tension prevails in thousands of households across Germany: The tax return must be submitted via ELSTER today. While activation letters, certificate files, and forgotten passwords used to cause stress, more and more people today simply reach for their smartphone and open the Nect Wallet.
What used to take days now works in minutes: Digital identification with Nect Ident enables secure access to the tax platform, completely without paperwork or personal appointments. Over 18 million citizens are already using the Nect Wallet to identify themselves quickly and reliably for various purposes.
“With the NECT Wallet, we have successfully implemented another important digitalization step at ELSTER. This enables tax-paying citizens to register digitally with ELSTER in the shortest possible time and submit a return.”
Markus Kamper
Head of Division | ELSTER
Success in Numbers
Already by June 2026
0.1
Mio.
Nect Idents successfully performed
The connection of the Nect Wallet offers ELSTER the
possibility of a fully digital registration,
which significantly shortens the process from
several days to just a few minutes. The
classic route via the activation letter remains
in place, but the solution offers a much
simpler and contemporary alternative.
ELSTER becomes easier: Millions of users benefit from digital identification with Nect
In 2025, over 53 million tax returns
were transmitted via ELSTER. Already 1 million
people use Nect annually in the context of Elster. The service can be used for registration or
account renewal for a Mein ELSTER account, through which, for example, tax returns can be submitted or registration and use of the BundID is enabled. Another important step to further modernize access to ELSTER and simplify the process for citizens. In particular, last-minute registrations before a deadline have become easily possible. The changeover also brings advantages for the authorities. For example, the printing of letters by the authorities and the processing of returns are eliminated. The Nect interface bundles various identification methods, from fully automated Video-Ident to ePass, eID, and ReIdent. In the latter case, users are automatically guided to the appropriate procedure. This makes registration with ELSTER easier, faster, and consistently digital.
What remains is a new sense of digital sovereignty: Identification? Done in minutes.
The Challenge: Complex access hurdles and high workload on deadlines
Registering with ELSTER has previously been associated with challenges for many citizens. The classic route via activation letters was not only cumbersome but also prone to errors. Especially in the event of password loss or expired certificates, users often had to go through lengthy processes that led to stress and frustration, particularly on deadlines such as July 31, 2025. At the same time, the authorities were under pressure to handle the high demand efficiently.
To meet these challenges, ELSTER relies on Nect Ident. The technology enables fully digital identification, allowing users to register directly via the Nect Wallet and confirm their digital identity in a few minutes.
Selection Criteria for Nect Ident
eIDAS certified
Patented real-time verification
ISO-27001-certified German data centers
Fulfillment of the trust level "high" according to BSI-TR 03147
To meet these challenges, ELSTER relies on Nect Ident. The technology enables fully digital identification, allowing users to register directly via the Nect Wallet and confirm their digital identity in a few minutes.
In the event of password loss or an expired certificate, Nect also offers a simple way to renew access to ELSTER, completely without paperwork or personal appointments.
The goal was to offer a consistently fully digital registration process without media discontinuity and with immediate registration alongside the eID. At the same time, a modern and convenient process was to be created that removes hurdles for citizens.
The following criteria were of particular importance for the tender and represented a clear unique selling point: The existence of patents for certain security mechanisms, existing eIDAS certifications, as well as three ISO-27001-certified German data centers with their own hardware and no use of third-party clouds.
Furthermore, the exclusive operation in certified data centers in Germany and the complete development of the solution in Germany were highlighted as decisive features.
“With the Nect Wallet in ‘Mein ELSTER’, we are focusing on user-centered innovation. Together, we have created a solution that reduces bureaucracy and enables citizens to have a fully digital tax registration – efficient, without media discontinuities, and future-proof.”
Timo Behrmann
Industry Lead Public Sector | Nect
2nd Place in the App Store Charts and a Smooth Final Tax Sprint
Since its introduction in mid-June 2024 until the end of June 2026, around 1.9 million successful Nect Idents have been performed. Nect identifications have already established themselves in approx. 25% of successful new registrations compared to letters and eID.
The success of this integration was impressively demonstrated on July 31. When countless people submitted their tax returns shortly before the deadline, the Nect Wallet app reached 2nd place in the German App Store download charts, even ahead of ChatGPT.
For identification with Nect, about 59% of users used the automated Video-Ident procedure, 22% used Re-Ident via the Nect Wallet, 16% used a procedure via the NFC interface of the ID document, while the eID was used by only 3% of all users.
Conclusion: A milestone for digital administration
The cooperation is rated positively by all parties involved. Particularly valuable was the experience that optically captured name and address data can be reliably compared with official registration data. With the introduction of the new digital procedures, tax administration is becoming significantly more citizen-friendly, modern, and efficient.
The cooperation between ELSTER and Nect is not just a technical update; it represents important progress for digital administration in Germany. For the first time, citizens can register fully digitally with the online tax office without paper, without waiting times, and without media discontinuities.
The most important improvements at a glance
- No more postal route in many cases, which saves time and costs.
- Immediate identification with just a smartphone and ID.
- Re-Ident: Those already verified in the Nect Wallet can reuse their identity immediately.
- More flexibility through support for international IDs and various Ident procedures.
- Higher security through active notification in cases of suspected fraud.
The integration of Nect Ident into ELSTER shows how digital solutions can simplify administrative processes and create trust at the same time. The integration proves its worth especially during periods of high usage. During the peak period, the number of users who activated ELSTER via Nect was in the mid five-figure range.
The recently completed contract extension forms an important basis for further cooperation between ELSTER and Nect. The implementation to date shows the potential for using digital identification procedures in other administrative processes in the future. With regard to the EUDI Wallet and the associated European digital identities, the State Office is following developments.
Auto Video Ident
59%
Re-Ident
22%
NFC
16%
eID
3%
Percentage distribution of the ID procedures used. eID = electronic identity card with a chip; NFC = ePass / ID Cards (eIC); Re Ident = reused Nect ID;
Auto Video Ident = Optical procedures,
as of June 2026
as of June 2026
“Fast, easy, and paperless – at the online tax office ‘Mein ELSTER’, citizens can carry out their registration fully digitally! With the help of the new online identification procedure Nect Wallet, the registration process is completed within a few minutes.”
Albert Füracker
State Minister of Finance and Homeland
Key KPIs at a glance
- 120 million electronically submitted tax returns and registrations
- 15 million people who already use the Nect Wallet
- ID documents from over 180 countries worldwide
- Since its introduction in mid-June 2024 until the end of June 2026, around 1.9 million successful Nect Idents have been performed
- Nect identifications have already established themselves in approx. 25% of successful new registrations compared to letters and eID
Percentage distribution of Ident procedures
59%
of all processes via optical procedures
22%
of all processes via Re Ident
16%
of all processes via NFC
3%
of all processes via EID