Our services for register modernisation

Register modernisation is a key digitalisation project for public administration in Germany. It is a decisive step towards modern, efficient and citizen-friendly administration. There are currently numerous specialist registers that are often outdated, redundant or difficult to access. This results in manual handoffs, long processing times and increased administrative effort. The aim is to standardise the data structure of over 400 types of government registers and make the registers interoperable. To this end, all registers will be assigned a unique identification number. This is the only way to enable seamless digital administrative processes and implement the once-only principle.

Register modernisation and the associated connection to NOOTS provide numerous benefits for all stakeholders. Successful implementation forms the basis for data-driven innovation in the administration of tomorrow.

• Citizens: By enabling the secure digital retrieval of citizen data from various registers, citizens will no longer have to provide their data repeatedly to different authorities. This saves time, simplifies administrative processes and strengthens trust in public services and democratic institutions.
• Authorities: Authorities benefit from significantly shorter processing times for applications thanks to the once-only principle. They gain more efficient processes, faster data exchange and improved data quality. Service quality also improves through automated, seamless processes – resulting in a stronger citizen focus.

NOOTS stands for National Once-Only Technical System. It is a technical infrastructure that enables public authorities to exchange register data securely, in a standardised and data-protection-compliant way across administrative levels in line with the once-only principle. NOOTS is being developed to support large-scale digitalisation projects such as the German Online Access Act (Onlinezugangsgesetz, OZG) or register modernisation in a structured, transparent and efficient manner. The system plays a central role in both OZG implementation and register modernisation – the two key pillars of the digital transformation of German administration.

NOOTS follows a modular architecture with clearly defined interfaces, security mechanisms and protocols. NOOTS does not store data content; instead, it manages communication, authorisation and logging of data transmission between connected registers. Implementation is decentralised, with NOOTS acting as the connecting technical layer between specialist applications and registers. As a result, NOOTS plays a central role in implementing register modernisation and OZG-compliant public services.

Under the ‘One for All’ principle (Einer-für-Alle, EfA), a digital public service is developed centrally by a federal state or authority and can then be reused by other administrations throughout Germany. The aim is to avoid duplicate development, pool resources and provide uniform, efficient solutions nationwide. EfA is a key principle in the implementation of the German Online Access Act (Onlinezugangsgesetz, OZG).

The once-only principle means that citizens and businesses only need to submit their data to the administration once. This data can then be accessed securely by other authorities and reused to process applications. This secure reuse of citizen data is a core element of digital administration and register modernisation.

Open-source foundational services promote transparency, reuse and digital sovereignty. They enable authorities to jointly develop solutions and adapt them flexibly without dependence on vendors. This reduces costs in the long term and strengthens the control of authorities, states and municipalities over their own digital infrastructure.