Greece first introduced the “Unified Portal of Public Administration” (“Ενιαία Ψηφιακή Πύλη της Δημόσιας Διοίκησης” (in Greek)), in 2019 under article 52 of Law 4635/2019 (in Greek), implemented and monitored by the Ministry of Digital Governance (in Greek). The aim is to have a single point for all electronic services of bodies and agencies of the general government. It is important to highlight that all the processes referenced on this page can also be carried out physically, regardless of whether they may also be completed in part or in full online.
GOV.GR is the new single digital portal of Greek public administration for citizens and businesses. Its development is agile. The first beta version publicly launched in March 2020 with more than 500 already developed digital services gathered in a unique point of single contact.
Since then, GOV.GR has managed to become the government's digital home, hosting over 1400 digital services, and making it easier for millions of citizens to transact with the public administration. The goal is to serve citizens and businesses better, through the creation of trusted services, the reduction of administrative burden and the increased efficiency in the operation of the Public Administration.
GOV.GR has been playing a very important role during the covid pandemic, as it became the central hub for all services and functions related to this issue. Indicatively, vaccination certificates, positive/negative test certificates, school cards and other related services, are all delivered through GOV.GR.
GOV.GR is structured on the three-level taxonomy, Categories, Life Events, Services. This enables the principle of three clicks for the citizen to reach the desired service.
In 2020, the above article was repealed and substituted (implicitly) by articles 22 through 33 of Law 4727/2020 (in Greek), which specify and outline in detail the aims, definitions, services, etc., of digital governance, access to documents, nature of electronic public documents, etc., in the Greek public sector (general government), including services to be provided online. The articles re-establish the existence and aims of the Portal, and outline specific rules and processes that bodies and agencies of the general government must follow to make digital access to documents by citizens possible. The primary purpose of the Portal is for citizens to be able to request, receive or issue any document from bodies or agencies of the general government (e.g. articles 26-28).
As of August 2023, the Portal includes 1.583 digital services across 11 categories. It is thematically structured – e.g. Employment and Social Security, Family, Property and Taxation, Health – and within each subject area there are subdivisions (e.g. within Family, there are issues related to Loss (death, etc.), Birth (certificates, etc.), Divorce, and Family Status (certificate of marriage, etc.).
Of the above services, some are provided through the Portal itself, but the majority are provided through the online platforms of other public bodies or agencies (e.g. Ministries) of the general government. This in accordance with the above legislation requiring that bodies and agencies provide the possibility for citizens to conduct their business (as far as possible) online, for which direct hyperlinks are included in the platform. All services, however, are collected in the Portal as the single point of search, under specific rules related to user experience. The Portal also has a dedicated electronic citizen’s inbox, in which each user may find all the documents issued, per their request, by agencies or bodies of the general government. If a document is sent to the citizen’s inbox by an agency or body after the request of a citizen, this is considered an official delivery of the document (article 26, Law 4727/2020). With minor exceptions (e.g. declaration of birth), most of the services either provided through or included in the Platform, are for Greek nationals. It is worth noting that the Portal itself (as is the case for most of the other online platforms providing the services included in this document) was only in the Greek language (albeit having dedicated access for disabled individuals). From April 2023, GOV.GR is also available in English.
User authentication in the Platform is generally achieved in one of the following ways (article 24); usually this process is complimented by mobile/cellular phone authentication:
- Taxisnet (the unified online taxation system for submitting tax returns and all relevant documents, monitor charged or outstanding tax dues, etc.) authentication;
- Electronic banking authentication (username and password are provided by the respective bank of each individual);
However, for services that are provided by the Platform itself and are included in this document, only the first way of authentication is used (Taxisnet), as these services are mostly of a fundamental nature (birth certificate, death certificate, loss of national ID, etc.). A services that uses the second way of authentication and two-factor authentication is, for example, loss of national I.D., docs.gov.gr, etc. Regarding the services incorporated into the Platform but offered by distinct online platforms, authentication is conducted through either Taxisnet authentication or custom authentication provided by the service owner.
From 2019 onwards, one can register for a Taxisnet account (username/password), re-register or recover their authentication credentials entirely online (the responsible agency the Independent Authority for Public Revenue; Ανεξάρτητη Αρχή Δημοσίων Εσόδων – ΑΑΔΕ). The online process is performed by the user as follows:
- visit https://kleidarithmos.gov.gr/
- enter their
- national identification (ID) number
- Tax Registration Number (Αριθμός Φορολογικού Μητρώου – ΑΦΜ)
- an active bank account number (IBAN) to which the individual concerned is the beneficiary or a co-beneficiary
- cell/mobile phone number and carrier to which the number is registered
- Receive their credentials after registration.
Other, relevant and interesting articles of that Law are the following.
- Article 5 Law 4727/2020, Digital Transformation Bible: A 5-year (updated annually) policy document that was presented by the Ministry of Digital Governance in 2020 and became a state law on 5 July 2021. It sets out the strategic roadmap for Greece’s digital transformation and covers six pillars: (i) connectivity; (ii) digital skills; (iii) digital state; (iv) digital business; (v) digital innovation; and (vi) integration of digital technology in every sector of the economy. The Digital Transformation Bible 2020 – 2025 can be found here (in Greek).
- Article 9 Law 4727/2020, Digital Governance Agencies at Ministries: Each Ministry must institute a Digital Governance Agency (at any administrative level deemed appropriate), responsible for coordinating all actions of the digital transformation of that respective Ministry.
- Article 11 Law 4727/2020 Personal Number: Each citizen with a Social Security Number (Αριθμός Μητρώου Κοινωνικής Ασφάλισης – ΑΜΚΑ), and Tax Registration Number (Αριθμός Φορολογικού Μητρώου – ΑΦΜ) is provided with a 12-alphanumeric-characters unique number, which serves as the authenticator for all transactions of citizens with the public sector. It is worth noting that this has not been implemented as of today.
Purpose and scope: The aim of this service is to provide the opportunity to the user to submit a procedural document (δικόγραφο) to the appropriate court, which may, inter alia, include claims for damages.
Competent authority: Ministry of Justice (Υπουργείο Δικαιοσύνης).
Conditions of access:
- Eligibility requirements: To be eligible, the user must be the lawyer representing the claimant.
- Identification and authentication requirements: Users are identified and authenticated by their individual, designated Bar Association identification, which they receive upon joining the Bar.
- Documents to be provided: There is information (e.g. first name, last name, etc.) to be entered in appropriate fields. In addition, the procedural document itself is required.
Legal effects of electronic document: The document has the same legal effect as a corresponding physical document.
Possibility to complete the procedure fully online: Yes.
Cost: None for the process (there may be additional costs, such as legal fees, etc., related to depositing the document).
Links:
More information on compensation from the offender can be found here.
Purpose and scope: The aim of this service is to allow the user to submit procedural documents (δικόγραφα) to the appropriate court. The courts may be of any type (civil, administrative, criminal) and level (First Instance, Appeals, etc.)
Competent authority: Ministry of Justice (Υπουργείο Δικαιοσύνης).
Conditions of access:
- Eligibility requirements: To be eligible, the user must be a lawyer relevant to the case.
- Identification and authentication requirements: Users are identified and authenticated by their individual, designated Bar Association identification, which they receive upon joining the Bar.
- Documents to be provided: There is information (e.g. personal details of applicants, type of procedure etc.) to be entered in appropriate fields. In addition, the digitally signed procedural documents themselves are required.
Legal effects of electronic document: The document has the same legal effect as a corresponding physical document.
Possibility to complete the procedure fully online: Yes.
Cost: None for the process (there may be additional costs, such as legal fees, etc., related to depositing the document).
Links:
More information on how to bring a case to court can be found here.
Purpose and scope: Within the Greek legal order, it is recognized that a document of any type (physical, electronic, etc.) can be officially delivered through electronic means (e.g. electronic email), provided that, in some way, the recipient has confirmed receipt of the document. In some cases, especially during a trial, documents pertaining to the trial may be serviced to individuals electronically. However, for pre-trial judicial documents, such as extrajudicial warnings (εξώδικες διαμαρτυρίες), etc., servicing is still primarily done physically by bailiffs.
Competent authority: Ministry of Justice (Υπουργείο Δικαιοσύνης).
Conditions of access:
- Eligibility requirements: To be eligible, the user must be a lawyer relevant to the case.
- Identification and authentication requirements: Users are identified and authenticated by their individual, designated Bar Association identification, which they receive upon joining the Bar.
- Documents to be provided: There is information (e.g. first name, last name, etc.) to be entered in appropriate fields. In addition, the procedural documents themselves are required.
Legal effects of electronic document: The document has the same legal effect as a corresponding physical document.
Possibility to complete the procedure fully online: Yes.
Cost: Cost of service is fixed at EUR 50, to be paid by bank transfer payable to the ‘Hellenic Ministry of Justice, Transparency & Human Rights’, using the following bank account: Bank of Greece, bank account number: 23/2341147896, ΙΒΑΝ: GR9101000230000002341147896, Swift code: BNGRGRAA.
All requests for service must use the method described. Requests not accompanied by the required receipt of payment from the bank will be returned without processing.
Link:
More information on electronic service of judicial documents in Greece can be found here.
Purpose and scope: The purpose of this service is to host the auction of seized property (foreclosures by banks, debt to the government, etc.), and to provide the opportunity for individuals interested in bidding and purchasing such property, to do so electronically.
Competent authority: Notary Public Association of the Courts of Appeal of Athens, Piraeus, Aegean and Dodecanese (Συμβολαιογραφικός Σύλλογος Εφετείων Αθηνών, Πειραιώς, Αιγαίου και Δωδεκανήσου).
Conditions of access:
- Eligibility requirements: To be eligible, the user must be interested in purchasing property or be a notary public.
- Identification and authentication requirements: Users are identified and authenticated by their individual, dedicated login credentials (username and password), which they receive upon registration in the platform. For their registration to the platform, Taxisnet credentials are required as authentication.
- Documents to be provided: Multiple documents and varying information are required, as this is a complicated and multi-stage legal process. Documents may include valuation of property, deeds, etc.)
Legal effects of electronic document: The document has the same legal effect as a corresponding physical document.
Possibility to complete the procedure fully online: No (multiple stages in the process may require mailing or submitting documents, such as the relevant mandate, which must be mailed to the notary public in charge of the auction).
Cost: None for the process (there may be additional costs, such as legal fees, etc., related to depositing the document).
Link:
https://www.eauction.gr/ (in Greek)
https://www.eauction.gr/en/ (in English).
More information on electronic auctions in Greece can be found here.
Purpose and scope: The purpose of this service is to allow the user to find information, list of mediators, etc., for mediation services in certain civil procedures.
Competent authority: Ministry of Justice (Υπουργείο Δικαιοσύνης).
Conditions of access:
- Eligibility requirements: To be eligible, the user must be the individual concerned, or be a mediator.
- Identification and authentication requirements: The user is identified and authenticated using their own Taxisnet credentials.
- Documents to be provided: Multiple documents and varying information are required, as this is a complicated and multi-stage legal process. Documents may include opinions, etc.)
Legal effects of electronic document: Not applicable
Possibility to complete the procedure fully online: No, the above is merely for finding documents, mediators, information, etc. Mediation takes place in live format.
Cost: None for the process (there may be additional costs, such as legal fees, etc., related to the process of mediation itself or the production of various documents required).
Link:
https://www.diamesolavisi.gov.gr/
More information on how mediation services are provided in Greece can be found here.
Purpose and scope: The purpose of this service is to provide the opportunity to the user to register and establish a company of any form.
Competent authority: Greek Central Association of Chambers (Κεντρική Ένωση Επιμελητηρίων Ελλάδος)
Conditions of access:
- Eligibility requirements: To be eligible, the user must be a founder of the respective company or an otherwise authorized individual to proceed with the foundation of the company
- Identification and authentication requirements: The user is identified and authenticated using their own Taxisnet credentials
- Documents to be provided: There is information (e.g. first name, last name, etc.) to be entered in appropriate fields. In addition, various documents are required depending on the form of the company, the nationality of the founders, etc. These are determined in detail in Ministerial Decision No. 63577/13.06.2018. Those include solemn declarations from the founders, articles of incorporation, national ID or passport, etc.
Legal effects of electronic document: The document has the same legal effect as a corresponding physical document.
Possibility to complete the procedure fully online: Yes
Cost: The service itself is free. However, the establishment of a company through the system bears costs (may range from 50 to over 1.000 euro) that depend on the form of the company, the number of partners in the company, and the founding capital . The founding of the company itself may have additional costs, such as its founding capital.
Link:
https://eyms.businessportal.gr/auth (in Greek)
Purpose and scope: The purpose of this service is to allow the user to find basic information of any company registered in Greece, by entering basic information of the company (e.g. Tax Registration Number of the company, name, etc.)
Competent authority: Greek Central Association of Chambers (Κεντρική Ένωση Επιμελητηρίων Ελλάδος).
Conditions of access:
- Eligibility requirements: Not applicable (completely open).
- Identification and authentication requirements: Not applicable (completely open).
- Documents to be provided: Not applicable.
Legal effects of electronic document: Not applicable.
Possibility to complete the procedure fully online: Yes.
Cost: No.
Link: https://www.businessregistry.gr/publicity/index (in Greek & English)