Why the letter has survived in Germany
Email is fast, but it rarely counts as legally reliable documentation. Many contracts, statutes and legal provisions require the written form (Schriftform), or at least text form with verifiable receipt. Landlords, insurers, health insurers and public authorities therefore often accept only post — and anyone who needs to meet a deadline needs a physical letter that was demonstrably posted.
The problem isn't the letter itself, but everything around it: a printer with an empty cartridge, no matching envelope, no stamp in the house, and the nearest postbox with a collection at 3.30pm. That whole chain can be outsourced completely.
The process in five steps
- Write the text. You type the letter's content into a browser-based editor — including bold text, bullet lists and paragraphs.
- Add the addresses. Sender and recipient are placed in the standardised address field so the letter is correctly visible through a window envelope.
- Check the preview. A page-accurate A4 view shows exactly how the printed sheet will look — including page breaks.
- Place the order and pay. The document becomes a PDF, which is handed over to the print centre. Payment runs through a secure checkout page.
- Production and posting. Printing, folding, insertion into a DIN-long window envelope, franking and handover to the postal network.
At briefsende.de, this whole process takes just a few minutes in practice. The price is €2.99 per letter for up to three pages, including postage, printing and envelope.
Is a letter ordered online legally valid?
Yes. What matters is not who printed the sheet or who put the envelope in the postbox, but that a physical document arrives with the recipient. A letter ordered online is legally identical to one you printed and posted yourself.
What matters is the signature wherever the law requires the written form under § 126 of the German Civil Code (BGB) — for example, employment contracts and the termination of employment relationships. In those cases, the original must be signed by hand.
When does the letter arrive?
| Step | Typical duration |
|---|---|
| Order to production | a few hours, on working days |
| Handover to the postal network | same working day if ordered before 4pm |
| Domestic delivery | usually 1–2 working days after handover |
For time-sensitive letters, the same rule applies: order early. Delays in the delivery network are rare but never entirely ruled out. More on delivery times and letter types can be found in our article on postage and letter types.
Data protection: where does the data go?
A letter often contains sensitive information — contract numbers, health data, addresses. Make sure that processing and printing take place in Germany, or at least within the EU, that a data processing agreement is offered, and that the PDF files of your mailings can be deleted again after production.
Who benefits most from sending letters online
- Private individuals without a printer who need an important letter two or three times a year.
- Freelancers and small businesses who need to send reminders and invoices by post but don't want to maintain a mailbox.
- People abroad who need to write to German authorities or landlords.
- Anyone facing a deadline who still needs to post something today and has no postbox nearby with a late collection.
Checklist before sending
- Is the recipient's address complete, including the correct postcode?
- Is the sender's address included, so an undeliverable letter is returned?
- Is the subject line meaningful, without the word "Subject"?
- Is the contract, customer or reference number stated?
- Is the date and signature present?
- Has the preview been checked — does everything fit on a maximum of three pages?