No Prima Facie Evidence for Deutsche Post's “Einwurf-Einschreiben” (Registered Mail with Mailbox Delivery)

Federal Labor Court (BAG), Judgment of 7 May 2026 – 2 AZR 184/25

In its judgment of 7 May 2026 (Case No. 2 AZR 184/25), the Federal Labor Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht, BAG) held that Deutsche Post’s current digital “scan procedure” for registered mail with mailbox delivery (Einwurf-Einschreiben) does not establish prima facie evidence that a letter was actually received by the addressee. Employers are therefore advised to secure alternative proof of delivery going forward.

Facts

Before issuing a dismissal on grounds of illness, an employer invited an employee in writing to take part in an occupational integration management procedure (betriebliches Eingliederungsmanagement, “BEM”) and sent the invitation by Deutsche Post registered mail with mailbox delivery.

The employee subsequently filed an action for unfair dismissal and disputed receipt of the BEM invitation letter. To prove receipt, the employer submitted the posting receipt, the shipment tracking record and the reproduced delivery receipt, and relied on prima facie evidence.

Both the Hamburg Labor Court and the Hamburg Regional Labor Court found in favor of the employee and held the dismissal invalid because receipt of the BEM invitation could not be proven.

Decision

The Federal Labor Court also dismissed the employer’s appeal on points of law and upheld the view of the lower courts.

The starting point of the decision is the principle that, under Section 130(1), first sentence, of the German Civil Code (BGB), a declaration of intent requiring receipt and made to an absent person only becomes effective once it has entered the recipient’s sphere of control and the recipient can, under normal circumstances, take note of its content. The sender bears the burden of proving receipt.

Under previous case law, prima facie evidence of receipt was accepted for registered mail with mailbox delivery if the sender could produce the posting receipt together with a reproduction of the delivery receipt. Prima facie evidence requires a typical course of events that indicates the occurrence of the result with a high degree of probability.

However, this case law was based on Deutsche Post’s former so-called “peel-off procedure”: immediately after placing the item in the mailbox, the mail carrier peeled a physical label off the item, affixed it to the delivery receipt and confirmed the process by signing and dating it. This documentation therefore took place after the actual delivery into the mailbox and was capable of establishing a typical course of events for purposes of prima facie evidence.

In the BAG’s view, the digital “scan procedure” since introduced by Deutsche Post is fundamentally different: at the place of delivery, the mail carrier scans the item’s barcode with a handheld scanner, checks that the recipient’s name appears on the mailbox and confirms the process by signing on the scanner – before actually placing the item in the mailbox. The delivery receipt is thus generated at a point in time when receipt has not yet occurred.

The BAG did not regard this as a mere formality but as a decisive structural difference from the former procedure: once the carrier has signed on the scanner, no particular attention is required of the carrier any longer. It cannot be ruled out that the carrier is delayed or distracted after the digital confirmation and does not actually place the item in the mailbox, despite the delivery receipt already having been generated. The electronic delivery receipt therefore at most establishes the appearance that a delivery was imminent and that the item was not lost in transit before reaching the recipient’s address – but not the appearance of actual receipt.

Since the employer was unable to prove receipt of the BEM invitation – including through the examination of the mail carrier as a witness – the dismissal was invalid. There was no proof that a BEM could not have constituted a less drastic means.

Practical Notes and Outlook

The Federal Labor Court’s decision has far-reaching consequences for employment law practice. Registered mail with mailbox delivery – until now one of the most common delivery methods for dismissals, warnings, BEM invitations and other declarations requiring receipt – no longer provides reliable proof of receipt under Deutsche Post’s current procedure.

Employers should therefore immediately switch their delivery processes to alternatives that ensure verifiable delivery. Suitable delivery methods include, in particular:

• Personal handover against acknowledgment of receipt: The letter is handed directly to the employee, who confirms receipt on a copy with the date, time and signature.
• Delivery by messenger with a delivery record: A messenger places the letter in the recipient’s home mailbox and documents the process in a written delivery record stating the date, time and exact address. The messenger must know the content of the letter in order to be able to testify, in the event of a dispute, as to what was delivered.
• Service by a court bailiff (Gerichtsvollzieher)

Outlook

Deutsche Post has already responded to the judgment and has since adjusted its delivery procedure. Under the newly introduced procedure, the carrier is to additionally confirm the delivery digitally after placing the item in the mailbox, documenting it with a signature and a confirmation of insertion in the scanner. However, this new procedure has not yet been reviewed by the courts. Until the matter has been clarified by the courts, it is advisable to use the delivery alternatives mentioned above.