Text consolidated by Valsts valodas centrs (State
Language Centre) with amending laws of:
12 April 2018 [shall come
into force from 1 May 2018];
7 June 2018 [shall come into force from 1 September
2018];
12 December 2019 [shall come into force from 31 December
2019].
If a whole or part of a section has been amended, the
date of the amending law appears in square brackets at
the end of the section. If a whole section, paragraph or
clause has been deleted, the date of the deletion appears
in square brackets beside the deleted section, paragraph
or clause.
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The Saeima 1 has adopted and
the President has proclaimed the following law:
Law on the Official Electronic
Address
Chapter I
General Provisions
Section 1. Terms Used in this
Law
The following terms are used in this Law:
1) official electronic address - a set of elements (a
unique string consisting of digits or digits and letters)
allowing the addressee to be reached in the electronic
environment;
2) Official Electronic Address Information System - a
secure and reliable environment for electronic communication and
circulation of documents for an identifiable user of the official
electronic address account;
3) official electronic address account - data storage
maintained in the Official Electronic Address Information System
where the user of the official electronic address account may
access electronic communication and electronic documents sent to
his or her official electronic address, or communicate and send
electronic documents;
4) user of the official electronic address account - a
State institution, legal entity registered in the registers of
the Enterprise Register (hereinafter - the registers), a person
not registered in the registers or a natural person who has an
activated official electronic address account;
5) person not registered in the registers - a person
who has not been registered in the registers but who has been
registered with the Taxpayer Register of the State Revenue
Service;
6) State institution - an institution of direct
administration, a State authority not subordinated to the
Cabinet, a derived public entity and its institution, a judicial
authority, a prosecutor's office, a sworn bailiff, and an
insolvency administrator, as well as a private person to whom a
State administration task has been delegated.
Section 2. Purpose of this Law
The purpose of this Law is to ensure secure, efficient and
high-quality electronic communication and circulation of
electronic documents between State institutions and private
persons.
Section 3. Status and Availability
of the Official Electronic Address Information System
The Official Electronic Address Information System is a state
information system and it is managed by the State Regional
Development Agency. Access to the Official Electronic Address
Information System shall be ensured via the State administration
services portal www.latvija.lv and in another way via a software
interface.
Section 4. Scope of Application of
this Law
(1) This Law shall apply to electronic communication and any
circulation of electronic documents, using an official electronic
address, regardless of its legal effect.
(2) This Law shall not apply to electronic communication and
circulation of electronic documents between:
1) private persons;
2) State institutions, if it is organised using another secure
electronic document circulation system for communication between
there institutions;
3) State institutions and private persons, if laws and
regulations do not impose an obligation on a private person to
identify himself or herself in electronic communication, whereas
a State institution conducts electronic communication following
the principle of good governance.
(3) The procedures for sending documents in criminal
proceedings, civil proceedings, administrative proceedings in
court, administrative violation proceedings and Constitutional
Court proceedings provided for in this Law shall apply insofar as
other procedures for sending documents have not been laid down in
other laws.
[7 June 2018]
Section 5. Use of Official
Electronic Addresses
(1) The use of an official electronic address shall be
mandatory for:
1) a State institution;
2) a legal entity registered in the registers;
3) a reserve soldier.
(2) An official electronic address may be used by:
1) a natural person from 14 years of age, registered with the
Population Register;
2) a person not registered in the registers.
Chapter II
Creation of an Official Electronic Address and Activation of an
Official Electronic Address Account
Section 6. Elements of the Official
Electronic Address
The official electronic address shall consist of:
1) for a State institution - the registration number assigned
by the Enterprise Register;
2) [12 December 2019];
3) for an administrator of insolvency proceedings - the
administrator's certificate number assigned by the Insolvency
Administration;
4) for a legal entity registered in the registers - the
registration number assigned by the Enterprise Register;
5) for a person not registered in the registers - the
11-character taxpayer registration code assigned by the State
Revenue Service, or, if none has been assigned, the identifier
assigned in the Official Electronic Address Information
System;
6) for a natural person - his or her personal identity
number.
[7 June 2018; 12 December 2019]
Section 7. Creation of an Official
Electronic Address and Activation of an Official Electronic
Address Account
(1) For the legal entity referred to in Section 5, Paragraph
one, Clause 1 or 2 of this Law, the official electronic address
is created and the official electronic address account is
activated automatically.
(2) The official electronic address of the person referred to
in Section 5, Paragraph one, Clause 3 and in Paragraph two of
this Law shall be created using qualified means for electronic
identification of persons available in the Official Electronic
Address Information System and by electronically logging in to
the State administration services portal www.latvija.lv.
Concurrently with the creation of an official electronic address,
an official electronic address account is activated for the
relevant person.
(3) The Cabinet shall determine the security and technical
requirements for the Official Electronic Address Information
System, the requirements for interfaces and their use, the
procedures by which the institutions registering or maintaining
information on users of official electronic address accounts
shall provide the information necessary for the creation of the
official electronic address to the controller of the Official
Electronic Address Information System, and the amount of this
information, as well as the procedures for creating the official
electronic address and the activation of the official electronic
address account.
Section 8. Catalogue of the Official
Electronic Addresses
(1) The catalogue of the official electronic addresses is a
component of the Official Electronic Address Information
System.
(2) Information on the created official electronic addresses
shall be included in the catalogue of official electronic
addresses.
(3) [7 June 2018]
(4) Information included in the catalogue of official
electronic addresses may be accessed:
1) by State institutions according to their mandate -
information on all official electronic addresses;
2) by private persons - information on the official electronic
addresses of State institutions.
(5) The Cabinet shall determine the amount and procedures for
the circulation of the information to be included in the
catalogue of official electronic addresses.
[7 June 2018]
Chapter III
Accessing the Official Electronic Address Account
Section 9. Accessing the Official
Electronic Address Account
The user of an official electronic address shall access the
official electronic address account, using qualified means for
electronic identification of persons available in the Official
Electronic Address Information System.
Section 10. Transfer of Access
Rights
The user of the official electronic address account may
specify and update another user having the right to access his or
her account, indicating the first name, surname and personal
identity number of such user or the official electronic address
account and the level of access rights (view or send electronic
documents, contact), as well as to revoke the access rights
granted to another user.
Section 11. Cancellation of an
Official Electronic Address and Deactivation of an Official
Electronic Address Account
(1) The manager of the Official Electronic Address Information
System shall cancel an official electronic address in the
following cases:
1) when the fact of death of a natural person has been
registered in the Population Register;
2) for a State institution:
a) after completion of its reorganisation or liquidation
process, if operation of such institution is terminated,
b) on the basis of an order of the Minister for Justice
regarding dismissal or removal from the office of a sworn
bailiff,
c) after release or removal from the office of an
administrator of insolvency proceedings;
3) after deletion from the Enterprise Register of a legal
entity registered in the registers;
4) [7 June 2018].
(2) A user of an official electronic address account who does
not have the obligation to use the official electronic address
has the right to deactivate the official electronic address
account in the Official Electronic Address Information System.
The user of the official electronic address account also has the
right to deactivate the official electronic address account by
submitting a corresponding application to the manager of the
Official Electronic Address Information System.
(3) An official electronic address account in the Official
Electronic Address Information System shall be deactivated for a
natural person for the period of time when the person is in a
prison, except for the natural person who serves a custodial
sentence in an open prison.
(4) The Cabinet shall determine the procedures by which the
official electronic address shall be annulled and the official
electronic address account shall be deactivated.
[7 June 2018]
Chapter IV
Electronic Communication and Sending, Receiving and Storing
Electronic Documents
Section 12. Priority of Use of an
Official Electronic Address
(1) If the official electronic address account has been
activated, the State institution and the private person shall
communicate electronically and send an electronic document using
the official electronic address. If the natural person referred
to in Section 5, Paragraph two of this Law, for whom the official
electronic address account has been activated, requests to use
another communication channel, in particular stating the grounds
for the request, the aforementioned request shall be taken into
account to the extent possible and the manner for the
notification of documents specified by the natural person shall
be used.
(2) If provided for by laws and regulations, a State
institution may communicate electronically and send an electronic
document using a corresponding State information system,
concurrently ensuring the availability of the relevant
information or document in the official electronic address
account. The Cabinet shall determine the procedures by which a
State institutions shall send information to the official
electronic address, if it communicates electronically, and send
an electronic document using a corresponding State information
system.
(3) A document which should be sent to an electronic mail
address in accordance with laws and regulations shall be sent to
the official electronic address, if the official electronic
address account has been activated.
(4) If the use of the official electronic address is optional
for a natural person, the entire correspondence after
deactivation of the official electronic address account shall be
notified thereto in accordance with the Law on Notification. If
after deactivation of the official electronic address account, a
natural person wants to use electronic communications for
communication with an institution and for the receipt of
documents, he or she shall specify it repeatedly to the entity in
accordance with the procedures laid down in the Law on
Notification.
[7 June 2018]
Section 13. Notification of the
Receipt of Electronic Communication and Electronic Document
(1) The user of an official electronic address account may
activate a service in the Official Electronic Address Information
System through which it will receive an informative notification
on the receipt of electronic communication or electronic document
in the official electronic address account sent by the manager of
the Official Electronic Address Information System to the
communication channels offered in the Official Electronic Address
Information System.
(2) If the service referred to in Paragraph one of this
Section has been activated, after receipt of the communication in
the official electronic address account, the manager of the
Official Electronic Address Information System shall immediately
send a corresponding notification to the communication channel
indicated by the user of the official electronic address
account.
[7 June 2018]
Section 14. Storage and Availability
of Electronic Communication and Electronic Document
(1) The manager of the Official Electronic Address Information
System shall ensure the storage and availability of the received
and sent electronic communication, electronic documents, and
their metadata in the official electronic address account.
(2) The Cabinet shall determine the storage volume and period
of electronic communication, electronic documents, and their
metadata sent to the official electronic address, as well as the
action to be taken by the manager of the Official Electronic
Address Information System in case the storage volume of the
electronic documents and their metadata has been exceeded or the
term for their storage has expired.
Chapter V
Obligations and Liability
Section 15. Obligations of the
Manager of the Official Electronic Address Information System
The manager of the Official Electronic Address Information
System has the following obligations:
1) to ensure the operation of the Official Electronic Address
Information System in accordance with the procedures laid down in
this Law;
2) to use secure information systems and equipment, as well as
to use procedures ensuring the delivery of communication to the
official electronic address account, the safety and
inalterability of electronic communication and electronic
document existing in the official electronic address account, as
well as the storage of proof of sending and receiving electronic
communication and electronic document;
3) to ensure cancellation of the official electronic address
and activation or deactivation of the official electronic address
in the cases specified in this Law;
4) to always maintain online information in the catalogue of
official electronic addresses;
5) to ensure the availability of information and consultative
support for the use of the official electronic address
account;
6) to inform the user of the official electronic address
account regarding changes and interruptions in the availability
of the information systems;
7) in case of a dispute, to present the user of the official
electronic address account an acknowledgement of the fact and
time of sending or receiving electronic communication or
electronic document;
8) to ensure the availability of electronic communication and
electronic documents existing in the official electronic address
account and their storage in accordance with the terms laid down
in the laws and regulations;
9) to use information systems that ensure recognition of the
recipient and the sender;
10) to verify the right of representation of the legal
entities registered in the records according to the information
received from the information system of the Enterprise
Register;
11) upon developing the solution for the official electronic
address, to create open software interfaces in order to ensure
the capability to integrate the Official Electronic Address
Information System with other information systems.
[7 June 2018]
Section 16. Obligations and
Liability of the User of the Official Electronic Address
Account
(1) The user of the official electronic address account shall
be liable for any actions that have been carried out in the
official electronic address account using qualified means for
electronic identification of persons available in the Official
Electronic Address Information System.
(2) The Cabinet shall determine the procedures for using the
Official Electronic Address Information System.
Transitional Provisions
1. The official electronic address account for a direct
administration institution shall be activated by 31 May 2018 and
Section 5, Paragraph one of this Law shall be applied from 1 June
2018.
[12 April 2018]
1.1 The official electronic address account shall
be activated for a State authority not subordinated to the
Cabinet, a derived public person and its institution, a
prosecutor's office and also a private individual to whom a State
administration task has been delegated by 15 October 2018 and
Section 5, Paragraph one of this Law shall be applied from the
moment the official electronic address account is activated.
[12 April 2018]
2. Section 5, Paragraph one of this Law shall be applicable to
a sworn bailiff, Supreme Court and Constitutional Court as of 1
January 2020, but to an insolvency administrator, district (city)
courts and regional courts - as of 1 April 2021.
[12 December 2019]
3. For legal entities registered in the records, the official
electronic address account shall be activated from 1 January 2019
to 31 December 2022, and Section 5, Paragraph one of this Law
shall apply as of 1 January 2023. A legal entity registered in
the registers, if it has an activated electronic address account,
shall be contacted using electronic means, and an electronic
document shall be sent using the official electronic address.
[12 December 2019]
4. The official electronic address for a reserve soldier and
the person referred to in Section 5, Paragraph two of this Law
shall be created from 2 January 2019. Section 5, Paragraph one of
this Law shall be applied to a reserve soldier from 1 February
2019.
[12 April 2018]
5. The Cabinet shall issue the regulations referred to in
Section 7, Paragraph three, Section 8, Paragraph five, Section
11, Paragraph four, Section 14, Paragraph two, and Section 16,
Paragraph two of this Law by 1 August 2017.
This Law shall come into force on 1 March 2018.
This Law was adopted by the Saeima on 16 June 2016.
President R. Vējonis
Riga, 1 July 2016
1 The Parliament of the Republic of
Latvia
Translation © 2020 Valsts valodas centrs (State
Language Centre)
