Registered Mail with Delivery Confirmation (Einwurf-Einschreiben): No More Prima Facie Evidence of Receipt (Federal Labour Court, 2 AZR 184/25)

According to a recent judgment of the Federal Labour Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht, BAG), registered mail with delivery confirmation (Einwurf-Einschreiben) no longer establishes prima facie evidence (Anscheinsbeweis) of the actual receipt of documents. In the proceedings (judgment of 7 May 2026, case no. 2 AZR 184/25), the parties disputed the receipt of an invitation to workplace reintegration management (bEM). The employer produced the usual digitised delivery record of the postal service, but the employee denied that the letter had been placed in his letterbox. The judges thereby overturned the long-standing, employer-friendly case law on the evidential value of this method of service.

The reason for the change, the court held, is the postal service's altered, purely digital scanning procedure. In the past, postal workers manually affixed a physical label to the record, which the courts regarded as highly reliable. Today, postal workers sign electronically on a hand scanner, often even before the letter is actually in the letterbox. The deliverer nowadays merely scans the barcode and confirms delivery digitally on his or her own display. Exact delivery addresses or the exact time of the actual delivery are often not documented in an evidentially secure manner in the delivery record. According to the BAG, this practice is error-prone and does not permit an unshakeable inference as to actual receipt. It is paradoxical that digital progress here leads to a massive legal step backwards for employers. If it comes to a dispute, you as an employer once again bear the full burden of proof in dismissals or written warnings.

Serve essential documents again in an analogue and legally secure manner. Use either personal handover in the company in the presence of witnesses, or engage your own courier with a written delivery record. Only in this way do you secure the procedural success of your company in the event of a dispute.