Why does everyone need a PEC address? That’s what it’s for

At a certain point it was up to many to open a PEC address. But why does everyone need it? Here’s what it is for, how it works and how to get it.

PEC stands for “certified electronic mail”. A certified email is like a traditional email, but with some substantial differences. One of these is that it guarantees the legal certainty of the sender’s identity, the date and time of sending and receiving an email and its content. This communication system is currently used in very few countries, including Italy.

You can think of a PEC email like a registered letter, only electronically and not on paper. For this reason, a certified email is a tool that you can use to write and officially send documents to the Italian public administration, citizens, private companies, etc. Regarding the graphics, a PEC account is no different from a normal e-mail account. In fact, the main difference lies in the electronic address, so you will have yourname@pec.it instead of yourname@gmail.com.

In practice, writing and sending a certified e-mail is just like writing and sending a normal e-mail – you will need to have a sender, recipient, subject, text, signature – but from a different address, only that gives legal value to your e -mail. And therefore it is much more secure than a message sent with your Gmail or Yahoo address. Let’s take a closer look at why you should have a certified address.

PEC, why should you have it? Here is who must have it

First you need to know that not everyone needs a certified address. To have a PEC address are mandatory business men and womenthe companies And professionals (lawyers, notaries, architects, etc.). Everyone else is under no obligation to have one. If a person obliged by law to have one does not have a PEC address, the sender, usually the Revenue Agency or Regions, will still have to send formal letters or payment orders by registered letter.

However, there are quite a few of them benefits in having a certified address, especially if you are abroad. You will not have to send a registered letter, with all the times and inconveniences that this entails. Sending a PEC message is just like a normal email, in the sense that it won’t cost you anything, beyond the annual subscription. You can send a certified email, which has legal value, from your home or office, which will be received instantly. This means that you can officially communicate with an Italian public administration even if you are abroad.

Last but not least, you will receive faster responses from recipients (in many cases Italian public administrations are obliged to respond within thirty days of receiving your message). Therefore, considering that the recipient receives your email instantly, this means that he has thirty days to reply to your email from when you send it and not from the day he receives your registered letter.

What can you do with a certified address?

There are many things a PEC address owner can do, such as sending a message he has legal validity equivalent to a registered letter. But also to formally request information or documents from an Italian public administration.

Then protect the copyright of a text. Among the things you can do is also to send a letter to your debtor; formally declare a fact that will have legal value. But also respond to a call for tenders, or do request for the bonus of 1800 euros which belongs to certain categories, and much more.

What do you need to do to have a PEC address? Here’s how much it costs

To get a PEC address, you just need to visit the website of the provider chosen (eg Aruba) and follow the instructions to open a PEC account. You usually need to enter yours personal data, then insert a copy of the identity document and tax code. You will then need to choose an address and password, just like any other email account. Typically the provider has an app that you can download to the device.

There are several companies that offer certified e-mail accounts. They usually all ask for a monthly or annual subscription. Costs start from a few euros per year (you can have a PEC address for 5 euros + VAT) for a basic PEC account, which generally includes a limited space (for example 1 GB) and antivirus. Obviously the more services you want (more space, storage, etc.), the higher the cost (for example 25/40/60 euros).