No tax return. No child benefit application. No re-registration. No pension paperwork. In fact, this could well be the next stage of digital government in Germany: bureaucracy without forms. And Estonia is already showing how it’s done.

Imagine Germany in the year 2035: a child is born — and the system automatically recognises the birth. Child benefit, parental allowance and health insurance are all prepared in advance. The parents get a message: “Please confirm these details.” One click. Done! Or someone moves house. Instead of informing several authorities, the new address is confirmed once and automatically applied to all relevant administrative services.

Instead of filling out applications, citizens receive their already-prepared documents for review. The real change here isn’t that the state makes decisions. It’s that people no longer have to enter data at all. Data entry becomes confirmation. Applying becomes consenting. This is called zero-input government.

A future for Germany? Or just a nice vision? What do you think?

Sources:

• OECD Digital Government Studies
• OECD Digital Public Infrastructure Reports
• European Commission – Once Only Technical System
• European Interoperability Framework
• GovStack Initiative

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