E-Invoicing 2027/2028: Why Receiving Is the Bigger Challenge

Digital Personnel Files 2027: What Will Actually Become Mandatory

If you’ve read in recent months that “digital personnel files will become mandatory from 2027”, then you’ve read a simplified version of the truth. It isn’t wrong enough to be ignored – but it is wrong enough to lead you to make an expensive mistake based on it.

There is no law in Germany regarding digital personnel files. What does exist is a specific, time-bound obligation to maintain certain records digitally – and a de facto imperative to act that follows from this. The difference may sound academic. However, it determines whether you end up with an expensive ‘silo solution’ problem or build a sustainable records management strategy.

This article separates the legal situation from the marketing narrative – and shows why the honest version is the more inconvenient, yet strategically wiser one.

What will actually happen in 2027

The relevant legal basis is not a new ‘e-personnel file law’, but the Contribution Procedure Regulation (BVV) in conjunction with Section 28p of Book IV of the Social Code (SGB IV) and the electronically supported tax audit (euBP).

Specifically:

• From 1 January 2027, you must keep certain documents relating to remuneration and social security in electronic form and have them ready for audits. These include, amongst other things, evidence of compulsory or exempt status for social security, contribution statements and documents relating to remuneration.
• The transition period ends on 31 December 2026. Until then, you can still apply to the German Pension Insurance for an exemption from the requirement to keep records electronically. From 2027, this option will no longer be available.
• Since 1 January 2023, employers have already been submitting data electronically as part of audits using a system-verified payroll accounting programme (euBP). The transition period for this also expires at the end of 2026.

What this does not mean: Nobody is forcing you to keep employment contracts, warnings, references or evidence of further training digitally from 2027 onwards. A fully paper-based or hybrid file remains legally permissible.

What it does mean, however, is this: If the core salary-related content of your personnel file must already be available digitally, in an unalterable and audit-proof format – and audits are already system-supported and automated – then maintaining a parallel paper-based process for the rest of the file becomes a business absurdity. It is not prohibited. It is simply expensive, prone to errors and poses a risk in the event of an audit.

This is the ‘de facto compulsion to act’ referred to in legal discussions. It is not a cut-off date on which a law comes into force. It is a tipping point at which the paper file loses its raison d’être.

Why ‘2027 will be mandatory’ is a dangerous oversimplification

Most providers on the market are selling you the sense of urgency, not the nuance. This has two consequences that work against you:

1. You run the risk of solving the wrong problem. Anyone who believes they must ‘introduce a digital personnel file by 2027’ may, when in doubt, purchase a quick, stand-alone HR software solution that covers precisely the mandatory BVV documents – whilst ignoring the fact that the real complexity lies elsewhere: in audit-proof archiving, GDPR deletion obligations, integration with existing systems and the migration of legacy data.

2. You lose credibility internally. If you approach your management or works council with “this will be a legal requirement from 2027”, and the legal department traces this back to a detailed BVV regulation, your entire business case is built on shaky ground. The honest argument – “we need to digitise the core processes, and it makes no business sense to keep the rest on paper” – is far more robust.

The three stumbling blocks you won’t find in any glossy brochure

Stumbling block 1: The obligation to delete data is more complex than the obligation to retain it

2026 isn’t just the year of digitalisation – it’s the year of tidying up. A digital file lays bare the problem that paper has obscured: you’re not just allowed to keep a lot of data; you’re actually required to delete it.

• Data relating to remuneration and tax is subject to retention periods of six to ten years.
• Warning letters have no statutory expiry date. However, according to the case law of the Federal Labour Court, you must remove them from the file as soon as they are no longer relevant to the employment relationship – usually after two to three years of good conduct.
• Documents relating to rejected job applications must generally be deleted after six months (AGG risk).

A digital file system without finely granular, automated deletion rules is therefore not the step forward it is marketed as – it is a GDPR risk in structured form. The system must be able to classify documents, manage retention periods and automatically flag them for deletion. Not all HR software can do this, and this is where a well-designed document management system has the edge over a standalone HR solution.

Stumbling block 2: Audit compliance is not just a tick in a box

‘GoBD-compliant’ is stated on every product page. The GoBD – the principles for the proper maintenance and retention of books, records and documents in electronic form – specify in detail: tamper-proof storage, comprehensive logging of every change, traceability throughout the entire lifecycle, and, in the case of replacement scanning, compliance with the TR-RESISCAN guideline. Hardly anyone checks this before the system is purchased. In the event of an audit, this is precisely the difference between ‘pass’ and ‘estimated value plus back payment’.

Stumbling block 3: The works council is at the table – sooner than you think

The introduction of a digital personnel file is generally subject to co-determination (Section 87(1)(6) of the Works Constitution Act (BetrVG), technical monitoring system). Anyone setting up the project without involving the works council from the outset risks not only delays but also a deadlock shortly before go-live. A properly drafted works agreement is not an afterthought – it is a prerequisite. Anyone who leaves this too late will lose precisely the time the project needs to be completed by 2027.

What you should do now – not wait until 2027

The exemption period ends on 31 December 2026. A proper roll-out, including a works agreement, system selection, migration and testing, realistically takes several months. The available timeframe is shorter than the 2027 deadline suggests.

Three pragmatic first steps:

1. Take stock rather than searching for a tool. First, clarify which documents you currently manage and how, which ones are subject to the BVV requirement, and what condition your legacy records and metadata are in. The question of which tool to use comes afterwards.

2. A deletion strategy before a storage strategy. Define document types, retention periods and deletion rules before selecting a system. This is the filter that separates siloed solutions from viable ones.

3. Involve the works council – now. The works agreement is the longest part of the project plan. Start with that.

Conclusion

The digital personnel file is not a law with a fixed deadline, but a business tipping point with a regulatory core. Anyone who reduces it to ‘mandatory under the BVV from 2027’ may well end up buying the wrong solution. Anyone who understands it as a filing strategy – with a deletion policy, audit compliance and co-determination as equal building blocks – is building something that will still stand up to scrutiny even after the audit.

Note: This article does not constitute legal advice. For a legal assessment of your specific case, please consult your legal or tax adviser.

Why choose adesso for digital personnel files

adesso supports companies in implementing digital personnel files – from defining the core requirements for BVV compliance, through deletion policies and audit-proof archiving, to integration with existing HR and specialist systems. adesso is one of Germany’s largest IT service providers – and, according to the Lünendonk list, the largest IT service provider in Germany: over 11,300 employees, more than 65 locations in Germany and Europe, and a turnover of 1.47 billion euros in the 2025 financial year.

For your project, this means that personnel files are not a stand-alone service at adesso. If your project involves system integration, cloud operations, IT security or AI-supported document processing, the expertise is all under one roof – a single project partner rather than a chain of service providers. This really pays off, particularly in highly regulated sectors such as insurance, banking, healthcare and public administration – adesso’s core sectors.

And because document processes involve on-site activities – workshops, assessments and support during audits – an adesso office is rarely far from you. Short travel distances, dedicated contacts, and consultancy in your region rather than consultants flying in.

Want to know where your company stands today? Our free ‘Digital Personnel File 2027’ readiness checklist guides you through the key questions in 15 points – from the BVV obligation and the data deletion policy to the works agreement.