Use case · Digital citizen office
Digital citizen office: the visit to the authority in one session
The digital citizen office brings the visit to the town hall into one session: book an appointment online, get advice by video, upload documents, fill in the form together, sign with legal effect and pay the fee. The result goes straight into the case system.
Flow
From first contact to resolution.
The flow in a few steps. Every step runs on the same platform, without switching systems.
- 01 · Book an appointmentThe citizen picks a request and a free slot online, by video or in person. A reminder arrives by SMS or email, with the link to the session.
- 02 · Advice by videoAt the appointment she opens the link in the browser, with no download. The clerk already sees the request and the details given so far before the conversation starts.
- 03 · Upload documentsThe citizen uploads proofs and certificates during the conversation, from a phone or a computer. If something is missing, it shows at once, not weeks later.
- 04 · Fill in the form togetherBoth see the same form. The clerk shows what goes where, the citizen types it in. The flow checks mandatory fields and plausibility along the way.
- 05 · Sign and payIdentification with the online ID card and an eIDAS signature through the Univerx Channel, then the fee in the same session. Both are designed for.
- 06 · Closed in the case systemApplication, documents, signature and payment confirmation go into the case system. When the citizen closes the session, the case is done.
What the platform adds
What carries this flow.
The qualities that count day to day – for customers as much as for the teams.
Appointment booking
Book, move and cancel appointments online, by video or at the counter. Capacity comes from the citizen office's scheduling.
Learn moreVideo in the browser
Advice by video, with no app and no account. Recording only if you provide for it and consent has been given.
Learn moreShared view
Co-browsing on the form: both see the same thing, input stays with the citizen. Sensitive fields can be masked.
Learn moreFee in the session
The citizen pays by link during the conversation. Card data reaches neither staff nor recordings; designed for PCI DSS.
Learn moreGuided flow
Every service gets its own flow: which details, which proofs, which signature. Built and changed without code.
Learn moreConnected to the case system
The result goes into the case system through interfaces. Nothing is retyped, printed or scanned.
#The visit to the authority, rethought
A move, an application, a certificate: today that often means finding an appointment, taking time off, travelling, waiting and then discovering that a proof is missing. The digital citizen office brings the same appointment to the citizen's screen.
She talks to a real clerk, by video in the browser. Documents, form, signature and fee are handled together in the same session. When the session closes, the case is finished, not merely started.
#What happens in the session
- Appointment: the citizen books online through appointment booking and receives a reminder with a link.
- Video: video advice opens in the browser, with no download.
- Documents: upload proofs while the conversation runs.
- Form: fill it in together by co-browsing, guided by the service's flow.
- Signature: online ID card and eIDAS signature through the Univerx Channel.
- Fee: pay securely in the same session.
Application, proofs, signature and payment confirmation then go into the case system. Follow-up work, such as a check in the background, runs with a deadline through task routing.
#Signing with legal effect
Many administrative services require written form. German administrative procedure law allows electronic routes for it under conditions, such as the qualified electronic signature or the electronic proof of identity (§ 3a VwVfG).
The Univerx Channel is an optional add-on designed for both: identification with the online ID card and eIDAS signatures. Which form a service needs is set by the applicable law. More in the entry on eIDAS and the online ID.
#For everyone, including the less digital
The digital citizen office does not replace the counter. Anyone who prefers to come in books the same appointment in person. Both routes share appointment booking, flow and case.
Citizens with little online experience gain the most from the conversation. A person explains and guides them through the form instead of leaving them alone with an online application. Real-time translation helps with other languages; for the interfaces WCAG 2.1 AA is the goal.
#For small and mid-sized municipalities
Not every municipality runs its own contact centre. The digital citizen office is therefore designed as a bookable service that municipal IT providers can offer to many councils. Each council keeps its own services, appointments and data.
Several German federal states fund the development of digital citizen services in their municipalities. Whether and how your project qualifies is for your state to confirm; we provide the solution description for it.
How the digital citizen office fits into the full platform for citizen service is shown on the public sector page. The guide to digital citizen service describes the path from pilot to rollout.
Building blocks
The capabilities behind it.
These capabilities and add-ons carry the solution. Each one is described on its own – with flow, use and rules.
- Add-on
Univerx Channel
Identity, signature and resolution in one contact.
- eIDAS
- DSGVO
- BFSG
- Univerx Contact Center
Appointment booking
Book, move and remind appointments online: on website, app, chatbot or voicebot, by video, phone or in person. Capacity comes from scheduling; reminders and a waiting list keep the slots filled.
Learn more - Univerx Contact Center
Video engagement & video advice
Video in the browser without a download, started from chat, messaging or a running call. One-way and two-way video, screen share, waiting room and appointments; recording only with consent.
Learn more - Univerx Contact Center
Co-browse & screen share
The agent sees the customer's page and guides her through it, with no download and with sensitive fields masked. For forms, applications and everything that is hard to explain on the phone.
Learn more - Univerx Contact Center
Secure payments in the conversation
Customers pay by phone keypad, in a secure payment field in chat or via a payment link, without card or bank details reaching agents, the recording or the transcript. Designed for PCI DSS.
Learn more - Univerx Cloud
Process automation & guided workflows
Build flows and guided forms without code: branching, data actions in connected systems, approvals, timers and error paths. In customer contact, self-service and the back office, with versions, test mode and release.
Learn more - Univerx Outbound
Notifications
Automated reminders and notices with no agent involved: appointment confirmations, delivery status, deadlines, outage information. By SMS, email, messaging or voice message, with a way to reply.
Learn more - Univerx AI
Real-time translation
Chat, messaging, email and calls in the customer's language, while agents work in their own. Translated both ways in real time, with a glossary for specialist terms and a transcript in both languages.
Learn more
Industries
Where this flow often starts.
Industries in which this use case is often the first step – each with its own rules and add-ons.
Public sector
The complete platform for citizen service: every channel in one queue, public service numbers and hotlines with AI agents, appointment booking, video, secure messaging and translation. Plus the digital citizen office for a visit to the authority in one session. Designed for social data protection and accessibility.
- Digital citizen office
- Citizen service on every channel
Frequently asked questions
Does the digital citizen office replace the counter?
No. The in-person appointment stays. The digital citizen office is an additional route for everyone who cannot or does not want to come in. Both routes use the same appointment booking and the same case.
What about citizens who are less at home online?
They are the ones the conversation helps most: a person guides them through the form instead of leaving them alone with an online application. One link is enough, a phone or computer with a camera will do.
Is the signature legally valid?
The Univerx Channel is designed for identification with the online ID card and eIDAS signatures. Which form a service requires is set by the applicable law; we clarify that with your department. We make commitments only once they hold.
Is this worthwhile for a small municipality too?
The digital citizen office is designed as a bookable service that municipal IT providers can offer to many councils. A municipality does not need to build its own operation for it.
Is funding available?
Several German federal states fund the development of digital citizen services in their municipalities. Whether and how your project qualifies is something to clarify with your state; we provide the solution description for it.
Does Univerx replace our case management system?
No. Your systems of record stay in the lead. Univerx connects them through interfaces, reads from them and writes results back.
Further reading
Guides2 November 2026 · 11 min readDigital citizen service: identity, documents, case
How councils and agencies resolve requests without broken hand-offs: from first contact through identification, signature and document checks to the reply, with Univerx Channel, Semantic² and a look at social data protection and written-form rules.
Public sector30 October 2026 · 5 min readCitizen service without broken hand-offs: what has to come together
Broken hand-offs rarely happen in the portal. They happen at the handovers. Four building blocks close them: identity, shared view, signature and case.
Europe & regulation31 October 2026 · 4 min readThe online ID card in customer contact: what works today
ID copies, selfies, callbacks to the number on file: identification is often the slowest part of a request. With the online ID card it becomes one step in the conversation.
Practice & how-to2 November 2026 · 5 min readAccessible web messaging: ten points to start with
A chat window is small, but it packs in almost everything that makes accessibility hard. Ten points to start with.
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