techport HR Suite

    Digital Personnel File: Is There an Obligation from 2027?

    Many HR departments are currently wondering whether an obligation to maintain digital personnel files will apply from 2027. The short answer: there is no general statutory obligation to maintain personnel files digitally. Neither in 2026 nor in 2027. What actually changes as of 1 January 2027 concerns payroll documentation and social pension insurance company audits. And that affects a proportion of the documents that many companies store in the personnel file.

    This guide explains what applies, where the impression of a legal obligation comes from, and what you should attend to before the end of the year. Status: 23 October 2026. This text does not constitute legal or tax advice.

    Key takeaways at a glance

    • No obligation to maintain a digital personnel file. No law dictates that the entire personnel file must be kept electronically.
    • Electronic payroll documentation from 1 January 2027 for everyone. Employers have already been required to add specific records to payroll documentation electronically since 2022 (§ 8 Abs. 2 BVV). Exemption upon application is only possible until 31 December 2026.
    • Electronic company audit mandatory from 1 January 2027. The waiver option for electronic data transmission to the statutory pension insurance institution (§ 126 SGB IV) also expires at the end of 2026.
    • Only for new transactions. Historic paper documents do not need to be digitised retrospectively.

    Where the impression of an obligation comes from

    The confusion has an understandable cause. The Beitragsverfahrensverordnung (BVV - Contribution Procedure Ordinance) lists documents that must be kept electronically as part of payroll documentation. Amongst them are documents that in many organisations are traditionally kept in the personnel file: the copy of the statement of working conditions, proof of residence and work permits, or declarations regarding carer's leave (Pflegezeit). Those who were previously exempt and maintain these documents solely on paper will indeed have to take action from 2027.

    Added to this is the fact that many software vendors promote the topic under the banner of "digital personnel files". Legally, however, it is about payroll documentation under social security law, not about the personnel file as a whole. You may continue to retain formal warnings, references, or performance reviews in paper form. If your written employment contract substitutes for the written statement under the Nachweisgesetz (§ 2 Abs. 5 NachwG - Evidence Act), clarify with your tax advisor whether a copy of it must be included electronically in the payroll documentation.

    What really applies from 1 January 2027

    Electronic payroll documentation under § 8 BVV

    Employers must maintain payroll documentation for every employee (§ 28f SGB IV). What details must be included is governed by § 8 Abs. 1 BVV. § 8 Abs. 2 BVV determines which documents must be added to the payroll documentation in electronic form. Examples from the list include:

    • Documents concerning nationality and residence permit for employees from outside the EEA, as well as the work permit
    • Data of submitted statutory notifications
    • The copy of the written statement under § 2 Nachweisgesetz
    • Declarations of marginally employed workers (Minijobber), such as opting out of statutory pension insurance or details of secondary employment
    • Applications for exemption from compulsory pension insurance
    • Proof of parental status and number of children for statutory long-term care insurance (Pflegeversicherung)
    • Declaration of taking carer's leave (Pflegezeit)
    • Time-tracking records pursuant to § 17 Abs. 1 Mindestlohngesetz (MiLoG - Minimum Wage Act)

    In principle, this obligation has existed since 1 January 2022. Under § 8 Abs. 3 Satz 2 BVV, employers could apply to the audit service of the Deutsche Rentenversicherung (German Statutory Pension Insurance) for an exemption until 31 December 2026. This option is coming to an end. From 1 January 2027, electronic maintenance will apply to all employers without exception.

    Electronically supported company audit (euBP)

    The pension insurance institution audits whether employers fulfil their contribution obligations at least every four years (§ 28p SGB IV). For this audit, the required data must be transmitted electronically using a system-certified program (§ 28p Abs. 6a SGB IV). Upon application, this could be waived for periods up to 31 December 2026 (§ 126 SGB IV). The Deutsche Rentenversicherung states: For all payroll accounting cases from 1 January 2027, the transmission of euBP data is mandatory.

    In practice, this primarily affects your payroll accounting system or your tax advisor. Clarify with them how data from payroll accounting and financial ledger systems will be transmitted from 2027.

    Only new transactions, no retrospective digitisation

    The Common Principles (Gemeinsame Grundsätze) of the social insurance agencies under § 9a BVV clarify: Those who were exempt must maintain documents electronically for all new matters and events from 1 January 2027 at the latest. Retrospective electronic maintenance for earlier periods is not strictly required. You can therefore leave your paper archive in place until statutory retention periods elapse.

    Documents requiring signatures

    Certain declarations by employees require written form, such as the application for exemption from statutory pension insurance. The Common Principles outline three scenarios for this:

    1. If the employee submits the declaration with a qualified electronic signature, it is stored in this format.
    2. If the original arrives on paper and the employer scans it, the employer must apply an advanced electronic signature to the file. The paper original may then be destroyed.
    3. If the employer scans it without this signature, the original paper document must be kept in addition.

    It is impermissible to store unsigned declarations that require a signature merely as a PDF or image file. Permitted formats for requested documents are PDF as well as image files in JPEG, BMP, PNG, or TIFF, using one file per document with an unambiguous, descriptive filename.

    What is already run digitally today

    Independent of 2027, several processes concerning personnel records are already digital or permitted to be:

    • Electronic certificate of incapacity for work (eAU): Since 1 January 2023, employers retrieve incapacity-to-work data for statutory health insurance members directly from the health insurance fund (§ 109 SGB IV). The yellow sick-note slip for the employer has been eliminated.
    • Proof of employment terms in text form: Since 1 January 2025, employers may transmit essential terms of employment in text form, such as via email (§ 2 Abs. 1 Satz 2 NachwG, Bureaucracy Relief Act IV / Bürokratieentlastungsgesetz IV). Prerequisite: The document is accessible, savable, printable, and the employer requests proof of receipt. This does not apply to industries under § 2a Schwarzarbeitsbekämpfungsgesetz (e.g. construction and hospitality).
    • Electronic employment reference: With the employee’s consent, the reference (Arbeitszeugnis) may be issued in electronic form (§ 109 Abs. 3 GewO - Trade Regulation Code), meaning with a qualified electronic signature.

    Retention periods: What must be kept for how long

    There is no uniform retention period for the personnel file as a whole. The statutory periods of the respective acts apply, and under the GDPR, data must be erased as soon as it is no longer required. A selection:

    DocumentPeriodLegal basis
    Payroll documentation and contribution statementsUntil the end of the calendar year following the last company audit§ 28f Abs. 1 SGB IV
    Payroll account (Lohnkonto)Until the end of the sixth calendar year following the last wage payment§ 41 Abs. 1 Satz 9 EStG
    Accounting vouchersEight years§ 147 Abs. 3 AO
    Other tax-relevant documents, such as commercial correspondenceSix years§ 147 Abs. 3 AO
    Records of working hours exceeding eight hours per working dayAt least two years§ 16 Abs. 2 ArbZG
    Working time records for mini-jobs and in sectors under § 2a SchwarzArbGAt least two years§ 17 Abs. 1 MiLoG

    Define for each type of document in the personnel file which retention period applies and who triggers deletion. Doing this digitally is significantly simpler than in a physical filing cabinet, but it is not mandatory.

    The benefits of a digital personnel file regardless

    Even without a statutory mandate, day-to-day operations strongly favour a digital file. Multiple locations can access the same documents. Permissions can be managed by role, and access can be audited. Employees have a statutory right to inspect their personnel file (§ 83 BetrVG - Works Constitution Act), which can be facilitated much more easily digitally. Moreover, deletion deadlines can be automated technically rather than tracked via reminder folders.

    Two aspects form part of the implementation. Firstly, the works council has co-determination rights when introducing a system designed to monitor or process employee data (§ 87 Abs. 1 Nr. 6 BetrVG). Secondly, the principles of the GDPR apply: only necessary data, clear access rights, deletion once the purpose ceases. Find out more in the guide GDPR-compliant AI and data privacy in HR. How to establish clean master data is detailed in our advisory section on HR master data.

    Checklist up to 31 December 2026

    1. Review exemptions. Clarify whether your organisation has an exemption under § 8 Abs. 3 BVV or a waiver under § 126 SGB IV. Both expire at the end of 2026.
    2. Coordinate payroll. Ask your payroll software vendor or tax advisor how euBP data will be submitted from 2027 and where the electronic payroll documents reside.
    3. Categorise documents. Go through the list in § 8 Abs. 2 BVV and check which of these documents are currently created solely on paper in your business.
    4. Define protocol for paper. Decide whether you will scan signed originals with an advanced signature or retain the physical papers alongside.
    5. Standardise naming and filing. Use one file per document with a clear filename: document type, person, and period.
    6. Define permissions and deletion rules. Who is permitted to view which documents, and when must they be deleted?
    7. Involve the works council if you are introducing a new software system for this purpose.

    For advice on payroll accounting itself, our team is available in the Payroll practice area.

    How the techport HR Suite supports you

    The techport HR Suite is not a payroll calculation engine. For wage calculation and data submission for statutory audits, you continue to work with your payroll software or tax accountant. For the rest of the personnel records, the suite provides a comprehensive digital personnel file:

    • Master data, employment terms (including multiple contracts, weekly hours, salary grades, cost centres), organisational structure, HR measures, and history in a single place
    • Upload documents as PDF or scan, with document categories, four visibility tiers, versioning, and an access log per document
    • Retention and erasure periods with automated deletion, subject access information, and export per individual
    • Roles and permissions verified server-side, alongside an unbroken audit trail
    • Contracts and certificates generated from templates, complete with validation for missing details and automated filing in the record
    • Employee self-service allowing staff to review their own details and documents directly

    Hiring an applicant in the recruitment module automatically creates their personnel file and starts onboarding. Hosted on servers in Germany, or optionally deployed on-premises in your infrastructure. Discover all modules on the techport HR Suite overview page.

    Let us talk about your personnel records

    In a live demo, we will guide you through the digital personnel file within the techport HR Suite, showing documents, permission controls, and retention workflows. Pricing is provided upon request, tailored to your employee headcount and selected modules.

    Request demoRequest pricing

    Frequently asked questions

    Will digital personnel files become mandatory from 2027?

    No, there is no statutory obligation to implement a digital personnel file from 2027 either. However, from 1 January 2027, all employers must maintain specific payroll records under § 8 Abs. 2 BVV electronically, as the transitional exemption is ending. Some of these documents are traditionally filed in the personnel file in many companies, making a review worthwhile.

    From when must payroll documentation be kept electronically?

    In principle, since 1 January 2022. Employers were able to apply to the audit service of the Deutsche Rentenversicherung for an exemption until 31 December 2026. From 1 January 2027, this is no longer possible. From that point on, electronic record-keeping applies to all new transactions, regardless of company size.

    Is there an exemption from the digital personnel file obligation?

    An exemption is not needed because there is no statutory obligation to maintain a digital personnel file. For electronic payroll records, an exemption upon application existed under § 8 Abs. 3 BVV. It applies only until 31 December 2026. The statutory ordinance text cites this date without alteration (status: 23 October 2026).

    Do historic paper records have to be digitised?

    No, historic paper documents do not need to be digitised retrospectively. According to the Common Principles of the social insurance agencies, electronic storage is only mandatory for new transactions and events. Existing paper files should simply be kept until the end of their respective statutory retention period and then destroyed in accordance with data protection rules. You can still switch over voluntarily at any time.

    Can I destroy paper documents after scanning them?

    That depends on the type of document. For payroll documents requiring a handwritten signature, you may destroy the paper version if you apply an advanced electronic signature to the scan. Without this signature, you must continue to store the physical original. For other documents, check their evidentiary value and relevant retention periods.

    Is a specific software compulsory?

    No, software from a specific vendor is not mandated. However, for electronic company audits, data must be submitted from a system-certified program, typically your payroll accounting system. For the remaining personnel records, you are entirely free to choose whether to use paper, a network file structure, or a specialised HR software solution.

    Sources

    Further reading

    techport HR Suite

    HR Software

    HR software with personnel administration, recruiting, AI candidate evaluation and company knowledge on one platform. Hosted in Germany. Request a demo now.

    techport HR Suite

    Digital Personnel File

    Digital personnel file with master data, contracts and documents, role-based permissions and access logging. Part of the techport HR Suite. Request a demo now.

    techport HR Suite

    Leave Management

    Leave management with requests, remaining leave, team calendar, and sickness notifications. Managers approve in the browser, HR keeps track. Request a demo.

    techport HR Suite

    Onboarding and Offboarding

    Onboarding software starting right from offer acceptance: personnel files and tasks for HR, IT, and managers are created automatically. Including offboarding. Request demo.

    More from techport.ai
    Software

    Custom process software for mid-sized companies.

    IT consulting

    Strategy, architecture, operations and security.

    IT maturity check

    Ten minutes to a clear position.

    HR maturity check

    24 statements, a result per field.

    Funding

    BAFA grant plus more than 50 programmes for delivery.

    Process in practice

    How workflows become reliable software.

    Data and AI

    Analysis, forecasts and assistance systems.

    About us

    The people behind techport.ai.