Online signatures on openPetition are both a declaration of intent and a signature that cannot easily be imitated by third parties and are therefore equivalent to a handwritten signature.

By confirming a signature via a unique, non-reproducible email address, the signature of the declaration of intent can be assigned to an individual person.

By providing your full name and address, each signature can be checked for accuracy by the residents' register.

The openPetition software recognizes the legitimacy of a signature based on the address and checks whether this address is part of the affected region. This is important for calculating the quorum.

An online petition can only be signed on the page that also contains the title of the petition and the full text of the petition.

The correctness of the declaration of intent is ensured by the ability to contact the signatories on a random basis.

A petition can generally be signed without registration. This also applies to signatures on collection sheets.

Providing a valid email address is required to sign a petition online.

Only your name and address are required on signature forms. The postal code is especially important, as otherwise signatures cannot be counted toward the quorum.

Signatures are only admissible if the signatories sign in their own name with their full first and last names and their officially registered address (only the name and place are publicly visible).

The street and house number of the signatures are also shown in abbreviated form in the final list of signatures and are not fully visible to either the initiator or the recipient of the petition.

To strengthen the binding nature of petitions, we follow the procedures and requirements of the Bundestag: Each signatory must be clearly identifiable as a real person.

Providing your name and address reduces the risk of fake signatures. If we want to strengthen petitions as a tool for civic participation and make them binding, then we need to be able to rely on them.

"Signing privately" means that your name will not be displayed on the openPetition website. However, your name will still be saved and appear in the signature list, which will be sent to the addressee.

The signature list includes the full name, city, and postal code, but not the full address. In the case of an anonymous signature, this ensures that the signatures belong to real people.

You can subsequently anonymize your signature. If your browser is still open, you can edit the signature directly on the petition page. If not, please log in and find the relevant petition under "My Signatures." You can subsequently edit your signature on the petition page.

Signatures set to "secret" are always displayed encrypted, even for the petition initiator and the recipient. Only openPetition can decrypt the data. This feature is especially useful for people who do not want to share their data with the recipient for security reasons.

There are two options here:

a) You can revoke, edit or resign your signature directly on the respective petition page.

You can change the following settings: public/private, your comment, or the urgency and concern information.

b) You can also view and edit your signatures at any time in your user account.

To do so, log in to openPetition . (If you've forgotten your password or haven't created one yet, click here.)

Once you're logged in, you can manage your signature here. Next to each petition you've participated in is a small pencil. Clicking on this will allow you to edit your signature. Clicking on the trash can will allow you to delete it.

There are two options here:

a) You can revoke, edit or resign your signature directly on the respective petition page.

You can change the following settings: public/private, your comment, or the urgency and concern information.

b) You can also view and edit your signatures at any time in your user account.

To do so, log in to openPetition . (If you've forgotten your password or haven't created one yet, click here.)

Once you're logged in, you can manage your signature here. Next to each petition you've participated in is a small pencil. Clicking on this will allow you to edit your signature. Clicking on the trash can will allow you to delete it.

All signatures are counted towards the total.

Only signatures from the region concerned are counted towards the quorum (DE).

In Germany, yes. The right to petition under Article 17 of the Basic Law extends to everyone living in Germany, including minors.

It should be assumed that minors can understand the content of a petition and express their will of their own volition.

There are two options here:

a) You can revoke your signature directly on the respective petition page.

b) You can also view and edit your signatures at any time in your user account.

To do so, log in to openPetition . (If you've forgotten your password or haven't created one yet, click here.)

Once you're logged in, you can manage your signature here. Next to each petition you've participated in is a small pencil. Clicking on this will allow you to edit your signature. Clicking on the trash can will allow you to delete it.

Yes. To do so, log in to openPetition with your old email address and password. If you don't have a password or have forgotten it, you can request a new one here.

If you are logged in, you can change your email address here.

Almost all email addresses are valid.

So-called "disposable addresses" are excluded, as they do not guarantee any conclusions about the identity and traceability of the signatories.

If you expect an automatic email from us but it doesn't arrive in your inbox, there may be several reasons:

• Sometimes sending or delivering emails takes a little longer. Please be patient for at least 10 minutes.
• Your email inbox is full.
• Some email providers mistakenly identify our emails as spam and move them to the spam/junk folder. (Please check these folders!)
• Some email providers mistakenly consider our servers to be spam mailing lists and reject our emails. In such a case, we will block your email as a future recipient. Please send us an email from the affected email address to info@openpetition.net.
• If you have email forwarding set up, this may result in our emails being rejected. The technical reason for this is that, due to spam protection, our emails can only be sent from our server, and an incorrectly configured forwarding makes it appear as if a third-party server is sending emails on our behalf.
• For data protection reasons and to protect third parties, we only send certain emails to recipients whose email addresses are known to us (through signature or registration). For example, the "forgot password" form generates a success message even if too many requests have already been sent and even if there are no users with that email address in our system.

You can do something to ensure our emails reach you. Some email providers allow you to specify trusted senders. Our automatically generated emails are all sent by openpetition.org .

Each email address is linked to a unique address. Therefore, if you enter a new address for a signature, an error message will appear. However, you can easily update your address:

Log in to openPetition with your email address and password. If you don't have a password or have forgotten it, you can request a new one here.

If you are logged in, you can edit your personal information here.

Here you can enter and save your new address. Then you can easily sign petitions again.

You can change your password here. A field will open where you can enter your email address. Then click "Send link."

You will receive an email to the address you provided. Click the link in the email. The link must be clicked within 30 minutes, otherwise it will expire. A new window will open asking you to enter a new password. Then click "Change password." You will receive a confirmation message. You can then log in with your new password.

Please log in with your email address and password.

Here you can choose whether you want to receive the openPetition newsletter, petition recommendations from your neighborhood, or news from supported petitions.

You can also subscribe to or unsubscribe from updates for individual petitions as follows: Go to the petition page. There, you'll find a small star directly above the petition image. The same star will also appear further down the page next to the updates. Click on the star to subscribe to or unsubscribe from updates.

At the very bottom of every email you receive, you will find a link to unsubscribe from the respective newsletter.

Log in with your email address and password.

You can delete your account here.

Note: If you are currently initiating a petition, you must first end the petition.

Information on data protection can be found in the privacy policy. If you have any questions, please contact datenschutz@openpetition.net.

openPetition supports the https protocol. If you want to encrypt the connection between your browser and openPetition , please enable https. To do so, go to your browser's address bar and change the string "http" to "https."

For data protection reasons, email addresses will not be shared. Postal addresses are also not fully visible to petition initiators. The petition initiator has the opportunity to send messages to all supporters via a contact form, provided the content of the message relates to the petition and its purpose.

You can tell whether the online ID function is activated by a small symbol on the back of your ID card: a square with a blue border containing two semicircles in green and blue. If this symbol is present, the function was usually activated when the ID card was issued. If you are unsure, you can also check the status using the AusweisApp app or by contacting your local registration office.

When you use the online ID function for the first time, a message often appears in the AusweisApp that the provider "Governikus GmbH & Co. KG" wants to access your data. This can seem confusing at first. Don't worry: Governikus is the official technical service provider behind the AusweisApp, which is operated on behalf of the federal government. This means: Governikus = AusweisApp. Your data is not stored permanently during use; it is processed only for the moment of identity verification and transmitted securely using encrypted technology. You retain control over which data is transmitted at all times.

To use the online ID function, you need:

• An identity card with activated online function
• Your six-digit ID PIN (You received this by mail after your ID card was issued. If you have forgotten your PIN, you can have it reset at your registration office.)
• A smartphone with NFC function or a card reader
• The free AusweisApp (This app is available for Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. It enables the connection between your ID card and the online service. The app can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play Store.)

This is how it works:

• Install the AusweisApp on your device
• Open the app and follow the instructions
• Hold your ID card against your smartphone (or card reader). Tip: Place your ID card on a table and your smartphone on top of your ID card.
• Enter your ID PIN to securely identify yourself

A new petition can be created easily and without prior registration in 3 steps:

Assign titles and exclude similar, ongoing petitions: Describe your concern or request in a few words. Make sure that no petition already exists for your issue. openPetition lists similar petitions if their titles contain the same words. If there is a petition that overlaps with your petition's content, it's better to support the existing petition with your vote and add content points with a PRO post on the debate page. Your cause won't be helped if you have to compete for supporters with a similar petition.

Information about the petition and the author of the petition: Mandatory fields are marked as such. Please enter your valid email address. Using your email address and a cookie stored on your system, you can log in later to manage your petition.

Activate petition: Check the spelling and grammar of the text. While changes to the text of an ongoing petition are always possible, they are visible to everyone. To activate the petition, click the "Publish Petition" button.

Here you will find tips for creating successful petitions.

Since German petition law stipulates that a petition must be submitted by a legal entity or a natural person, there must be a spokesperson. The idea of a public petition is that everything is public and transparent. Therefore, the petitioner's name must always be the real name of a real person. We only anonymize the name in a few exceptional cases. One year after a petition is completed, personal data is automatically displayed anonymously.

Please log in with your email address and password.

Here you can make the necessary settings.

There, you must enter the name of the person primarily responsible for the petition under "Name." This is important so that we can assign each petition to a natural person and have a contact person.

Then, please check the box "I belong to an organization." Here you can enter the name of your organization or initiative.

When you start a petition, this organization will appear as the petition initiator. The name of the person primarily responsible for the petition will not be publicly visible.

The right to petition in the Basic Law (Article 17) includes everyone living in Germany, including minors.

We do not recommend submitting a petition for practice. Instead, you should carefully read our guide or contact us by email with your question - we will give you the help you need.

It is not yet possible to create draft petitions, but we are working on making this possible in the future.

No, the openPetition service is free. No matter how many petitions you write or how many signatures you collect, there are no costs for you. The only exception to this is if your petition is a campaign directed at a non-governmental organization. See this blog post (DE) for more information.

Your petition will not be used to monetize advertising. However, as a donation-funded platform, we appreciate any support. All donations from Germany are tax-deductible and help us support even more people with their concerns. Learn more about donations here.

Yes, that's possible. However, the most important thing is to address your concerns to the body that can actually decide on your petition.

At federal and state level, the petition should generally be addressed to the Petitions Committee, as this will forward your petition to the relevant ministry or specialist committee.

At the district and city level, the petition should be addressed to the council.

On openPetition , the petitioner decides on the length of the petition period. The period can be between one week and 12 months. In exceptional cases, a signature period of more than 12 months is possible after consultation with us.

For all administrative units in Germany, openPetition calculates a quorum, which indicates how many signatures from the respective region are needed for openPetition to request a statement from the responsible decision-makers. We publish the statements on our platform. For petitions that aren't assigned to a region or aren't addressed to a political body (petition committees/members of parliament, etc.), the petition initiator sets the collection goal themselves. You can find more information about the quorum here (DE).

Under the "Login" menu item, you can log in using the email address you provided when creating your petition. You will also need the password you previously created. You can change your password at any time.

After logging in, you can view your petitions here. Click the pencil next to your petition title to manage your petition.

You are now in the administration area of your petition and can perform various functions: Inform your supporters about news about the petition, view the handwritten collection sheets, or download all signatures for handover.

The title, text, collection period, image, and reason for a petition can still be changed. However, changes to the text and reason are visible to everyone.

After logging in, you can view your petitions here. Click the pencil icon next to your petition title to manage your petition. You can edit your petition under the "Edit" tab.

Supporters who have already signed will be informed of the changes and the reason for the change and can then decide whether they want to continue supporting the petition or withdraw their signature. Supporters only need to take action in the event of a withdrawal.

To do this, please click on "Email to Supporters" in your petition's administration area. There, under "Subject," you can set the status of your petition to, for example, "submitted," "successful," "withdrawn," or "closed."

Please also enter a headline and a message, and then send the email to the supporters at the end. This will notify all supporters of the status change, and the message will also be displayed under "News" on the petition page.

Please note: The status change will automatically end the collection period for your petition if it was still "in signing" until then.

Within the signature period, the petition can be extended by the petition initiator, but for a maximum of 12 months. In exceptional cases, after consultation with the openPetition editorial team, a petition can be extended beyond one year.

To extend/shorten the petition: Go to your petition's administration area. Click on the "Edit" tab. There you can enter the date you want the petition to end and save it.

To end your petition early: Go to your petition's management area. Click on the "Email to Supporters" tab. There you can change the status of your petition (e.g., to "Petition submitted") and simultaneously send a message to your supporters. Changing the status will automatically end the signing period. The message will also be displayed under "News" on your petition page.

A language version is a translation of an existing petition created by supporters or petition initiators. The function for creating a new language version can be found on the respective petition page under the petition text.

If you translate the petition, create a separate petition page for that language version of the petition. The new language version will have its own link for signing and sharing the petition in that language. All signatures, regardless of the language version, will be added together and displayed online.

As a translator, you have the opportunity to contact the signatories of this language version of the petition and inform them of updates. This is possible as long as the signature period is open. Translators can help those who started the original petition with requests for the petition in their language and with moderating signatures, comments, and debate contributions.

The signatures of all language versions are added up. Double entries of signatures across language versions will be sorted out.

Communication with supporters is possible in two ways:

You can leave information directly in the petition via a blog post; no email will be sent to supporters.

You can notify your supporters via email using the "Email to Supporters" option. The email will be sent from our server.

Please note that in this case, less is more: too many emails are perceived as unpleasant by most people.

News can currently only be edited by openPetition administrators. Please let us know if you would like to correct an error so we can correct it for you. Email to: info@openpetition.net

We are currently working on a feature that will allow petition starters to edit their own news.

Yes, petition starters can send emails to supporters up to five years after the petition collection ends.

You can mobilize your supporters and connect with them by sending messages. You can include an image or a PDF file with each message. Alternatively, you can create a blog post in your news feed; in this case, your supporters will not be contacted.

We can embed videos from the YouTube platform in the openpetition.de image, e.g.: https://www.openpetition.de/!gehoerlosekinder.

If you don't have your own YouTube channel, feel free to send us the video. We'll embed everything for you.

You can access the administration area by logging in and then selecting the relevant petition. In the administration area, all signature lists can be downloaded under "Print/Download."

Signature lists can be downloaded in HTML, PDF, and CSV formats. Simply select your preferred format and then click "Download Signature List."

For lists with many signatures, downloading the list may take a few seconds. The list is generated once a day with all signatures. Therefore, signatures from the same day may be missing while the collection is still ongoing.

A PDF document with 50,000 signatures is approximately 5 MB in size and contains approximately 1,000 pages. A stack of 1,000 pages of paper is 20 to 50 cm high, depending on the paper type.

Yes. After the petition deadline has passed, petitioners can download signature data and comments as a CSV file. To do so, select the "Print/Download" tab in the administration area. Generated in CSV format, the comments can be viewed and downloaded. Comments may be published anonymously. Naming the comment author is only permitted if the signature was not made anonymously. Whether a signature was made anonymously is indicated in the "Anonymous" column.

If you download your signatures as a CSV file, you can see in the "Quorum" column whether a signature was signed in the target region of the petition (supporter from XYZ).

The value "Yes" means "is part of the target region" and the value "No" means "is not part of the target region".

If you sort the table in Excel by the "Quorum" column, you will get all signatures from the target region first.

If the person or body you're addressing is a political entity, you should always submit the petition to the Petitions Committee. The most common option is to submit it by mail. All committees at the federal and state levels offer online submission.

You can hand over the petition to other decision-makers in a high-profile media campaign before, during, or after the official submission.

Invite as many people as possible, especially the press, to the handover. High-profile handovers greatly increase the public impact.

In parallel with the formal submission, offer to submit the petition signature lists either a) digitally as a PDF or CSV file on a data storage device or b) printed on paper.

You can find more tips on submission and handover here.

For reasons of transparency, it is generally not possible to delete a petition.

A petition can be withdrawn in the administration area. To do so, change the petition status to "Withdrawn: Petition will not be pursued further."

We can set the name of petition starters to "not public."

You can download the blank signature forms on the petition page: To the right (or below) the petition text, there is a box called "Sign on paper" with the "Download" button.

You can also upload completed signature forms here by clicking on the Upload button.

Here you can upload signature sheets that you have previously photographed or scanned – please note that only one-page PDFs are accepted!

Uploading signatures is only possible for supporters until 1 days after the end of the collection, and for petition starters until 7 days after the end of the collection.

To upload, simply select the photos and upload them using the file uploader. Then enter the zip codes of the supporters. While this isn't mandatory, otherwise the signatures won't count toward the quorum.

Yes. A signature sheet is always valid for a specific petition. It can be copied as often as you like to collect signatures for that petition. The barcode encodes a unique petition ID.

If neither the postal code nor the city were specified when uploading the collection sheets with handwritten signatures, our system cannot know which region the signatures belong to.

Petition initiators can subsequently adjust this in the administration area. They can simply send the petitioner a message. You'll find the "Ask the initiator a question" function on every petition page.

Signature lists can still be made available to the public for signing petitions. The GDPR hasn't changed this.

Signature sheets are uploaded to openPetition as images. The postal code and city of the handwritten data are saved.

It is in the nature of things that signatures on paper can be viewed by subsequent signatories. Those who sign are aware of this fact. A signature on a signature sheet constitutes consent to the collection of personal data in accordance with Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR.

We regularly present exemplary petitions on our homepage and via social media. However, this is only to showcase examples of well-crafted petitions and to demonstrate the breadth of topics covered on openPetition . The content and goals of these petitions are not decisive.

After signing, supporters are presented with some petitions that might be of interest to them, e.g. because they relate to their city, district, etc. or to similar topics.

These petitions are not selected for display by openPetition . The selection is made automatically based on the place of residence provided when signing or the subject of the signed petition.

It is the petitioners themselves who mark their petitions as successful or failed on our platform. Petitions with the status "the petition was (partially) approved" or "the petition contributed to the success" appear in the list of successful petitions.

Regardless, we at openPetition consider it a success when committed citizens manage to put a common concern on the political agenda and initiate a broad public discussion on the topic.

openPetition is recognized by the Berlin Tax Office for Corporations I as serving non-profit purposes because of its mission to promote education, democratic governance, and civic engagement. As a non-profit limited liability company (gGmbH), we are treated similarly to non-profit associations for tax purposes.

While non-profit organizations are more well-known, non-profit limited liability companies (GmbHs) are also common. For example, many German Red Cross rescue services and parts of the Evangelical Relief Organization (Evangelisches Hilfswerk) and the Diakoniewerk (Diakoniewerk) are registered as limited liability companies (GGmbHs). Like these organizations, openPetition is organized as a limited liability company (GGmbH) because the structures established by GmbH law, such as those regarding responsibilities, liability, and business activities, best suit our work. (Incidentally, not every organization is a non-profit organization.) Learn more in our Transparency Report (DE).

openPetition owns itself. Revenues cannot be distributed but are always used to operate the platform and achieve our goals. Learn more in our blog post on responsible ownership (DE).

Petitions are a different participatory tool than direct democratic initiatives such as citizens' petitions, popular initiatives, or referendums. openPetition is primarily a petition platform, but in some cases we have also supported the publication of a popular initiative. Because the use of digital signatures for popular initiatives and the like is currently not permitted in Germany, openPetition has made a form available online that anyone can download. Example: openpetition.de

We continue to work on how we can promote direct democratic participation by citizens and, above all, make it simpler and more transparent.

By the way: In most cases, it makes more sense to start a petition first and then, if the petition is unsuccessful, initiate an initiative or decision. This is because petitions have fewer hurdles, but are therefore also less binding. By petitioning, you can create a large circle of supporters that you can later address with your initiative.

Comments and debate contributions that violate the terms of use or are otherwise inappropriate can be reported by clicking on the [ ! ] symbol at the relevant location. If the same comment or contribution is reported by multiple people, it will be blocked by openPetition .

Please report petitions that violate the Terms of Use by emailing info@openpetition.net with the subject: "Terms of Use, Violation".

The comments should document the personal motivation of the signatories. Only those who sign a petition can also comment on it.

Alternatively, visitors can exchange pro and con arguments on the “Debate” page.

The terms of use for comments and debates can be found in our Netiquette (DE).

Comments can contain a maximum of 2,500 characters.

Generally, we only want to receive donations that were actually made intentionally. We review each chargeback request individually and, as a gesture of goodwill, are prepared to retroactively charge back donations made in error for up to three months. We chose this timeframe because we assume everyone has the opportunity to review their accounts within three months. We also set the three-month limit because each chargeback incurs additional costs due to transaction fees. Furthermore, we calculate financially based on the donations received.

For refund questions, please contact us directly at spenden@openpetition.org to avoid unnecessary costs such as dispute fees.