What happens if you miss an electronic notice

Key rules

• Ten days: A notice you do not open within 10 calendar days of being made available is treated as rejected, and the procedure and its deadlines carry on.
• No repeat notice: You cannot ask for the notice to be sent again.
• Challenge: You can challenge the act that relied on the notice if you could not access it or it was defective.
• Speed: Act as soon as you find the notice, because delay weakens a challenge.

An unread notice still counts

If you do not open an electronic notice within 10 calendar days of it being made available, it is treated as rejected. The procedure carries on and your deadlines run, whether or not you ever read it. Calendar days include weekends and holidays. The count starts the day after the notice is placed in your mailbox (DEHú), and the notice then shows as "expirada".

The administration does not have to send it again. There is no right to a repeat notice.

This rule applies if you are obliged to use electronic notices or chose them. If neither is true for you, an unread notice is not treated as rejected.

How it changes your deadlines

Your response deadline starts on the first of these two days:

• the day after you open the notice, or
• the day after the 10 days run out, if you never opened it.

Opening the notice early starts your clock early. Waiting does not give you extra time.

Check how the deadline is counted. A deadline in working days leaves out Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. A deadline in months runs from date to date. The notice itself states which one applies. The timeline below shows the sequence.

If a notice expired unread

First, open your mailbox and read the notice. Then see whether you have a ground to challenge. You can challenge the act that relied on the notice, not the expiry itself. These grounds are possible:

• A technical or material problem made it impossible for you to access the notice. You must prove this.
• You are not obliged to use electronic notices and never chose them.
• The notice was defective. For example, it went to the wrong address, it lacked content such as how to appeal, or it was not made available properly.
• You were signed up for electronic notices without being told.

A defective notice only takes effect from the day you act on it, for example by filing an appeal. So an appeal can raise the defect.

Act at once. Waiting weakens a challenge.

Which appeal to file

For most administrative acts, file an appeal against the resulting act with the body that issued it, or ask for the proceedings to be declared void for lack of valid notice. In a tax matter, file a recurso de reposición or a reclamación económico-administrativa, usually within one month of the act that relied on the notice. A court procedure uses a separate request to annul the proceedings, made before the court.

Deadlines differ by procedure, so read the deadline written in the act itself. Ask a lawyer to review your case, because the outcome depends on the facts and the evidence you have.

Timeline and deadlines

• The notice is made available to you in your electronic mailbox (DEHú): day 0

• The notice is deemed rejected and shows as expired. The procedure carries on and your response deadline starts the next day: the day after the 10 calendar days end, if you have not opened it

• Count a deadline in working days without Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. Count a deadline in months from date to date: from the first day of your response deadline

• Challenge the act that relied on the notice if you could not access it or it was defective: as soon as you find out

• In a tax matter, file a recurso de reposición or a reclamación económico-administrativa: within 1 month of the act that relied on the notice

What to watch out for

• An unread notice still counts against you: If you do not open a notice within 10 calendar days, it counts as delivered. Your response deadline runs even though you never read it, and you can miss a payment or an appeal. Check your electronic mailbox regularly, including after weekends and holidays, and open any new notice straight away.

• Waiting weakens a challenge: If you could not access the notice for technical reasons, you must prove it. Delay and missing evidence make that harder. Challenge as soon as you find out. Keep screenshots, error messages and dates showing you could not get in.

• There is no way to ask for the notice to be sent again: You cannot simply ask for a repeat. The act that followed the notice stays in force unless you challenge it, and a tax matter has a time limit of 1 month. File an appeal against the act itself, or ask for the proceedings to be declared void. Say that access was impossible or the notice was defective, and read the time limit in the act.

• Not every notice has this effect: If you were not obliged to use electronic notices and never chose them, an unread notice is not treated as rejected. The same applies if you had no real way to access it. If either applies to you, say so in your challenge and ask for proper notification by another route.

Frequently asked questions

Can I challenge an electronic notice that expired unread?

Yes, you can challenge it if you could not technically access it, if you were not obliged to use electronic notices and never chose them, or if the notice was defective. A defective notice is one with a wrong address or missing content such as appeal information. You must prove a technical problem yourself, so ask at once.

Can I ask the administration to send the notice again?

No, there is no special right to have an expired electronic notice sent again. Instead you challenge the act that relied on the notice, using an ordinary appeal (recurso de alzada or reposición) or a request to declare the proceedings void. Argue that access was impossible or that the notice was never properly made available.

How long do I have to challenge in a tax matter?

In a tax matter you have one month from the act that relied on the notice. You file a recurso de reposición, an appeal to the same office, or a reclamación económico-administrativa, a claim to the tax tribunal. Other procedures have their own time limits, which the act itself states.

Does filing an appeal fix a defective notice?

Yes, a defective notice only takes effect from the day you act on it, for example by filing an appeal. So you can lodge your challenge and point out the defect in the same document.