Skip to content
Call, 0511 – 47 55 58 11
info@lexict.legal

The Deutschland-Stack

The Deutschland-Stack is not a product to buy but a set of shared core components. For suppliers, competition shifts away from their own platform towards the ability to connect to someone else's interfaces.

Public sector digitisation in Germany has fragmented into individual projects over the years. The Deutschland-Stack is an attempt to put a shared layer underneath: components everyone can use, instead of one solution per authority for the same task.

Where the programme stands

  1. 03/2026

    Key points agreed in the IT Planning Council

    A decision on a uniform platform core and an initial portfolio of components.

  2. 06/2026

    Agreement between federal and state governments

    All sixteen states undertake to connect their systems to the core components. The federal government carries development and operation.

  3. ongoing

    Consultations on technology fields

    Among them generative and agentic AI as well as virtualised infrastructure.

  4. until 2028

    Step by step build-up

    The components arrive one after another rather than on a single switchover date.

The legally interesting points

What matters

  • Procurement lawWhere core components are prescribed, the subject matter of the contract shifts. Requirements on interfaces and standards must be described so that they do not narrow competition unlawfully.
  • Rights of useShared components presuppose rights that reach beyond the procuring body. That hits supplier pricing directly.
  • Data protectionShared components raise the question of controllership afresh, particularly for identification and for data exchange across authorities.
  • SovereigntyThe claim to remain independent of individual vendors has to appear in the contracts, otherwise it stays a declaration of intent.

What we do here

We support suppliers in tenders that demand connectivity, and public bodies on how to translate those requirements into tender documents that hold. Where the position is open we say so, rather than claiming a certainty that does not yet exist.

A tender that demands connectivity?

We sort out what may be required and what belongs in the pricing.

Ask for advice

Frequently asked questions

What exactly is the Deutschland-Stack?

A federal programme to provide shared technical core components to federal, state and local government instead of letting every body build its own. It covers identification through the German eID and the EU digital identity wallet as well as standards for data exchange between authorities. It is being built over several years.

Is its use mandatory?

There is no general statutory duty to use it. In June 2026, however, the federal government and all sixteen states agreed to connect their systems to the core components. In practice this takes effect through funding conditions and tender documents, and there it does become binding for suppliers.

What does it mean for suppliers?

Tenders will presuppose interfaces, standards and data portability where they used to describe features. Anyone offering a closed solution will struggle to justify it. Conversely, proprietary identity and delivery components lose importance.

Related