State-Approved Conciliation Procedure

If the parties are unable to reach an agreement despite the conciliation hearing or the defendant does not agree to participate, a so-called certificate of unsuccessfulness will be issued. When this certificate is issued, the suspension of the limitation period ends six months later (Section 204 (2) BGB). This means that the parties can then pursue other avenues, such as court proceedings, if they wish.

The procedure is initiated by submitting a dispute resolution application or conciliation application (formerly known as “Güteverfahren” in German). You can submit this application using the online form on the website. The underlying facts and the asserted claim must be clearly described in the application. A qualified electronic or handwritten signature is required depending on the submission method (email, beA, fax or post). The application can be filed either by one party alone or jointly with the other party.

A dispute resolution procedure is a statutory way of resolving disputes out of court. It serves to end disputes in a structured, confidential and legally secure manner without having to go directly to court. The main advantages are legal certainty thanks to a potentially enforceable agreement (Section 794 of the German Code of Civil Procedure (ZPO)), the suspension of the statute of limitations from the time the application is filed (Section 204 of the German Civil Code (BGB)), confidentiality thanks to the statutory duty of confidentiality, the voluntary nature of the agreement and the often faster settlement.

The suspension of the limitation period ends six (6) months after the date on which CenaCom initiates the notification to the creditor of the debtor’s decision not to participate in the dispute resolution proceedings (formerly: conciliation proceedings). This requires an internal CenaCom process that corresponds to the date on the CenaCom certificate of no success.

An out-of-court dispute resolution procedure at CenaCom takes an average of 2-4 months from application to conclusion. In comparison, court proceedings can take 12-24 months or longer.

Typical procedure:

• Week 1-2: Examination and forwarding of the application to the other party
• Week 3-6: Response period of the other party and appointment agreement
• Week 7-12: Conciliation hearing(s) with our experienced mediator(s)
• Week 13-16: Conclusion by settlement or certificate of unsuccessfulness

The duration depends on the complexity of the case, the willingness of the parties to cooperate and the number of hearings required.

A qualified electronic signature (QES) is the legally strongest form of digital signature and is legally equivalent to a handwritten signature.

It fulfills the following requirements:

• Clear assignment to the person of the signatory
• Recognition of changes to the document after signing
• Legal certainty in accordance with the EU eIDAS Regulation and the German Trust Services Act
• Issued by qualified trust service providers (e.g. D-Trust, Bundesdruckerei)

1. create an application online and generate it as a PDF:

1. Complete the dispute resolution request form online here
2. Click on“Generate application as PDF“
3. Save the PDF on your device

2. check before signing! (IMPORTANT)

Check the PDF carefully before signing:

• Completeness of all details
• Correct spelling of names and addresses
• Correct dates and amounts
• Comprehensible statement of facts and description of the asserted claim(s)
• claim(s) asserted

3. PDF with qualified electronic signature:

The PDF MUST be provided with a qualified electronic signature!
Providers for qualified electronic signatures (selection):

• Adobe Sign (with qualified certificates):
• D-Trust: https://www.d-trust.net
• Bundesdruckerei: https://www.bundesdruckerei.de
• DATEV: https://www.datev.de
• Governikus: https://www.governikus.de

5. final check after signing:

Check after signing:

• The PDF shows a lock symbol or signature seal
• The document is read-only (no longer editable)
• The signature is displayed as valid
• Signature details show your name and the certificate

Recognition features of a correctly signed PDF, e.g:

• Blue signature bar at the top
• Message“Signed and all signatures are valid“
• Document status shows“Certified” or“Signed“

6. submission to CenaCom:

Send the signed PDF to us.

If you are unable to sign the PDF with a qualified signature, please print out the PDF, sign it and send it by fax to: 0721 18056059.

Avoid common mistakes: These signatures are NOT sufficient:

• Simple electronic signature (e.g. DocuSign Standard)
• Scanned handwritten signature
• Digital stamps without a certificate
• Adobe signature without a qualified certificate

If you have any questions about the application process, please contact us by e-mail.

Legal notice: Only applications duly signed with a qualified electronic signature can lead to a suspension of the statute of limitations. Unsigned or incorrectly signed documents will not be processed.