The Once-Only Technical System (OOTS) streamlines data retrieval for cross-border procedures, enhancing trust, efficiency, and data exchange among EU public administrations and citizens. It is an EC solution.

Owner

DIGITAL Building Blocks

Contact information

OOTS Functional Mailbox

https://ec.europa.eu/digital-building-blocks/wikis/display/OOTS/

The Once-Only Technical System will eliminate barriers to mobility

When completing an online procedure, citizens will be able to give their explicit request to retrieve evidence from a competent authority in another Member State. The explicit request triggers the retrieval of evidence from competent authorities across many different sectors through the Once-Only Technical System (education, vehicles, population registers, and more).

Specifically,

The Once-Only Technical System means citizens no longer need to do the work to figure out what the matching evidence is in another Member State and which authentic data source can provide it and to play the go-between
Public Administrations can trust evidence delivered through the Once-Only Technical System as it is provided directly from the authentic source via a trusted protocol (eDelivery)
As the evidence comes directly from the source, public administrations will always receive the latest version of the evidence
The Once-Only Technical System exchanges standardised and non-standardised evidence with the same level of trust and security
The Once-Only Technical System will be a secure and privacy friendly cross-sector G2G data-space for exchange of data directly among public administrations, which can be used even beyond once-only.

The Single Digital Gateway Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2018/1724) is a multifaceted EU-wide initiative that strives to create the digital infrastructure required to overcome these challenges. It aims to help citizens and businesses make best of the Single Market.

By December 2023, 21 procedures listed in Annex II to this Regulation will be made available to users fully online, allowing citizens and businesses to identify themselves by electronic means, fill in the application, provide supporting evidence or request it through the OOTS, sign and submit the application to the competent authorities.

The Single Digital Gateway Regulation provides the legal framework for the creation of a European data space for public administrations to share information in a trusted way. By December 2023, this government-to-government data space, known as the Once-Only Technical System, will be rolled out in every Member State. It will significantly ease and speed up the cross-border administrative procedures covered by the Single Digital Gateway Regulation. Thanks to the Once-Only Technical System, it will be easier for citizens to study, move, work, retire or do business across the EU. The Once-Only Technical System will connect public authorities across the EU, so they can exchange official documents and data at the citizen's request.

A specific Implementing Regulation ((EU) 2022/1463) further sets out the technical and operational specifications of the technical system in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1724 on Europe's Single Digital Gateway.

To learn more about the Once-Only Technical System, visit the Once-Only Hub.