Guides
Mail Scanning Service: Providers, Prices & How It Works
Compare the best mail scanning services in Germany. Features, pricing, and which provider fits freelancers and small businesses.
Emily Schreiber
June 18, 2026
Quick Answer
A mail scan service receives your post at a registered address, scans it daily and sends the letters to you as PDFs via email. Many providers charge extra for this. At Teeberg, the daily scan is included for free in the Virtual Office package from €63/month.
What you'll learn in this article
- How a mail scan service works
- Who it's worth it for
- What it costs and which providers are available
- What to look for when choosing a provider
- How Teeberg offers the scan service for free
Anyone working remotely, travelling frequently, or without a fixed office location needs a solution for physical mail. A mail scan service digitises every incoming letter and sends it directly to your inbox. This article explains how it works, what it costs, and which providers are recommended in 2026.
What is a mail scan service?
A mail scan service is a service offering where incoming letters are received at a registered address, opened, scanned, and transmitted digitally. The physical letters are then stored or forwarded on request.
It is the centrepiece of a virtual office: you have a professional business address without ever needing to be on site. Your mail is still with you every day — as a PDF, directly in your inbox.
How does digital mail reception work?
1
Mail arrives at the address
Letters, parcels and official mail are received at your registered business address. Your name is on the letterbox.
2
Provider opens and scans
Letters are opened, scanned as high-resolution PDFs and stored securely. Good providers scan daily, not weekly.
3
You receive the scans by email
The PDFs land directly in your inbox. You read your mail from anywhere — on mobile, at home, or on the go.
4
Originals are stored or forwarded
The physical letters are stored securely. On request, the provider sends them on in a bundle once a month.
Who benefits from a mail scan service?
A mail scan service makes sense wherever mail arrives regularly and time-sensitively, but no one is permanently on site:
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Remote workers and freelancers
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Startups without their own office
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GmbH and UG with virtual office
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Digital nomads
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International companies with a German address
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Anyone wanting to protect their home address
Anyone who doesn't want to publish their home address in their legal notice or commercial register often uses a combination of virtual office and scan service. Why this makes sense: Using your home address as a business address.
Mail scan service provider comparison 2026
The market for mail scan services has grown. Offerings differ significantly in scan frequency, quality, and whether the scan is included in the package price or costs extra:
| Provider | Scan included? | Scan frequency | Price from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teeberg | ✓ free | daily | €63/month |
| Clevver | Extra charge | on request | from ~€30/month |
| Regus / IWG | Extra charge | varies | from ~€80/month |
| Standalone scan services | ✓ included | weekly | €15 to €30/month |
| Letterbox providers | ✗ no scan | – | from ~€10/month |
* Prices without guarantee, as of 2026. Provider prices may change.
What does a mail scan service cost?
The cost depends on whether the scan is included in the package price or must be booked separately. There are two models:
Scan as an add-on
Many providers charge an extra €10 to €30 per month for the scan service, on top of the base fee for the address. Watch out: there are often additional per-letter fees on top.
Scan included (as with Teeberg)
The daily scan is included in the package price — with no limit and no surcharge per letter. The Virtual Office package at Teeberg starts at €63 and includes the scan service completely free.
Example calculation: Someone paying €30/month for the address plus €15/month for the scan at another provider pays €45/month. With Teeberg you get address and scan for €63/month — including daily scanning, office space on demand, and commercial register eligibility.
What should you look for in a provider?
Not every scan service is the same. These points are decisive:
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Scan frequency
Daily scanning is standard. Weekly scans mean tax authority or court correspondence sits unread for days.
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Document-grade quality
Scans should be document-grade — high resolution and legally usable, e.g. for tax receipts.
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Data security
Mail often contains sensitive information. GDPR-compliant processing and encrypted transmission are essential.
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Valid service of process address
Only if the provider also accepts legal deliveries (authorities, courts) is the address truly valid for service of process.
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Storage and forwarding
Originals should be stored free of charge for at least 30 days. Forwarding on request should be possible.
Receive mail digitally — at no extra charge
At Teeberg, the daily scan service is included for free in the Virtual Office package. No add-on fees, no per-letter limits. You get your mail as a PDF, daily, directly to your inbox.
Mail scan service at Teeberg: daily, free, document-grade
Teeberg scans your mail daily and transmits the documents securely by email. The scan is not available as an extra option — it is included as standard for every customer in the Virtual Office package.
Virtual Office
from €63/month
Daily scan service free, office space on demand, commercial register-eligible address for GmbH and UG. All at no extra charge.
Postal Address
from €28/month
Business address with physical mail forwarding. No scan service included. For sole traders and freelancers without commercial register requirements.
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Daily scan, free of charge
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Document-grade quality
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Delivered by email
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Mail storage included
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GDPR compliant
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Active in 5 minutes
"I travel a lot and needed a solution for my mail. Teeberg's scan service has made my life significantly easier. Every morning the PDFs arrive in my inbox — I never have to travel to Berlin just to pick up letters."
Margarete H., entrepreneur
Further reading
Frequently asked questions about mail scan services
What is a mail scan service and how does it work? +
A mail scan service receives your mail at a registered address, opens the letters, scans them as PDFs and sends the documents to you by email. The originals are then stored or forwarded on request.
What does a mail scan service cost? +
Costs vary significantly. Standalone scan services cost €15 to €30 per month; many virtual office providers charge extra for scanning. At Teeberg, the daily scan is completely free in the Virtual Office package (from €63/month).
How often is mail scanned? +
This depends on the provider. Budget services often only scan weekly. At Teeberg, scanning happens daily — meaning you receive your mail digitally by the next business day at the latest.
Is a mail scan service legal? +
Yes. Opening and scanning mail by an appointed provider is legal, as you as the addressee grant the provider this authority by contract. GDPR-compliant providers process the data securely and delete it after an agreed period.
Can I also receive the original letters physically? +
Yes. Most providers store the originals and forward them on request. At Teeberg, originals are stored free of charge. Physical forwarding is available for a postage fee.
Which mail scan service is the best in Germany? +
It depends on your needs. Anyone who also needs a commercial register-eligible address is better served by a virtual office provider like Teeberg than a standalone scan service. Teeberg offers daily scanning for free, including a valid Berlin business address and commercial register eligibility from €63/month.
