Other · Spain
Notificación electrónica (DEHú): the letter waiting in a government inbox
This is not a paper letter but an official notification deposited in a government electronic mailbox — the DEHú portal or an agency's sede electrónica. The single most important fact: there are 10 calendar days to open it, counted from the deposit, not from any email alert.
How serious: needs actionAlso called: DEHú, Dirección Electrónica Habilitada única, notificación por comparecencia electrónica, buzón electrónico, aviso de notificación pendiente
Spanish administrations can deliver official letters electronically instead of by post. The document is deposited in a government mailbox — the DEHú portal (dehu.redsara.es) and/or the agency's own sede electrónica. Companies and self-employed people are obliged to receive notifications this way; individuals can opt in voluntarily.
A courtesy email or SMS ('aviso') may arrive saying a notification is waiting. The aviso itself has no legal content, and its absence does not invalidate the notification. What matters legally is the strict 10-calendar-day window to open the real document.
The most frequent senders are the Agencia Tributaria (AEAT) and the Tesorería General de la Seguridad Social, but any Spanish public administration can use this channel.
Who sends it
Any Spanish public administration — most commonly the Agencia Tributaria (AEAT, the national tax agency) and the Tesorería General de la Seguridad Social. The DEHú portal (dehu.redsara.es) is the government's single electronic notification inbox.
An email or SMS from the AEAT or another administration saying a 'notificación' has been 'puesta a disposición' in the sede electrónica or DEHú — with no attachment and no content. Reading the actual document requires logging in with certificado digital, DNIe or Cl@ve. Genuine avisos never include the document itself and never ask for card details.
The deadline
10 calendar days from the moment the notification is made available in the electronic mailbox (Ley 39/2015, art. 43.2)
There are 10 calendar days from the moment the notification is made available in the electronic mailbox (Ley 39/2015, art. 43.2). The count starts from the date of 'puesta a disposición' — the deposit in the mailbox — not from the date the aviso email is read.
If you do nothing
If 10 calendar days pass without accessing the content, the notification is legally deemed rejected ('se entenderá rechazada', Ley 39/2015 art. 43.2). The underlying act counts as validly notified, the procedure continues, and every deadline the unread letter contains — to pay, appeal or answer — starts running even though it was never read.
How it escalates
- 01After 10 calendar days the notification is deemed rejected (Ley 39/2015 art. 43.2); the rejection is recorded, the notification step counts as effected and the procedure simply continues (art. 41.5) — the AEAT FAQ records the date on which 'la notificación se consideró rechazada por haber transcurrido el plazo legalmente establecido'.
- 02Whatever the unread letter contained (requerimiento, liquidación, sanción, providencia de apremio) becomes enforceable, and its own deadlines expire silently.
- 03Missed payment deadlines lead to período ejecutivo surcharges of 5–20% (Ley 58/2003 art. 28) and ultimately embargo; missed appeal deadlines make the act final.
Common questions
Does the aviso email contain the actual letter?
No. Genuine avisos carry no attachment and no content — the real document sits in the DEHú portal or the sede electrónica and is read after logging in with certificado digital, DNIe or Cl@ve. An 'aviso' that includes a document or asks for card details does not match how genuine avisos work.
What if no aviso email ever arrived?
The aviso is a courtesy, not a requirement: its absence does not invalidate the notification. The 10-day window runs from the deposit in the mailbox either way.
Can the deposits be paused, for example during a holiday?
Taxpayers in the mandatory electronic system can mark up to 30 'días de cortesía' per year during which the AEAT will not deposit notifications. The request is made through the sede electrónica.
Is receiving notifications this way obligatory?
For companies and self-employed people, yes. Individuals not obliged to the electronic channel can choose it or revoke it at any time (Ley 39/2015 art. 41.1).
Sources
Facts verified against the sources below on 28 August 2026.