Hessen app: expensive flop or future of digital administration?

Hessen app: expensive flop or future of digital administration?

The Hessen app is classified by the FDP parliamentary group as an expensive flop. So far, a sum of almost two million euros has flowed into the development and operation of the application, which was launched in early 2023 on behalf of the Digital Ministry. Despite this investment, the app recorded only about 38,000 users in March 2025. This does not meet expectations, since an app is considered successful if it reaches between 10 and 20 percent of a target market, which is clearly not the case here.

The Hessen app is intended to provide information on various administrative services such as ID, fishing license and land register entry. However, data protection and IT security reasons prevent the integration of digital offers from the municipalities. Critics complain that instead of a real citizen service, the app is mainly used for the state government's advertising. The main press releases appear on the homepage.

criticism and demands

Digital Minister Kristina Sinemus (CDU) is therefore not only confronted with a high amount of investment, but also with the pressure to re -evaluate the app if the administrative services are not integrated. The critical voices within the FDP users are loud and demand reevaluation of the user-friendliness of the application.

in parallel to the discussion about the Hessen app, an encouraging picture of the overall development of digital administration in Hesse shows. By mid-December 2022, 483 of 695 OZG performance objects have been implemented, and it is expected that more than two thirds of the Hessian administrative services would be digitized by the end of 2022. However, the implementation progress varies depending on the digitization status of the municipalities.

Implementation of administrative digitization

In the course of 2023, the Hessian state government continues to work to promote digitization in cooperation with municipalities, top associations and IT service providers. The basis for these initiatives forms the Hessian OZG implementation catalog. This becomes particularly visible from the fact that couples in Bad Homburg and Wiesbaden have been able to do wedding preparations online since December 2022.

The goal of administrative digitalization is to create user -friendly, fast and easy access to information and services. The EFA and Once-only principle is also being followed, which promotes uniform procedures and the cooperation between the federal units. It already shows that 283 country benefits can be requested electronically.

An innovative step is the introduction of "Kommunal Data Hessen", an exchange platform for 443 Hessian municipalities, which is intended to improve the exchange of information between the country and the municipalities. This was awarded the KommDigitale Award in 2022 and illustrates the efforts to make a more networked digital administrative landscape.

The critical comments on the Hesse app, however, throw a shadow on the very positive digital progress that Hesse has made in recent years. The future development will decisively depend on how those responsible react to the ongoing criticism and whether it is possible to significantly increase the user base.