In the present situation where the majority of Estonian people communicate via means of information and communication technology and information is often presented, stored and forwarded electronically, it is particularly important not to burden people unnecessarily and ensure that electronic communication is simple. Public services include, for example, processing residence permits, applying for benefits, declaring taxes, and complying with precepts.
The National Audit Office prepared the first version of the e-state charter in 2008 as a consequence of the audit “Quality of public services in the information society”. The charter was inspired by the Dutch e-Citizen Charter. The text was prepared with the assistance of a think tank consisting of e-service developers, politicians and representatives of civil society.
As the National Audit Office and the Chancellor of Justice both want to use the criteria described in the e-state charter for the assessment of the quality of public services and making recommendations to the agencies, they agreed to update the e-state charter and completed it in early 2018.
The new text was prepared by the specialists of the National Audit Office, the Office of the Chancellor of Justice and the Department of Information Society Services Development of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications. The final text was created with the assistance of many state agencies, such as the e-Government Academy.
