Certified Electronic Mail (PEC) is a cornerstone of digitalization in Italy, combining the legal tradition of registered mail with the innovation of electronic communication. This tool, now indispensable for professionals, companies, and citizens, allows you to send and receive messages with the same legal value as a registered letter with return receipt. Integrating PEC into your favorite email client, like Microsoft Outlook, means centralizing communications and optimizing your workflow. Correctly configuring the account ensures direct, secure, and immediate access to all emails, certified and otherwise, from a single interface.

In a Mediterranean context where personal relationships and trust are fundamental, PEC serves as an element of certainty in the digital world. With nearly 16 million active mailboxes in Italy and a volume of 2.5 billion messages exchanged in 2023, the numbers confirm its growing adoption. Its upcoming evolution into an interoperable European standard, compliant with the eIDAS regulation, will further amplify its scope, projecting an Italian specialty into the broader European digital single market. This guide offers a detailed path to configure PEC in Outlook, making this technology accessible to everyone.

What is PEC and Why It’s Different from Traditional Email

Certified Electronic Mail (PEC) is an email system that provides legal proof of the sending and delivery of a message. The substantial difference from a traditional email lies precisely in its legal value. While a regular email offers no guarantees about receipt or content integrity, PEC certifies the sender’s identity, the date and time of sending, and the certainty of delivery to the recipient. This process occurs through acceptance and delivery receipts issued by certified email providers, who act as third-party guarantors. In practice, PEC is the digital equivalent of a traditional registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt.

In addition to its legal value, PEC offers a higher level of security. Communications are protected by encryption protocols that ensure their integrity and inalterability, preventing changes to the content and any attachments. This makes it the ideal tool for formal communications with Public Administrations, for transmitting contracts, invoices, and sensitive documents. The requirement for businesses and professionals to have a digital domicile has further consolidated its role, making it not just a useful tool, but often an indispensable one in the Italian professional and bureaucratic landscape. If you need to further protect your communications, you might be interested in our guide on Outlook security.

The Necessary Parameters for Configuration: IMAP or POP3

To configure a PEC account in Outlook, it’s essential to know your provider’s parameters. The key information includes the server names for incoming mail (IMAP or POP3) and for outgoing mail (SMTP), as well as their respective ports and security settings. The choice between IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) and POP3 (Post Office Protocol 3) depends on your needs. IMAP is the recommended choice for those who check their mail from multiple devices, as it synchronizes messages by keeping them on the server. This way, any change (reading, deleting, moving) is visible from any device. POP3, on the other hand, downloads messages to the local device, removing them from the server (unless configured otherwise), a solution suitable for those who use a single computer.

Regardless of the chosen protocol, security is an essential requirement. The configuration requires the use of encrypted SSL/TLS connections for both the incoming and outgoing servers. The standard ports are generally 993 for IMAP and 995 for POP3, while the port for the outgoing SMTP server is 465. You also need to enable authentication for the outgoing mail server (SMTP), using the same credentials as the incoming mail account. These parameters are provided by your PEC provider (such as Aruba, Poste Italiane, Legalmail) when the mailbox is activated.

Parameters of Major PEC Providers

Each Certified Electronic Mail provider uses specific parameters. Below are the configuration details for some of the most popular providers in Italy, to be used during the manual setup of your account in Outlook.

• Aruba PEC: IMAP Server: imaps.pec.aruba.it (port 993)
• POP3 Server: pop3s.pec.aruba.it (port 995)
• SMTP Server: smtps.pec.aruba.it (port 465)
• SMTP Authentication: Required (use the same credentials as for incoming mail)
• Security: SSL/TLS

Poste Italiane (Postecert):

• IMAP Server: mail.postecert.it (port 993)
• POP3 Server: mail.postecert.it (port 995)
• SMTP Server: mail.postecert.it (port 465)
• SMTP Authentication: Required
• Security: SSL

Legalmail (InfoCert):

• IMAP Server: mbox.cert.legalmail.it (port 993)
• POP3 Server: mbox.cert.legalmail.it (port 995)
• SMTP Server: sendm.cert.legalmail.it (port 465)
• SMTP Authentication: Required
• Security: SSL/TLS

It’s important to always check your provider’s official documentation, as the parameters may change. Also, if two-factor authentication is enabled, you may need to generate an app-specific password to use instead of your main password.

Step-by-Step Guide to Adding PEC to Outlook

Adding a PEC account to Microsoft Outlook is a simple process if you follow the correct steps. The procedure may vary slightly depending on your Outlook version (Microsoft 365, 2019, 2016), but the basic logic remains the same. Manual configuration is almost always necessary to enter the specific parameters of your PEC provider. Let’s see how to proceed in the latest version of Outlook for Windows.

1. Start the process: Open Outlook and go to File in the top-left corner. Select Add Account.
2. Enter the PEC address: In the window that opens, type your full PEC address (e.g., yourname@pec.it). Click on Advanced options and check the box “Let me set up my account manually”. Press Connect.
3. Choose the account type: Outlook will ask you to choose the account type. Select IMAP (or POP, if you prefer).
4. Enter the server parameters: Fill in the fields for incoming and outgoing mail with the parameters provided by your provider (server, port, SSL/TLS encryption method).
5. Configure authentication: Ensure that authentication is required for the outgoing mail server (SMTP) and that it uses the same settings as the incoming server.
6. Enter the password and finish: Type your PEC account password (or the app-specific password, if required) and click Connect. Outlook will verify the settings and, if they are correct, the account will be added successfully.

Once the configuration is complete, the PEC mailbox will appear in Outlook’s navigation pane, ready to use. For even more efficient management, you can consider setting up rules in Outlook to automatically organize incoming certified messages.

PEC and the European Digital Future: The eIDAS Regulation

Originating as an Italian specialty, PEC is evolving to become a legally recognized communication tool throughout the European Union. This change is driven by the eIDAS Regulation (electronic IDentification, Authentication and Trust Services), which establishes a common legal framework for secure electronic transactions between citizens, businesses, and public administrations of member countries. The goal is to create a digital single market where identification tools and trust services, like PEC, are interoperable across national borders.

The adaptation of Italian PEC to the European standard will transform it into a Qualified Electronic Registered Delivery Service (QERDS), also known as REM (Registered Electronic Mail). This will guarantee not only the certainty of sending and receiving but also the certain identification of the sender and recipient, strengthening security and trust in cross-border communications. For users, this means that starting from June 2024, it is necessary to upgrade their PEC mailbox to maintain its full legal value. This transition projects Italian innovation into a broader context, consolidating PEC as a fundamental tool for the European digital future.

Conclusions

Configuring a Certified Electronic Mail account in Outlook is a strategic move that combines the convenience of a familiar email client with the legal validity of an indispensable tool. As we have seen, the process requires attention to detail, particularly in choosing between the IMAP or POP3 protocol and correctly entering your provider’s parameters. PEC is no longer just a “digital registered letter” for bureaucratic obligations, but a crucial piece in the digital ecosystem of professionals and companies operating in an increasingly interconnected market. Its evolution towards an interoperable European standard confirms its value and foresight.

The ability to manage certified communications directly from Outlook, perhaps by optimizing the workflow with the use of custom rules or by integrating it with other applications like the Outlook mobile app, allows you to maximize efficiency and security. In a world that balances tradition and innovation, mastering tools like PEC integrated into Outlook means not only complying with regulations but also building a competitive advantage based on fast, secure, and legally indisputable communications. This proactive approach to digital management is the key to successfully navigating the challenges of the present and the opportunities of the future.

Frequently Asked Questions