Regulation (EU) No. 211/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of
16 February 2011 on the citizens' initiative set out the rules and procedures for the European Citizens' Initiative for the first time and was supplemented by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No. 1179/2011 of 17 November 2011, which lays down the technical specifications for online collection systems.

In Germany, the responsibilities, procedures and sanctions that, according to Regulation (EU) No. 211/2011, must be determined on a national basis, are set out in the Act on the Implementation of Regulation (EU) No. 211/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 on the citizens' initiative of 7 March 2012, Article 1 - European Citizens' Initiative Act (EBIG). The authority responsible for issuing certificates confirming the compliance of an online collection system with the ECI Regulation is - according to Section 1 (2) of the EBIG - the Federal Office for Information Security.

InRegulation (EU) 2019/788 (ECI Regulation) of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on the European Citizens' Initiative, Regulation (EU) No. 211/2011 was revised and repealed as of 1 January 2020.

Together with Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1799 (ECI Implementing Regulation) of 22 October 2019, which replaces Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No. 1179/2011, the ECI Regulation, which entered into force on 1 January 2020, constitutes the legal basis for the European Citizens' Initiative.