diff --git a/api/package.json b/api/package.json
index 5a9d7612..d595251a 100644
--- a/api/package.json
+++ b/api/package.json
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
   },
   "dependencies": {
     "@godaddy/terminus": "^4.1.2",
+    "@nest-modules/mailer": "^1.1.3",
     "@nestjs/common": "^6.5.2",
     "@nestjs/core": "^6.5.2",
     "@nestjs/jwt": "^6.1.1",
diff --git a/api/src/app.module.ts b/api/src/app.module.ts
index 5305c02c..e9b408d1 100644
--- a/api/src/app.module.ts
+++ b/api/src/app.module.ts
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import { UserModule } from "./user/user.module"
 import { FormModule } from "./form/form.module"
 import { AuthModule } from './auth/auth.module';
 import { MailModule } from "./mail/mail.module"
+import { MailerModule } from "@nest-modules/mailer"
 
 @Module({
   imports: [
@@ -17,6 +18,12 @@ import { MailModule } from "./mail/mail.module"
     TerminusModule.forRootAsync({
       useClass: TerminusOptionsService,
     }),
+    MailerModule.forRoot({
+      transport: 'smtp://localhost:1025',
+      defaults: {
+        from:'"OhMyForm" <noreply@ohmyform.com>',
+      }
+    }),
     UserModule,
     FormModule,
     AuthModule,
diff --git a/api/src/auth/dto/register.dto.ts b/api/src/auth/dto/register.dto.ts
index 1670d2fd..64a4e892 100644
--- a/api/src/auth/dto/register.dto.ts
+++ b/api/src/auth/dto/register.dto.ts
@@ -1,12 +1,20 @@
 import { ApiModelProperty } from "@nestjs/swagger"
+import { IsEmail, IsNotEmpty, Validate } from "class-validator"
+import { UsernameAlreadyInUse } from "../../user/validators/UsernameAlreadyInUse"
+import { EmailAlreadyInUse } from "../../user/validators/EmailAlreadyInUse"
 
 export class RegisterDto {
   @ApiModelProperty()
+  @IsNotEmpty()
+  @Validate(UsernameAlreadyInUse)
   readonly username: string;
 
   @ApiModelProperty()
+  @IsNotEmpty()
   readonly password: string;
 
   @ApiModelProperty()
+  @Validate(EmailAlreadyInUse)
+  @IsEmail()
   readonly email: string;
 }
diff --git a/api/src/auth/services/password.service.ts b/api/src/auth/services/password.service.ts
index 548926b9..68a4d1c0 100644
--- a/api/src/auth/services/password.service.ts
+++ b/api/src/auth/services/password.service.ts
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ export class PasswordService {
     ).toString('base64');
   }
 
-  hash (password): Promise<String> {
+  hash (password): Promise<string> {
     return bcrypt.hash(password, 4)
   }
 }
diff --git a/api/src/auth/services/register.service.ts b/api/src/auth/services/register.service.ts
index 507a92f9..66734a41 100644
--- a/api/src/auth/services/register.service.ts
+++ b/api/src/auth/services/register.service.ts
@@ -1,16 +1,30 @@
 import { Injectable } from "@nestjs/common"
 import { MailService } from "../../mail/services/mail.service"
+import { User } from "../../user/models/user.model"
+import { PasswordService } from "./password.service"
+import { UserService } from "../../user/services/user.service"
 
 @Injectable()
 export class RegisterService {
-  constructor(private readonly mailService: MailService) {}
+  constructor(
+    private readonly mailService: MailService,
+    private readonly passwordService: PasswordService,
+    private readonly userService: UserService
+  ) {}
 
   async register (username: string, email: string, password: string): Promise<void> {
     // TODO actually create user
 
+    let user = new User()
+    user.email = email
+    user.username = username
+    user.passwordHash = await this.passwordService.hash(password)
+
+    await this.userService.save(user)
+
     await this.mailService.sendEmail(
       {
-        template: 'auth/register.hbs',
+        template: 'auth/register',
         to: email
       },
       {
diff --git a/api/src/form/models/embedded/rating.field.ts b/api/src/form/models/embedded/rating.field.ts
index a825a154..77281aa3 100644
--- a/api/src/form/models/embedded/rating.field.ts
+++ b/api/src/form/models/embedded/rating.field.ts
@@ -34,5 +34,5 @@ export class RatingField {
   @arrayProp({
     items: String
   })
-  validShapes: [String];
+  validShapes: [string];
 }
diff --git a/api/src/mail/mail.module.ts b/api/src/mail/mail.module.ts
index d9d7c3db..5ea6d846 100644
--- a/api/src/mail/mail.module.ts
+++ b/api/src/mail/mail.module.ts
@@ -1,9 +1,11 @@
 import { Module } from '@nestjs/common';
 import providers from './mail.providers'
 import exportList from './mail.exports'
+import { HandlebarsAdapter, MailerModule } from "@nest-modules/mailer"
 
 @Module({
-  imports: [],
+  imports: [
+  ],
   providers,
   exports: exportList,
 })
diff --git a/api/src/mail/services/mail.service.ts b/api/src/mail/services/mail.service.ts
index 875373f5..2a7e2ae1 100644
--- a/api/src/mail/services/mail.service.ts
+++ b/api/src/mail/services/mail.service.ts
@@ -1,10 +1,35 @@
-import { Injectable, NotFoundException } from '@nestjs/common';
+import {Inject, Injectable, NotFoundException} from '@nestjs/common';
 import { OptionsDto } from "../dto/options.dto"
+import { MailerService } from '@nest-modules/mailer';
+import * as Handlebars from 'handlebars'
+import * as fs from 'fs';
 
 @Injectable()
 export class MailService {
-  // TODO
+  constructor(
+    private readonly nodeMailer: MailerService
+  ) {}
+
   async sendEmail(options:OptionsDto, placeholders:any): Promise<boolean> {
+    const template = fs.readFileSync(`${__dirname}/../../../views/en/mail/${options.template}.hbs`, 'UTF-8');
+
+    const parts = Handlebars
+      .compile(template)
+      (placeholders)
+      .split('---')
+
+    const mail:any = {
+      to: options.to,
+      subject: parts[0],
+      text: parts[1],
+    }
+
+    if (parts.length > 2) {
+      mail.html = parts[2]
+    }
+
+    await this.nodeMailer.sendMail(mail)
+
     return false
   }
 }
diff --git a/api/src/mail/views/en/auth/recover.hbs b/api/src/mail/views/en/auth/recover.hbs
deleted file mode 100644
index bd821196..00000000
--- a/api/src/mail/views/en/auth/recover.hbs
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,6 +0,0 @@
-Hi,
-
-if you have not requested a new password you can ignore this email. To set a new password for your account
-just follow this link: {{ recover }}
-
-See you soon
diff --git a/api/src/mail/views/en/auth/register.hbs b/api/src/mail/views/en/auth/register.hbs
deleted file mode 100644
index 759399f2..00000000
--- a/api/src/mail/views/en/auth/register.hbs
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,5 +0,0 @@
-Welcome to OhMyForm!
-
-please confirm your account by following the following link: {{ confirm }}
-
-enjoy!
diff --git a/api/src/main.ts b/api/src/main.ts
index 7c882026..022d3a5f 100644
--- a/api/src/main.ts
+++ b/api/src/main.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 import {NestFactory, Reflector} from '@nestjs/core';
 import { SwaggerModule, DocumentBuilder } from '@nestjs/swagger';
 import { AppModule } from './app.module';
-import {ClassSerializerInterceptor, ValidationPipe} from '@nestjs/common';
+import { ClassSerializerInterceptor, ValidationPipe } from '@nestjs/common';
+import { useContainer } from "class-validator"
 const pkg = require('../package.json')
 
 async function bootstrap() {
@@ -10,6 +11,8 @@ async function bootstrap() {
   // app.enableCors({ origin: '*' });
   // app.getHttpAdapter().options('*', cors());
 
+  useContainer(app.select(AppModule), { fallbackOnErrors: true });
+
   app.useGlobalPipes(new ValidationPipe({
     disableErrorMessages: false,
     transform: true,
diff --git a/api/src/user/models/user.model.ts b/api/src/user/models/user.model.ts
index a424e943..9590dd09 100644
--- a/api/src/user/models/user.model.ts
+++ b/api/src/user/models/user.model.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,11 @@
-import {arrayProp, prop, Typegoose} from 'typegoose';
+import {arrayProp, pre, prop, Typegoose} from 'typegoose';
 import { IsString } from 'class-validator';
 import {Exclude} from "class-transformer"
 
+@pre<User>('save', (next) => {
+  this.lastModified = new Date()
+  next()
+})
 export class User extends Typegoose {
   @Exclude()
   readonly _id: string;
@@ -10,13 +14,13 @@ export class User extends Typegoose {
     trim: true,
     default: ''
   })
-  readonly firstName: string;
+  firstName: string;
 
   @prop({
     trim: true,
     default: ''
   })
-  readonly lastName: string;
+  lastName: string;
 
   @prop({
     trim: true,
@@ -28,7 +32,7 @@ export class User extends Typegoose {
     ],
     required: [true, 'Email is required']
   })
-  readonly email: string;
+  email: string;
 
   @prop({
     unique: true,
@@ -39,33 +43,33 @@ export class User extends Typegoose {
     ],
     required: [true, 'Username is required']
   })
-  readonly username: string;
+  username: string;
 
   @prop({
     default: ''
   })
-  readonly passwordHash: string;
+  passwordHash: string;
 
   @prop()
-  readonly salt: string;
+  salt: string;
 
   @prop({
     default: 'local'
   })
-  readonly provider: string;
+  provider: string;
 
   @arrayProp({
     items: String,
     enum: ['user', 'admin', 'superuser'],
     default: ['user']
   })
-  readonly roles: [string];
+  roles: [string];
 
   @prop({
     enum: ['en', 'fr', 'es', 'it', 'de'],
     default: 'en',
   })
-  readonly language: string;
+  language: string;
 
   @prop({
     default: Date.now
@@ -76,18 +80,18 @@ export class User extends Typegoose {
   readonly lastModified: Date;
 
   @prop()
-  readonly resetPasswordToken: string;
+  resetPasswordToken: string;
 
   @prop()
-  readonly resetPasswordExpires: Date;
+  resetPasswordExpires: Date;
 
   @prop()
-  readonly token: string;
+  token: string;
 
   @prop({
     unique: true,
     index: true,
     sparse: true
   })
-  readonly apiKey: string;
+  apiKey: string;
 }
diff --git a/api/src/user/services/user.service.ts b/api/src/user/services/user.service.ts
index fe22c3b3..e349446a 100644
--- a/api/src/user/services/user.service.ts
+++ b/api/src/user/services/user.service.ts
@@ -28,4 +28,13 @@ export class UserService {
   async findById(id: string): Promise<User> {
     return await this.userModel.findById(id).exec()
   }
+
+  async findOneBy(conditions): Promise<User> {
+    return await this.userModel.findOne(conditions).exec()
+  }
+
+  async save(user: User): Promise<User> {
+    let model = new this.userModel(user)
+    return await model.save()
+  }
 }
diff --git a/api/src/user/user.exports.ts b/api/src/user/user.exports.ts
index c7c27178..9f880f97 100644
--- a/api/src/user/user.exports.ts
+++ b/api/src/user/user.exports.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,9 @@
-import {UserService} from "./services/user.service"
+import { UserService } from "./services/user.service"
+import { UsernameAlreadyInUse } from "./validators/UsernameAlreadyInUse"
+import { EmailAlreadyInUse } from "./validators/EmailAlreadyInUse"
 
 export default [
-  UserService
+  UserService,
+  UsernameAlreadyInUse,
+  EmailAlreadyInUse,
 ]
diff --git a/api/src/user/user.providers.ts b/api/src/user/user.providers.ts
index c7c27178..9f880f97 100644
--- a/api/src/user/user.providers.ts
+++ b/api/src/user/user.providers.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,9 @@
-import {UserService} from "./services/user.service"
+import { UserService } from "./services/user.service"
+import { UsernameAlreadyInUse } from "./validators/UsernameAlreadyInUse"
+import { EmailAlreadyInUse } from "./validators/EmailAlreadyInUse"
 
 export default [
-  UserService
+  UserService,
+  UsernameAlreadyInUse,
+  EmailAlreadyInUse,
 ]
diff --git a/api/src/user/validators/EmailAlreadyInUse.ts b/api/src/user/validators/EmailAlreadyInUse.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..4f1d3980
--- /dev/null
+++ b/api/src/user/validators/EmailAlreadyInUse.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+import { ValidationArguments, ValidatorConstraint } from "class-validator"
+import { Inject, Injectable } from "@nestjs/common"
+import { UserService } from "../services/user.service"
+
+@ValidatorConstraint({ name: 'EmailAlreadyInUse', async: true })
+@Injectable()
+export class EmailAlreadyInUse {
+  constructor(
+    @Inject('UserService') private readonly userService: UserService,
+  ) {}
+
+  async validate(text: string) {
+    const user = await this.userService.findOneBy({email: text});
+    return !user;
+  }
+
+  defaultMessage(args: ValidationArguments) {
+    return 'User with this email already exists.';
+  }
+}
diff --git a/api/src/user/validators/UsernameAlreadyInUse.ts b/api/src/user/validators/UsernameAlreadyInUse.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..2dca12c8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/api/src/user/validators/UsernameAlreadyInUse.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+import { ValidationArguments, ValidatorConstraint } from "class-validator"
+import { Inject, Injectable } from "@nestjs/common"
+import { UserService } from "../services/user.service"
+
+@ValidatorConstraint({ name: 'UsernameAlreadyInUse', async: true })
+@Injectable()
+export class UsernameAlreadyInUse {
+  constructor(
+    @Inject('UserService') private readonly userService: UserService,
+  ) {}
+
+  async validate(text: string) {
+    const user = await this.userService.findOneBy({username: text});
+    return !user;
+  }
+
+  defaultMessage(args: ValidationArguments) {
+    return 'User with this username already exists.';
+  }
+}
diff --git a/api/views/en/mail/auth/recover.hbs b/api/views/en/mail/auth/recover.hbs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..596981bb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/api/views/en/mail/auth/recover.hbs
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+Password Reset Request
+---
+Hi,
+
+if you have not requested a new password you can ignore this email. To set a new password for your account
+just follow this link: {{ recover }}
+
+See you soon
+---
+<h1>Hi, </h1>
+
+<p>
+  if you have not requested a new password you can ignore this email. To set a new password for your account
+  just follow this link: <a href="{{ recover }}">{{ recover }}</a>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+  See you soon
+</p>
diff --git a/api/views/en/mail/auth/register.hbs b/api/views/en/mail/auth/register.hbs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7a9c920e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/api/views/en/mail/auth/register.hbs
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+Welcome to OhMyForm
+---
+Welcome to OhMyForm!
+
+please confirm your account by following the following link: {{ confirm }}
+
+enjoy!
+---
+<h1>Welcome to OhMyForm!</h1>
+<p>
+  please confirm your account by following the following link: <a href="{{ confirm }}">{{ confirm }}</a>
+</p>
+
+<p>enjoy!</p>