Based on the amendments to the Law of Georgia “On Civil Status Acts”, the Public Service Development Agency of the Ministry of Justice has introduced a new service which refers to registration of 7 types of civil status records: birth, paternity establishment, marriage, divorce, adoption, change of given name/surname and death. These records will be registered electronically and the corresponding documents will also be issued electronically.
The aim of the legislative amendments is to promote e-government and enhance citizens’ access to services of the Agency through the use of modern technologies.
As a result of innovation and the use of modern technology, it will be much easier for citizens to have their electronic documents certified for use abroad. This will save time and resources for the individual. The individual will be able to submit an electronic certificate request to the relevant authority, have it certified with an electronic apostille and then download the completed document from anywhere in the world, without having to physically travel.
In order to obtain reissued certificates of civil status act registration, a citizen must submit an electronic application to the Public Service Development Agency. For the initial registration of civil status acts, citizens must contact the relevant services. In both cases, they will receive a unique registration number and corresponding identification code, which will allow them to access the portals “www.my.gov.ge” and “sda.gov.ge”. It will also be possible to download a certificate of civil status act registration at any time within one year.
It should be noted that, in light of the changes in legislation and the enhanced standards of personal data protection, efforts will be made to ensure that the rules for the issuance, exchange and familiarization of interested parties with electronic documents are strictly adhered to. Specifically, only individuals with a designated code will be able to view and download electronic documents from the relevant web portal. Citizens will have the option to obtain a hard copy of their electronic certificate of civil status act registration upon request, which they can indicate when submitting an application.
The reform of the electronic trust service has enabled the issuance of certificates of registration for civil status acts (births, paternity establishment, marriage, divorce, adoptions, change of given name/surname, death) in electronic format.
The Agency is one of the leading providers of public services in Georgia and is committed to introducing customer-focused e-government. As part of its electronic trust service reform, the law “On Electronic Documents and Electronic Trust Services” entered into effect in May 2018. The development and implementation of electronic services has significantly reduced the flow of paper documents and improved the security of documents.
