Civil status services to be digitalized in Moldova; marriage to be able to be registered at notary

Chisinau, 4 December /MOLDPRES/ - The public services of registration of civil status deeds and events will be modernized. The cabinet of ministers today approved a draft law which changes the concept of transcribing the civil status acts, redefines the notion of ‘’civil status act’’ and allows the notaries to register the marriages, the government’s communication department has reported.  
A major change is the removal of the classical process, which implies at least a visit to the Public Services Agency (ASP) for taking the certificate on paper. From now on, the civil status deeds and events will be registered electronically and the extracts will be issued in digital format.  The documents of birth, marriage, divorce, change of name or death will be available on paper only upon request. As a result, the public and private institutions will no longer ask the citizens for evidence in printed form, accessing the information directly through electronic platforms, such as MConnect and SIC Access-Web.  
„We must make sure that the digitalized public services are used also by the private sector, so that we do not limit ourselves only to the state’s institutions. I ask you to make sure that everybody can use the digital signature, without the need of the humid stamp,’’ Prime Minister Dorin Recean said.   
Another novelty is the extension of the powers of the notaries, who will be able to register marriages, providing citizens with a more accessible and quicker option. Also, all civil status deeds and events which occur abroad will be integrated in the ASP’s database, with civil status documents issued in electronic format. 
Through this draft, the Justice Ministry, in cooperation with the Public Services Agency and the Electronic Governance Agency, has the goal to simplify the processing of applications and reduce the bureaucracy. Thus, the citizens will benefit from more efficient services and more facile interactions with the authorities.