Synchronize civil status management - certification after merger

Civil servants of Tan Dan Ward Public Administration Service Center guide people to submit applications online.

At the Public Administration Service Center (PVHCC) of Tan Dan Ward, the working atmosphere is always busy during office hours. On average, every day, the center receives hundreds of records in many fields, of which the highest proportion is in the field of civil status and certification (about 70% of the total number of records received/day). Common procedures such as re-registering birth certificates, death certificates, issuing copies of civil status extracts, certifying documents, signatures... are carried out regularly. Despite the large number of records, thanks to the initiative and dedication of the civil servants, the procedures are all resolved quickly.

Ms. Hoang Thi Nguyet, village 14, Tan Dan ward, shared: “I came to the center to re-register my birth certificate and complete my land records. The staff here gave very enthusiastic instructions, especially to those who do not know how to use online public services.”

Currently, the center has 1 part-time director, 1 deputy director and 2 officers directly handling administrative procedures in various fields. The officers have a good grasp of the profession and proactively guide and support citizens in submitting applications online. "The new commune is larger, more populous, and has much more work than before. Most people who come to submit applications have to spend time guiding them step by step to log in to their online application, but this is considered a "transitional step" to help people get familiar with technology and become proficient in submitting applications online when doing procedures and paperwork," said Ms. Le Thi Diu, a civil servant at the Tan Dan Ward Public Administration Center.

Not only in central communes and wards, in mountainous communes, access to public services in the field of justice - civil status is also gradually becoming routine. In Mau Lam commune, Ms. Nguyen Thi Ly, Eo Son village, went to the commune Public Service Center to request a copy of her marriage registration. The staff guided the application to be completed online via the National Public Service Portal, then the staff received, completed, signed and returned the results on time. Ms. Nguyen Thi Nguyet, a civil servant at the Mau Lam Commune Public Service Center, said: "Simple procedures related to the field of civil status and certification are processed and results are returned quickly to citizens. However, currently, the majority of citizens who come to do administrative procedures still need to receive paper results, even though the system has provided legal electronic copies. This shows that the habit of using traditional documents is still common in many current records and procedures".

To ensure smooth civil status and certification work, Thanh Hoa Department of Justice has proactively reviewed and adjusted regulations, and closely coordinated with relevant departments and branches to issue professional guidance documents suitable for the new model.

According to Ms. Tran Thi Hong Le, Deputy Head of the Administrative and Judicial Support Department (Department of Justice), when operating a two-level local government, essential public services in the field of justice - civil status under the previous district-level authority were mostly assigned to the commune level. From July 1, 2025, the Ministry of Justice officially operated the new version of the Electronic Civil Status Registration and Management System nationwide. Immediately after that, the Thanh Hoa Department of Justice promptly granted accounts to process records, signed, and stamped documents to leaders of the People's Committee, justice - civil status officials, and commune-level secretaries for 166 communes and wards in the province to carry out electronic civil status registration. This helps to unify the process of processing records, increase the speed of receiving and returning results, especially in localities with a large number of records.

Inspection and professional guidance work has also been focused on. Since the beginning of the year, the Department of Justice has issued many documents guiding professional practices, organized many training courses, and fostered specialized skills for representatives of the People's Committee leaders and civil servants performing judicial and civil status work in new communes and wards. Training content focuses on skills in processing electronic records, connecting birth - death - permanent residence registration procedures, certifying signatures, copies... to ensure that all officials grasp the process and serve the people effectively.

In particular, facing the difficulties arising when the officials in charge of the judicial and civil status fields were disrupted and the workload pressure after the merger in many communes and wards, the Thanh Hoa Department of Justice advised the Provincial People's Committee to submit to the Provincial People's Council to issue Resolution No. 36/2025/NQ-HDND dated October 4, 2025 stipulating the scope and authority of the Chairman of the Commune People's Committee to civil servants of the Commune People's Committee to perform the authentication work in the province. Based on the approved resolution, the Chairman of the Commune People's Committee is authorized to civil servants of the Commune People's Committee to perform the authentication work with the following scope and authority: Signing and certifying copies from original documents and papers issued or certified by agencies and organizations; signing and certifying signatures in documents and papers (except for signing and certifying the signature of the translator). This regulation helps reduce the burden on the leaders of the Commune People's Committee, while increasing the initiative and flexibility of the team of civil servants working directly with the people.

Thanh Hoa Department of Justice has coordinated with local civil status registration agencies to complete the digitization of civil status data in the province; issued a plan to deploy the application of digitized civil status data. Accordingly, all civil status data on the Civil Status Registration and Management System has been reviewed, compared with the National Population Database to ensure accuracy, and overcome cases of missing, incorrect, and duplicate data. Implemented the lookup of civil status information on the Administrative Procedures Information System through connection with the Electronic Civil Status Database, the National Population Database to serve the settlement of administrative procedures requiring submission/presentation of civil status papers to reduce the submission/presentation of civil status papers during the reception and settlement process according to regulations. Look up civil status data information to issue copies of civil status extracts (regardless of the place of residence or the place of previous civil status registration) and confirm civil status information.

Thanks to the proactiveness and positivity of the Thanh Hoa Department of Justice, along with the efforts of local authorities, civil status registration and certification activities in the province have stabilized, basically meeting the requirements of citizens. From July 1, 2025 to now, civil status registration agencies in the province have processed over 22,000 civil status registration applications of all kinds. Communes and wards have certified over 15,000 certifications. The files were returned on time and before the deadline, ensuring compliance with legal regulations.

Article and photos: Viet Huong

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/dong-bo-quan-ly-ho-tich-chung-thuc-sau-sap-nhap-268671.htm