No submission of certified copies: A step forward in administrative procedure reform

To continue tightening administrative discipline and improving the quality of service to the people, the People's Committee of Thai Nguyen province issued Document No. 4507/UBND-NCPC dated September 15, 2025, according to which departments, branches, sectors and People's Committees at all levels will stop requiring citizens to submit certified copies of the original while they can completely accept electronic copies or photocopies with the original for comparison.

People are guided by officers of Dong Hy Commune Public Administration Service Center to declare information to resolve administrative procedures.

This policy is considered a new step forward in administrative procedure reform, helping to save time and costs for people, while promoting the implementation of administrative procedures in the electronic environment.

Coming to the Public Administration Service Center in Dong Hy commune to register for the procedure of confirming marital status, Ms. Diep Thi Hoa, Dong Thai residential group, Dong Hy commune only needs to declare personal information without having to submit any notarized copies or other documents.

Ms. Hoa said: When I came here, I only had to fill out an application form, and the paperwork was completed in nearly 30 minutes. I did not have to prepare any other documents because the system already had all my information.

In fact, not requiring people to submit certified copies helps the process of receiving and processing documents to be faster, more transparent and more economical. From July 1, 2025 to now, Dong Hy commune has received over 3,500 and processed nearly 3,400 administrative procedure files on time and before the deadline, reaching a rate of 100% on time, with no overdue files.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Mui, a specialist at the Dong Hy Commune Public Administration Service Center, explained: For procedures that do not require notarized copies, we do not ask people to submit additional documents to avoid complications. In cases where it is required by law, we still guide people and businesses to comply with the law.

With the motto "Taking people's satisfaction as a measure of service quality", Pho Yen Ward Public Administration Service Center always aims for a professional, transparent and friendly administration.

Staff of Pho Yen Ward Public Administration Service Center guide people to carry out administrative procedures.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong Hanh, Deputy Director of the Public Administration Service Center of Pho Yen Ward, said: Right from the time we received the directive document from the Provincial People's Committee, we thoroughly informed all officers and civil servants of the Center to strictly implement the requirement of not requiring citizens to submit redundant documents.

For 25 full-process public services, when receiving administrative procedure files and processing them, officers have been instructed to look up and check information directly on the national data system to ensure speed and accuracy. Citizens are not required to submit certified copies of the originals while they can completely receive electronic copies or photocopies with the originals for comparison.

It can be seen that the implementation of the Provincial People's Committee's directive to end the requirement for unnecessary certified copies is not only a change in the processing process, but also a transformation in the service mindset in the administrative apparatus.

If in the past, people were often afraid to contact government agencies because of cumbersome procedures and many types of documents, now the 2-level local government model in communes and wards such as Dong Hy, Pho Yen and other localities in the province has created a new appearance, friendly, transparent, and professional service.

In addition, localities are actively applying information technology to manage, store and process records; promoting the use of online public services, personal digital signatures, and citizen identification codes to gradually replace the copying, photographing, and certification of paper documents.

As evidence, the Ministry of Science and Technology recently announced the results of the 2024 provincial Digital Transformation Index (DTI) ranking, Thai Nguyen province ranked 8th out of 34 provinces and cities nationwide with a score of 0.7521 points.

Source: https://baothainguyen.vn/xa-hoi/202510/khong-nop-ban-sao-chung-thucbuoc-tien-trong-cai-cach-thu-tuc-hanh-chinh-4c32c70/