WildBlueSkies - Trends and strategies in Digital Media

In a bid to reduce red tape, the Netherlands Government has decided to allow citizens to register births, schedule civil weddings and file death reports online.
Under the plan, couples planning a marriage will be able to just fill in personal data from their own birth certificates and other documents on an online form on the city’s Web site, rather than bring original copies to city offices, as is currently required.
If bureaucrats are suspicious or see a problem, they can still summon the couple to appear in person for a more thorough vetting. In any case, both partners must show up for the physical wedding.
For deaths, the idea is to have crematoria or funeral parlors - which usually have access to a deceased person’s ID documents and the coroner’s report - automatically file deaths with the city’s administration.
The latest announcement follows a move by the national government in 2007 to keep cradle-to-grave records on all children in a single dossier in a database that can be accessed in varying degrees by schools, hospitals, social workers and police. [Via]

I had recently blogged about the need for online marriage registrations in India, and a possible way forward.

Filed under: eGovernance