Massive Uptick in Demand for RGD Online Services

The Registrar General’s Department (RGD) has seen an uptick in the demand for its online services as it continues its modernisation initiative, themed ‘Digitally Bold’, by moving more products and services online.

Marketing and Planning Manager at the RGD, Nicole Whyte, told a recent JIS Think Tank that prior to April 2020, only five of the Department’s services were available online, namely applications for birth, death and marriage certificates, search or the genealogy research tool, which is now dubbed ‘Outtamany Search’.

“Currently, we have over 15 products and services that customers can access online, so that’s a 200 per cent increase compared to prior April 2020. And what we have seen since April 1, 2023 to March 15, 2024, over 30,000 customers have actually paid and utilised and applied online for our services and we have a traffic of almost 400,000 visitors to our website over that same period, with 242,000 of those being new visitors to our website,” Ms. Whyte highlighted.

A feature on the entity’s website, www.rgd.gov.jm, also now allows customers to track the status of their applications without needing to call or go into an office, with more than 11,000 persons utilising it, so far.

Ms. Whyte adds that key among the benefits of the Department having its services online, is the ease of convenience now afforded to customers.

“It [also] brings in additional revenue, because previously you might have customers who might be turned off in having to come in and join a line, so they just don’t bother, but now with the ease of access and convenience, they go online,” Ms. Whyte said.

She pointed out that in addition to reducing wait times at RGD office locations, the ongoing “digitally bold” initiative also makes services accessible to Jamaicans from anywhere in the word at any time of day.

“So, that’s 24/7, and it allows us to have a global reach. They are able to access us via various digital channels on social media. They can access us via Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. We have YouTube, and we have our web chat via our website as well, so for us, ‘digitally bold’ is not just a slogan, but it’s really a transformation of the RGD and how we plan to move forward,” Ms. Whyte said.