RGD Adds More Services To Its Online Platform

Customers of the Registrar General’s Department (RGD) will now be able to access additional services online as the entity continues its digitisation process.

Persons can now obtain an electronic burial order, apply for adoption certificates, and book their wedding at the RGD online.

This was disclosed by Minister without Portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister, Hon. Floyd Green, during his contribution to the 2022/23 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on Tuesday (May 24).

“This is not just good for our residents but also for our diaspora, who can [now] access these services and are also able to upload documents and make payments and, as such, conduct whole transactions from the comfort of their homes, anywhere in the world,” he said.

Minister Green noted that prior to 2020, customers could only apply online for birth, death and marriage certificates and genealogy research services.

He noted that over the last year, the agency has updated its online services to ensure that customers can now correct an error, update their records, and do a late entry of name online.

“In order to recraft and create a truly digital society, it has to start with a transformation of our civil registry. We must ensure that we increase accessibility, convenience and efficiency,” he stressed.

Minister Green further informed that the Government is now moving to procure a new registration software solution, “which for the first time in our history will link birth records to marriage records to deed poll to death records”.

The RGD registers 35,000 births, 12,000 marriages and 23,000 deaths per year.

Earlier this month, the RGD entered a $612-million contract with Fujitsu Caribbean (Jamaica) Limited to digitise more than two million of the RGD records.

This is being facilitated through funding from the National Identification System (NIDS) project in the Office of the Prime Minister. NIDS is intended to provide a comprehensive and secure structure to enable the collection and storage of identity information.

This secure voluntary tool can also verify an individual’s identity, facilitate the electronic signing of documents, and securely access a range of government services online.