The Ukrainian government has adopted a resolution allowing citizens to get married online via state-owned “Diya” app as part of a pilot project. Many couples are forced to postpone the legalization of their relationship due to the inability to meet in person. The registration of marriages will be done digitally now, and online marriages will be especially convenient for military personnel and couples separated by the ongoing conflict.

How does it work?

• the bride and groom fill out an application for marriage registration through the “Diya” application;

• an employee of the State Civil Registration Service conducts the wedding ceremony via video link;

• the couple signs the marriage certificate using the electronic signature.

Recently, the Diya portal has added a function for submitting an application for state registration of marriage with the ability to choose the place, time, format and hall for the ceremony online. This means that couples need to appear at the Civil Registry Office only on the day of marriage registration. More than 22,000 Ukrainian couples have already used this service, and with the option of the new service, the entire wedding process will be digitalized. Online marriages not only simplify the lives of Ukrainians, but also serve as an example of socially oriented electronic services. Using this option, military personnel will be able to get married remotely. The minister assured that the service will be secure and it will not be possible to marry someone without his or her knowledge. To get married, you have to go through several verification stages.

At the end of February 2023, the Ministry of Digital Development announced the opportunity to submit an application to the registry office online using “Diya” app. To do this, they must log in to the portal, fill out a marriage application in the “Family” section, pay an administrative fee and sign with an electronic signature. One of the newlyweds fills out the application; the other must confirm his consent using the link in the letter, also logging in to the portal.

In total, 122,650 new families were registered in Ukraine in January–August last year, the Ministry of Justice reported. The largest number of marriage records were compiled by the departments of state civil registration: the city of Kyiv (13,933), Dnepropetrovsk (12,389) and Odessa (9,158) regions.

At the same time, Ukrainians divorced eight times less; during this period, 15,061 divorces were registered.