A well-functioning civil registration and vital statistics system, which captures key data points such as birth, death, marriage and divorce of the entire demographic, is important for both a country and its citizens. They are an essential set of matrices that keeps a check on the Human Development Index (HDI) of a country with respect to the Sustainable Development Goals(SDG). It enables individuals to prove legal status and access rights, which is why a Marriage Registration System can have positive benefits for people who register their marriages and not just solemnize in traditional institutions. It also helps women in a society where the equality status is still a subject of debate.Therefore a robust system for Marriage Registration can support a country’s development through a wealth of important data and the provision of basic human rights. 

In India, depending on whether one is a Hindu or belonging to any other religion, registration under the Special Marriage Act or the Hindu Marriage Act is mandatory. Also, marriages handled by religious institutions are not automatically provided in any of the acts, and needs to be solemnized. People shy away from the solemnization process because it requires a registration process, along with a waiting period, notwithstanding the amount of document submissions, verifications, visits to a government office etc. There are a lot of forms that need to be submitted such as:Proof of address, Proof of identification, Proof of birth, Affidavit stating the date and place of the marriage, Photographs,Wedding invitationto name a few.

Going digital for marriage registration is a great relief for the citizens.All they need to do is download the form, fill them out, and submit. Besides, it reduces the burden on the marriage registrar’s office as less time is spent dealing with consumer enquiries and need for the couple to be physically present is reduced to the bare minimum, thus expediting the entire process. Also authentication and verification of the submitted documents becomes easier and more time efficient.

The Portal offers the following benefits:

• Workflow oriented: A backend approval workflow and escalation process, reduces paperwork, dependency on an individual and time for an applicant.
• Highly Customizable: The portal allows for high levels of customization asmarriage laws are extremely versatile based on the country/region and can also change with time
• Guided Registration:  In addition to theportal beinguser-friendly, it is also endowed with an online customer care service bot, for assistance to citizens in case of bottlenecks. 
• Reduced visits to government offices:  While most government services have been digitalized end-to-end, marriage registrations still requires the married couple and a few witnesses to make one visit to a government office for verification.
• Track Status: The various stages of the process can be visually monitored with an estimated time of being granted the marriage certificate. The system also allows for an update SMS / email to be sent.
• Online Payment: The cost of registration depends under which law the marriage is to be registered and other formalities, all of which can be made a robust payment gateway.