Deputy Minister of the Interior Tomasz Szubiela and experts presented details concerning the new State Registers System and the enacted Civil Registry Acts Law.

From 1 March, municipal offices will have access to the State Registers System. It is a single, central database containing, among other things, the PESEL, identity card and civil registry records. On Tuesday, a conference was held at the Ministry of the Interior, during which experts presented the changes that will come into force on 1 March 2015.

Application for an identity card or birth certificate at any office

Thanks to the integrated State Registers System, the registered address will no longer determine where many official matters must be handled. Matters related to identity cards or civil registry records will be handled at any municipal office or civil registry office anywhere in the country.

Wedding outside the registry office

From 1 March, couples will be able to marry outside a civil registry office. “At present, this is solely the decision of the head of the civil registry office. In 2014, 2,400 people got married outside the registry office,” said Karolina Grenda, director of the Department of Civil Affairs.

From 1 March, this possibility will be provided for by law. Each couple will be able to submit an application to the head of the office. Let us remember that, thanks to the integrated State Registers System, we can submit it at any office anywhere in the country. We can also choose a ceremony venue other than an office. However, it must be a place that guarantees the solemnity and significance of the ceremony as well as the safety of all participants. The couple will have to pay PLN 1,000 to organise such a ceremony.

Giving children foreign names

It will soon also be possible to give children names of foreign origin. “In an era of open borders, we draw on the cultural heritage of the European Union and third countries. I think that liberalising the regulations in this area will be a considerable convenience for citizens,” said director Karolina Grenda.

The provision allowing a child to be given a maximum of two names will remain in force. When choosing a name, parents will have to remember that it cannot be a diminutive, offensive or ridiculing name. The decision on whether the name proposed by the parents meets the requirements laid down by law will rest with the head of the civil registry office.

State Registers System

The Ministry of the Interior, in cooperation with the Central Information Technology Centre, decided to integrate the most important state registers. This created a single State Registers System (SRP), to which all municipal offices in Poland will have access. Officials will work in the ŹRÓDŁO application, which provides access to the data. “This is the first stage of the computerisation of state registers; over time, we will release further products built on this system. Both citizens and institutions will use the e-services,” Karolina Grenda stressed.

What do you think of these changes?

Ministry of the Interior/ii