Civil Registration Office Employees Day in Ukraine Date in the current year: February 11, 2024

State registration of the so-called acts of civil status in Ukraine is important because it allows to legally record the actions of citizens or events that may effect the emergence, termination, or change of rights and duties. An exhaustive list of acts of civil status subject to mandatory state registration is specified in the Law on State Registration of Civil Status Acts.

The list includes, for example, births, deaths, marriages, divorces, acquisition or loss of citizenship, attainment of majority, acquisition or restriction of legal capacity, and name change. The registration of an act of civil status is usually accompanied by issuance of a corresponding certificate. It should be noted that the registration of the place of residence is performed by administrative service centers rather than by civil registration offices.

The first civil registration offices in Ukraine were created in December 1917, shortly after the October Revolution. Prior to this, the church had been responsible for recording births, marriages and deaths in parish registers. During the Soviet era, these offices were named “bodies of registration of acts of civil status” (ZAGS for short).

In 2015, the process of civil registration in Ukraine became much simpler because it became possible to register some acts of civil status online without visiting a civil registration office. For example, Ukrainians can apply for marriage and divorce, book an appointment for state registration of birth or death, and apply for a name change online.

Another interesting innovation in the state registration of acts of civil status in Ukraine is the project entitled “Married in a Day”. Generally, couples have to wait for at least 30 days after applying for marriage until they can actually get married. However, in cities and towns that participate in the program, couples have an opportunity to get married the day they submit their application.

The employees of Ukraine’s civil registration offices make an important contribution to ensuring the implementation of state legal policy in this area, as well as to protecting the rights and legitimate interests of citizens and other resident of the country. Civil Registration Office Employees Day was created to highlight this contribution and to thank civil registration office employees for their had work and dedication. The date of the holiday, February 11, was chosen to commemorate the Law on Civil Registration Authorities that came into force on this day in 1994.