Updating the Civil Registry
Updating the civil registry requires that, after an initial registration, steps are taken to ensure the
regular updating of the list. When registration is compulsory, as it invariably is with a civil registry,
citizens can be required to provide updated information to the civil authority within a certain
period of time of the change in status (i.e., change in name or address, attain voting age, gain
citizenship, marry, or divorce).
The following are some issues to consider when establishing steps for updating information in the
civil registry.
- Who is responsible for providing various registration information, and to whom is the
information conveyed?
- At the birth of a child, is the information on registration conveyed by the hospital or other
birthing centre authorities, by a midwife, or by the parents?
- Do the parents need to provide additional information, for example, on mother's maiden name,
grandparents' names, adoption information, separate from that of the hospital or other medical
authorities?
- Who reports information on the custodial status of children in the event of a divorce or new
marriage? Is this information conveyed by the parent (and if so, which one), by the civic official
(perhaps a judge) who determines custodianship, by child welfare authorities, or some other
person or organisation?
- Similarly, for change of citizenship, is this information transmitted by the citizenship court, by
the registrant, or by some other official?
- For reporting the death of a citizen on the register, who provides this information, the
immediate relative, the doctor signifying death, or others?
- What provisions are in place to ensure that this reporting occurs in an expeditious
manner?
In Sweden, the remains of a deceased person cannot be cremated or buried before the
crematorium authorities, or those responsible for cemetery administration, receive a certificate
from the tax authority with details of the deceased person and the time of death.100
Performance Indicators
As with the other types of voter registration procedures, it is important with the civil registry to
create a number of performance indicators to assess the overall quality of the register. Three
performance indicators completeness, currency, and accuracy apply to the civil registry. In
general, one of the distinct advantages of the civil registry is that it is capable of performing very
well on each of these measures. The mandatory character of civil registers means that it should
perform well on the completeness measure. Indeed, because a person's absence from the civil
registry is viewed as a form of civic death, the performance on this measure should be very high.
The emphasis on continually updating this list, and having a relatively short time frame for filing
changes to the list, should result in a list that is highly current. Because the list is continually
monitored and maintained, and is used for a variety of purposes, there are many opportunities for
identifying errors. The result is a list with a high level of accuracy.
Connecting Registers
A common feature of civil registers is the use of multiple sources of information, and multiple
registers, to assist in providing updated information. For example, the Swedish system includes
131 local registers located at the tax authority offices, combined with 24 regional registers, all of
which are joined in the central reference register. Each of the registry centres has different levels
of access to the registration database. Following are some elements of the Swedish system.
- The local offices each have direct access to the data only for their local register.
- The regional registers have no direct access to the local registration databases, and instead are
responsible for circulating the registration information to various users in their region.
- The central reference register, which is responsible for the important task of assigning the
personal identity number that stays with the citizen throughout his or her life, assigns individuals to
the various local tax offices.
Thus, the registers themselves are quite distinctive, with the key organisational unit for collecting
and updating information being the local authority.101
