Maharashtra Rolls Out Online Marriage Registration Eliminating the Need to Visit Registrar Office
The department of registration and stamps has revolutionized the marriage registration notice system under the Special Marriage Act, 1954, across Maharashtra by enabling online facility, eliminating the need for physical visits to the registrar’s office and checking exploitation by middlemen.
The online system, launched after successful pilot runs in select districts, including Pune, processed 31,758 notices last year. After its statewide expansion, 3,412 notices were issued in the last one month.
“The digital transition has significantly reduced unauthorized middlemen. Previously, couples had to visit the registrar’s office multiple times, often relying on agents. The online process has eliminated such practices,” a senior registration department official said.
The Special Marriage Act provides for civil marriages through a process that requires couples to file a 30-day notice of intended marriage with the district marriage registrar followed by a public notice period for potential objections. The marriage must be registered within 60 days, provided no objections arise during the notice period.
A couple used the online facility last month and found the process to be fast and simple. “We did not engage anyone to help us out with filling up form 16, the application to register the marriage under the Act. As a couple, we registered one form sharing the details. Once the time frame is completed, a date of choice can be requested online,” the couple, said, requesting anonymity.
Another applicant said he was planning to approach a lawyer but now with the process being so transparent, it would make his job easy.
The new system features Aadhaar-based verification, reducing documentation requirements. It also cross-references data from all sub-registrar offices to prevent cases of multiple marriages. Registration department officials said with plans to integrate the data with all the offices, any form of duplication could be identified.
The system that was operational last year was of a different version. “The updated version is making the process easy for applicants,” the official said, adding multiple features were being planned to be introduced.
The state records approximately 30,000 marriages annually under the Act.
