Currently, a child's birth can be registered in all 79 local governments, but starting June 1, births in Estonia can only be registered in Haapsalu, Hiiu Municipality, Jõgeva, Jõhvi Municipality, Kuressaare, Narva, Paide, Põlva Municipality, Pärnu, Rakvere, Rapla Municipality, Tallinn, Tartu, Valga, Viljandi and Võru.

Enel Pungas, head of the population procedures department at the Ministry of the Interior, said that, first and foremost, significantly fewer children are being born compared to the past.

"The second factor is that we have already made significant changes to the birth registration process. For the past three years, it has been possible to use an e-service. This means that when parents have a child, they no longer need to visit an official in person; they can submit the application at the maternity hospital, assign the child's name and identify the father. This information is then sent to the official," said Pungas.

Around 85 percent of all births are registered online. Another important change occurred this April when the birth registration process was automated.

"If the name is correct – meaning someone in the population register already has that name – there is nothing for the official to decide. Today, most people who use the e-service receive an immediate response that the birth has been registered, the data is in the population register and they receive a certificate. The case doesn't even reach the official. At this point, it no longer makes sense to maintain birth registration for just a handful of cases per year in every local government," Pungas explained.

However, there are still situations where parents need to appear before an official in person.

"For example, if the parents are minors, they require representatives, and the child also needs a representative, involving the local government in a more extensive process. The same applies when foreign nationals, such as Finnish tourists, give birth in Estonia and want the birth to be registered here. In such cases, we don't have their data, so they must appear physically. But many people also visit simply because they prefer to do so," said Pungas.

According to the draft prepared by the Ministry of the Interior, these cases would be directed to county centers in the future. For the remaining 63 local governments, this means their officials would no longer need to pass the civil registry examination.

"It's not just 63 officials, but at least twice as many, because people also need to take time off or be absent occasionally. This means that over a hundred officials will no longer need to take the exam. This doesn't necessarily mean a reduction in staff, as these individuals were never registering births as a full-time role. It was something they did alongside other duties – an additional responsibility," Pungas stated.

The Ministry of the Interior noted that performing this additional task alongside other work has increasingly led to errors, as officials rarely encounter complex cases.

"You cannot be competent in a job you perform only three times a year," said Pungas. 

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