RIYADH — The Ministry of Justice has started implementing electronic marriage contract service in all regions of the Kingdom. Minister of Justice Dr. Walid Al-Samaani has issued directives on Wednesday to expand the provision of the electronic marriage contract service in all regions of Saudi Arabia through the portal of ezawaj.sa after the success of the experimental launch of the service in Riyadh. The new service aims to securely document marriages; spare clients court visits and streamline family procedures. The ministry’s portal allows online entry of the couple’s data and other information, and then a date is set for the marriage official (mazun) to verify all contract requirements. The ministry allows printouts of marriage contracts through its online portal and enables government agencies to verify marriage data. The ministry stated that the electronic marriage contract service saves time and effort for the beneficiaries, by cutting short many of the previous procedures, including the personal visit and contact to many government offices and agencies. The ministry clarified that the beneficiaries who are about to get married can book for an appointment with the marriage official in their neighborhood as it is required for the beneficiaries to fill up the online application through ezawaj.sa service portal. The information to be furnished in the application shall include all the required data and details about the couple, as well as the terms and conditions. Then, a date shall be fixed for the session for concluding the marriage contract in the presence of the marriage official where he has to verify fulfillment of the terms and conditions of the marriage contract and also to check the fingerprint electronically through a smart device. The ministry indicated that the new service aims to document all the data electronically, automate the marriage contract procedures from home, and present them to the beneficiaries with ensuring quality and safety. This would bring about a major positive shift in the registration of marriage ceremonies in the Kingdom, in a way that serves the beneficiaries and facilitate their dealings. The ministry stated that the ezawaj platform eliminates the need for the beneficiary to visit the court to document the contract, the medical examination centers to know the results of the examination, and the Civil Status Department to record the marriage ceremony. An electronic record of the marriage contract is kept, dispensing with manual registers of the marriage official and paper contracts. All these measures have become completely electronic, the ministry said, adding that under the new service, the beneficiary can now obtain the results of the pre-marital medical examination electronically.