Digital service. What is the "E-Service" portal and why it is the future
What is the "E-Pasluga" portal and what are its benefits
"E-Pasluga" is a legally defined single point of access for citizens and businesses to order certain state services - administrative procedures and electronic services. They differ in that to apply for an administrative procedure, you need to submit an application in a specific form, wait a certain period, and receive a response in the form of a certificate, extract, or some document. An electronic service, on the other hand, is a request for information from some information system and receiving a response online, i.e., without the need to submit applications and wait for a long review. They can be accessed either through a mobile app or through a browser.
The system already offers over 880 services and administrative procedures, and their number is constantly growing. Last year alone, 119 new administrative procedures and 26 new electronic services were added.
The portal is developing very dynamically. "For example, all administrative procedures in the country related to licensing were digitized simultaneously. This is interesting for citizens because they are also licensees. For example, legal practice is licensed, and individuals use this service. Or activities such as storing and carrying weapons are licensed – individuals also use these licenses, so the procedures are now available to them online," noted Svetlana Karanevich.
The main advantage of the portal is that it transforms complex government processes into a few mouse clicks or screen touches. There is no longer a need to collect paper copies of documents – the system itself requests the necessary information from state databases. The obtained certificates and extracts have the same legal force as paper originals. "This is enshrined in Directive No. 2: any information sent to activated personal accounts on the portal is legitimate and subject to execution. All that remains is to prove that the information presented by a citizen was indeed obtained through their personal account. For this purpose, there is a publicly available free service 'Document Verification'. Any authorized body upon request can access the portal without authorization, enter a unique number generated for each document, and visualize the same document on their screen. This confirms that it was obtained in the protected environment of a personal electronic account, is considered legitimate, legally valid, and subject to execution. Consequently, there is no longer a need to carry a stack of papers," she explained.
A digital assistant in your pocket
To log in, you don't necessarily need an ID card or an electronic digital signature (EDS), which require payment. The portal offers various authorization methods, but to access most services, strict authorization is needed. Recently, a unique identifier, issued free of charge at "one-stop shop" service centers, became one of the strict authorization methods. "We visit the 'one-stop shop' service center once with an identity document, a specialist verifies us, checks the data in the Ministry of Internal Affairs population register, and issues a unique identifier. It's simply a login and password, which is subject to change upon the first login to the personal account, but it is also considered a method of strict authorization because the identity was initially verified and cross-checked with state information resources," noted Svetlana Karanevich.
This identifier is used exclusively for the portal. It is issued free of charge and provides capabilities similar to EDS, except for signing documents on the portal. With it, over 400 electronic services are available – a considerable number.
If we talk about non-strict authorization methods, only 40 services are available through this method. This means you can get 10 times more by visiting the "one-stop shop" service center once and obtaining a unique identifier.
Alongside the unified portal of electronic services, there is also the mobile application "E-Pasluga". Android users can download it for free via Google Play, Huawei AppGallery, Android RuStore. For iPhone owners, there is currently a full-fledged version in the browser, allowing them to resolve issues from home, work, or even from another country.
From kindergarten queues to pensions: which services are in demand among Belarusians
The most in-demand administrative procedures subject to digitization are specified in the Prime Minister's Decree No. 119r. According to Svetlana Karanevich, this decree includes all the most relevant and interesting procedures. For example, at the end of 2025, highly anticipated administrative procedures such as registering children for kindergartens and issuing kindergarten referrals were digitized. "These are two different administrative procedures. Now, young families for whom this situation is relevant can fill out applications from home. Almost the next day after a child's birth, upon receiving the birth certificate, they can put them on the kindergarten waiting list and apply for a referral. All of this is already digitized and working," said Svetlana Karanevich.
In addition, procedures for citizen registration have been digitized. "The Ministry of Internal Affairs has two administrative procedures – registration of citizens by place of residence and by place of stay. These are also highly in-demand. The authorized bodies are the Citizenship and Migration Departments (OGiM). They are constantly crowded with people, with long queues specifically for these procedures. Now they are available in electronic format. Also, another new service has appeared through the Ministry of Internal Affairs – registration of employment contracts with migrants. A separate regulatory framework was developed for this process. And recently, literally since the winter of last year, this option has been available to employers who hire labor migrants and are obliged to officially register contracts in a unified database," the head of the department noted.
The portal already offers many procedures for obtaining certificates and extracts. "We now have the ability to obtain a certificate of family composition, which seems to be the most popular certificate. It used to be called a 'personal account,' but now it's called a 'certificate of residence and family composition.' This is what we used to go to the settlement and information centers for, and it's needed for various purposes. Now you can order and receive it on the portal in electronic form. A certificate of subsidies received for housing construction can also be obtained electronically," Svetlana Karanevich gave as an example.
Earlier, many services in the areas of housing and communal services, labor, and social protection were digitized. For example, certificates on the amounts of accrued benefits or the amount of pension paid are available on the portal. You can find out the amount of income tax paid by your employer to the Social Protection Fund of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection (FSZN) and compare it with your payslip. "Last year, in the spring, just before the major holidays, before Radunitsa, administrative procedures were introduced that allow you to obtain permits for entry into the exclusion zone. Burial sites can be located anywhere, including in the exclusion zone, and this is not a simple zone – permits and special authorization are required. And not just for visits, but also for removing property, if necessary," she said.
The state is moving towards a proactive mode – this involves providing services or receiving notifications from the state when a citizen does not ask about anything, does not submit an application, but still receives a service or information. "Last year, 11 proactive services were introduced," noted Svetlana Karanevich. "Among them is a notification about the expiration of identity documents. This means you will receive a notification in your personal account that your passport expires in 3 months. Notifications concern all types of documents – paper passports, biometric passports, ID cards, residence permits."
Notifications about approaching expiration dates are sent to personal electronic cabinets. This also applies to driver's licenses and vehicle registration certificates. Additionally, if a citizen's surname, name, or patronymic, or address changes, "E-Pasluga" notifies them that it would be advisable to replace the documents.
The portal already features a proactive service for pension assignment. "We started with disability pensions. Currently, disability is assigned after a meeting of the medico-rehabilitation expert commission. A person comes, the commission convenes, and establishes disability. The essence of the service is that after disability is assigned, the information enters the Ministry of Labor system, and they immediately assign the pension to the person. The person to whom the pension has been assigned is notified in their personal cabinet; they do not need to go anywhere else. They already receive such a notification in their electronic cabinets. We will further expand the list of situations in which citizens will be notified, including about the payment of other types of benefits, through the traffic police, and so on," noted Svetlana Karanovich.
"Patient's Personal Cabinet" and electronic work record. What are the plans?
Near-term plans include the creation and launch of a unified medical platform and the Civil Registry Office (ZAGS) system (registration of birth, death, marriage, adoption, etc.).
"By the end of 2025, a state program measure was being implemented in the country to create a large Civil Registry Office system, because currently there is no unified system in the country; everyone has their own local systems, and there is no centralization. Therefore, a large shell was being created, which will be populated and launched this year. And when the system itself is created and populated, administrative procedures for registering births, deaths, and marriages will be implementable on the portal," emphasized Svetlana Karanovich.
Along with this, a centralized healthcare information system (CHIS) is being created in Belarus, which will also accumulate various medical databases as a platform. Currently, its pilot operation is underway. According to the specialist, it will not take much time. "The system's operation is being tested in several hospitals and polyclinics, and then it will be launched into production. Of course, any system created in the country is subject to integration with OAIS - our large centralized platform, in order to provide many services to citizens later," she noted.
In the future, after the implementation of such a system, it will be possible to view your medical record, laboratory test results, and everything else in your personal account on "E-Pasluga," so that information is saved when moving between polyclinics or medical centers. "This is the prospect for 2026-2027. We hope that all this will be very fast," said the head of the department.
In addition, the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection is actively digitizing its services. "They are adopting the experience of the Russian Federation - they have already digitized work record books, for example. They have a joint project on this topic. I really hope that active work will be carried out in this direction this year, and we will digitize not only medical records in healthcare but also work record books," she said.
How "E-Pasluga" will develop further
Security and ease of use are a priority for the portal developers. All data is protected, and information in an activated personal account is considered official.
User feedback is processed directly – through the button in the personal account or reviews in the app store, you can report an error or suggest an improvement. "All of this goes into our automated technical support system, is processed, and taken into account. The same applies to the mobile application. We constantly analyze reviews on Google Play, understand what users want. At one point, right at the very start, we realized that most problems and errors occur during the authorization process in the application. There are no complaints about the application's functionality as such, but there are issues with the ID card authorization process," Svetlana Karanievich noted.
Based on the analysis of this feedback, improvements are made. "In some cases, we improved the user experience, in others, for example, it was intuitively unclear where to click. We added such minor interface elements based on user requests. Or, for example, requests to simplify the user journey when ordering administrative procedures. We noted that some steps might be redundant, or it might be possible to initiate the exclusion of electronic digital signature. On the one hand, all services that appear on the portal are created in strict accordance with the regulatory documents written by a particular government body. We are obliged to do so. But, on the other hand, it may not be very convenient and not very user-friendly. Therefore, in any case, feedback also has its place, and if the regulatory body agrees, changes are made to the portal. That's why we always maintain close contact with users," the specialist pointed out.
In the future, according to her, an interactive artificial intelligence-based assistant will appear on the portal – it's a kind of chatbot that will help find the necessary service in simple language and guide on how to fill out an application. "It will analyze user requests, help find the necessary service or procedure, answer questions about filling out applications, and so on. We have already developed a prototype, are testing it, and it should appear on the portal, in the personal account, this year," she said.
The interactive assistant will operate within the personal electronic account. "Most likely, there will even be some kind of character. There are already sketches on this topic," added the head of the department. "This will provide an opportunity for interactive engagement with users. Because very often it is difficult to find a service even by its name - it is named exactly as the administrative procedure is named and can contain eight lines. And the user will write in simple language what they need, and artificial intelligence will understand what to offer the citizen from the dataset."
Last year, 172 million electronic services were provided on the "E-Pasluga" portal – approximately 12 million services per month in total. For comparison, in 2024, there were about 168 million. "That is, we have constant dynamics, growth. There are fewer administrative procedures – around 280 thousand per year. Administrative procedures are used less actively, because many of them require signing with an electronic digital signature. We see this as a restraining factor. And, possibly, insufficient popularization. Although some procedures still require personal presence (for example, when a commission or a specialist's visit is needed), the absolute majority of issues can be resolved remotely," said Svetlana Karanovich.
The "E-Pasluga" portal continues to develop, connecting new departments and expanding its functionality. "At the beginning of 2025, an initiative was implemented to create a so-called sandbox for developers. A test environment appeared, where we can allow third-party developers. This enhances the capabilities of government bodies in developing services. It's one thing – only our staff of developers, and another thing – digitalization offices, of which there are many in the country. Anyone can use this constructor after undergoing appropriate training and obtaining a certificate," noted the head of the department.
Last year, over 100 e-services and administrative procedures were developed by third-party developers, not by the National Centre for Electronic Services. "We are increasing the accessibility of service development, consequently, deadlines are shortening, everything can be done faster because there are more developers, not everyone is in the queue. The chances of fulfilling the Prime Minister's decree No. 119r on time have also significantly increased," she emphasized.By 2026, according to decree 119r, there are not many administrative procedures left to digitize – about 40 of them.
"BelTA"