Ha Noi pilots smart Kiosk for verification and issuance of copies of digital document

Speaking at the ceremony, Director of the Ha Noi Public Administration Service Center, Cu Ngoc Trang, stated that in implementing the Party and State’s major policy on breakthroughs in science and technology, innovation, and national digital transformation, Ha Noi has been striving, determined, persistent, and pioneering in building a citizen-centered, service-oriented administration, with data as the foundation and technology as the development driver. Within this overall framework, administrative procedure reform is at the forefront of digital transformation, where even small changes can have significant impacts on citizens and businesses.

Specifically, regarding the procedure for certifying copies from originals, the city receives nearly 70,000 applications per month. Meanwhile, most communes and wards have only one to two judicial officers in charge. This shows that a seemingly simple procedure occupies a substantial portion of the workload, placing pressure on staff and consuming considerable time and effort for citizens. Residents still need to bring original documents multiple times, wait, and spend time. Judicial officers must process each file manually, leading to overwork and potential errors. This represents a “small bottleneck with large consequences” in the administrative digital transformation process.

Based on this reality, the Ha Noi Public Administration Service Center proactively researched and collaborated with partners to develop the Verification and Issuance System for Digital Document Copies - a “small breakthrough for large impact” solution - shifting the certification process from manual to electronic, ensuring safety, speed, legality, and user-friendliness.

AI Application and digital signing enable citizens to self-certify

The system applies AI, OCR, and facial verification, allowing citizens to carry out certification directly at the smart kiosk. The entire process—from cross-checking, official digital signing, to printing a copy with a QR code—takes only 3–5 minutes, instead of 15 minutes with the manual method. The working efficiency of judicial officers increases 3–5 times, while fully ensuring legal validity and absolute security.

The issued digital copies feature an identification code, QR code, a “TTPVHCC” watermark, and are securely stored in the city’s electronic system. Citizens can access them anytime, anywhere, via email, the iHanoi e-wallet, or print paper copies when needed.

Each digital copy not only replaces the traditional certified copy but can also be reused for fully online public services and in various other procedures, saving costs, time, and effort for citizens and businesses.

A new step in administrative reform

According to Mr. Cu Ngoc Trang, if expanded citywide, the system will help reduce annual printing and storage costs by 50–60%; decrease hundreds of thousands of citizen trips; and raise the effective proportion of fully online public services to over 80%.

The Center aims, after the pilot phase, to coordinate a legal and technical evaluation and submit to the Ha Noi People’s Committee for approval to expand the scale and scope of the pilot, moving toward a paperless, distance-free, and unrestricted administrative model.

The smart kiosks will not only be available at the Center or ward-level People’s Committees but also installed in residential areas, shopping centers, and public points, enabling citizens to complete procedures anytime, anywhere.

This is a practical step to shift from “pre-approval control” to “post-approval oversight,” granting proactive authority to citizens and businesses - in line with the spirit of “service-oriented government, accompanied by a digital society.”

At the ceremony, Mr. Truong Viet Dung, Vice Chairman of the Ha Noi People’s Committee, stated that the city affirms its target of GDP growth of 8% or higher. The cumulative budget revenue to date has reached VND 583 trillion, an increase of 37% compared to the same period in 2024, of which approximately 95% is domestic revenue.

According to Mr. Dung, the total number of administrative procedures in Ha Noi is currently over 2,130, with 434 at the commune/ward level. The city has decided to delegate or decentralize more strongly, potentially adding around 200–250 procedures to the commune level. Comprehensive decentralization allows communes to make decisions, with the ultimate goal of better serving citizens. At the same time, Ha Noi is determined to build a digital citizenry for the capital.