Venezuela and Ecuador introduce fully digital civil document processing

The Venezuelan Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the Servicio Autónomo de Registros y Notarías (SAREN) has activated a 100 % electronic platform for the legalization and apostille of 153 types of civil and notarial documents. Users can submit requests through the new portal (https://tramites.saren.gob.ve) without visiting diplomatic or consular offices; any previously scheduled in‑person appointments were cancelled as of 11 June. The list of documents includes birth, marriage and death certificates, notarized powers, contracts, court sentences and various family‑law authorizations.

In Ecuador, the Registro Civil’s Agencia Virtual now allows citizens to obtain birth, marriage, death certificates, identity statements and other registral copies entirely online, with PDFs bearing verifiable electronic signatures. The service operates 24 hours a day, accepts credit‑card and banking‑app payments, and aims to reduce travel to physical offices. Certain procedures—such as first‑time issuance of the national ID card and passport applications—still require an in‑person appointment for biometric data collection.