After weeks of constrained operations caused by limited stock of specialized security paper, Dominica’s Civil Registry has announced it is returning to full, normal operations for processing and issuing birth, marriage and death certificates, following the delivery of a long-awaited new shipment of the required printing material.
At an official press briefing hosted by the Ministry of National Security and Legal Affairs, Acting Registrar General Nuraiyah Sebastian clarified the situation that had slowed services in recent weeks. She confirmed that while inventory had been tight, the agency never completely exhausted its supply of the specialized security paper. Throughout the period of constrained stock, the registry continued to issue certificates, but implemented a priority system that focused exclusively on emergency and time-sensitive requests, meaning routine and pre-submitted non-urgent applications could not be fulfilled within the agency’s standard processing timelines.
Now that new stock has arrived, all applicants who have been waiting for their completed certificates can visit the Civil Registry offices to collect their documents, and the agency is once again accepting new routine applications at its normal capacity, Sebastian said.
National Security Minister Rayburn Blackmoore provided additional details on the shipment and long-term planning to avoid future service disruptions. He confirmed that the latest delivery brought 9,000 additional sheets of security paper to the registry, and the government has already placed a follow-up order for 100,000 more sheets to build up a robust reserve. To prevent repeated delays, officials have arranged for scheduled, recurring deliveries of the material moving forward.
Blackmoore also explained the root cause of the recent supply shortage. The shortage emerged after the government implemented a temporary waiver of application fees for certificate requests during a national identity confirmation process. This fee waiver led many members of the public to request multiple copies of their vital documents, creating far higher demand than officials had initially projected.
Between the start of April and August 24 alone, the Civil Registry issued 8,282 birth certificates, Blackmoore reported. Full issuance data for September has not yet been compiled.
This specialized security paper is used for all three types of vital event certificates issued by the registry: birth, marriage and death certificates. Government officials note that the secure, anti-counterfeiting stock is a critical tool to lower the risk of document duplication and identity fraud, protecting residents from fraudulent use of their personal identifying information.