By decision of the Council of Ministers, the profession of certifying employees is indirectly abolished – something that will take effect after the 200 currently active employees retire – and their work will be carried out by the Citizen Service Centers (CSC) and Citizen’s Centers (CC).
In a related announcement by the Ministry of Interior, it is stated that the Council of Ministers approved today the assignment of signature and seal certifications to the CSCs and CCs, as well as to government departments with a high volume of certifications.
The announcement adds that “the appointment of the approximately 200 existing certifying employees remains valid until their retirement, without the possibility of new appointments.”
The announcement also lists the following safeguards that were approved to limit irregularities:
Specifically, the Law on Certifying Employees of 2012 is replaced by the Law on Certification of Signature Authenticity of 2023, which, among other things, includes the following main provisions:
The authority for a large volume of certifications is delegated to the CSCs and CCs operating in urban centers and communities nationwide.
Electronic recording of certifications is implemented, allowing for traceability, with the ultimate goal of reducing the likelihood of illegal acts.
Public servants of Departments/Services with significant certification needs are designated by the Minister of Interior to act as certifying officers.
Tools are provided to the Ministry of Interior to control the legality of the work of existing certifying employees, including the possibility of investigations, appointment recalls, etc.
The replacement of the legislation establishes safeguards to limit irregularities and illegal actions by certifying officers (e.g., forged certifications resulting in misappropriation of property, conflict of interest issues with individuals maintaining service offering offices, etc.).
The bill will be submitted to the House of Representatives for discussion and voting.
New charges for signature/seal certification Furthermore, with the Minister of Interior’s Notification (pages 9-10) published in the Official Gazette of the Republic on Friday, February 16, 2024, new charges are determined for signature/seal certification by certifying employees.
According to the Notification, charges are now based on the number of pages of the document rather than the number of signatories, as was the case until now.
Specifically, the charges, regardless of the repetitions of the same signature/seal on the entire document, are determined as follows:
Up to 2 pages: €5
From 3 to 10 pages: €10
From 11 to 100 pages: €25
101 pages and above: €40
For each additional signatory and/or seal, for all the above cases, an amount of €2 is added at most for the entire document. For example, for a five-page document signed by four individuals, the certifying officer may receive up to €16 for the entire document.
It is noted that in the event a citizen calls a certifying employee to certify a signature/seal at a location other than their office, the certifying employee may request compensation from the citizen for their actual transportation costs, provided that the citizen has been informed in advance of the additional charge, which cannot exceed €10.
Finally, certifying employees may certify signatures on private documents to be sent abroad.
Documents will be referred for certification to the Ministry of Justice and Public Order or to the CSC/CC, after the certifying officer has first appeared at the respective District Administration for certification of their own signature.
The certifying officer may charge up to €2 per document, if the document will go through the apostille process and the officer will go to the District Officer for certification of their own signature/seal.
