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e-divorce completes the Estonian digital state

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As of December 1, 2024, Estonia has launched e-divorce, the final service completing its vision of a fully digital state and providing couples a streamlined way to officially part ways. Enel Pungas, Head of the Population Operations Department of the Ministry of the Interior, led the creation of this service and shared with us the journey to the completion of the digital state.

The Estonian state has been purposefully developing digital event services for years. These are state or local government services a person needs due to an event or situation. E-divorce is one of the family events for which the Ministry of the Interior is responsible.

Enel Pungas, Head of the Population Operations Department of the Ministry of the Interior, has been involved in developing e-divorce since the idea phase. In 2022, she participated in drafting a law that enabled e-divorce. The need for this e-service was obvious.

“Divorce is often a very emotional process,” says Enel Pungas. “The state has no reason to make it even more complicated. Previously, people getting divorced had to meet first to apply and again with a local government official after a 30-day cooling-off period. Thanks to the e-service, only one physical meeting with an official is enough for the final divorce.”

How does e-divorce work?

The main goal was to make the service as convenient and simple as possible for people and reduce the burden on officials. The service operates through the population registry portal. There, one partner fills out the application, which then moves on to another partner. Since Estonian state databases cross-use data, the e-application is already pre-filled.

“We are also proud of the online booking system,” says Pungas. “Since local governments register divorces, we have the calendars of all 16 Estonian local governments on the portal. Divorcees can choose a convenient time to go there to formalise the divorce.”

The question of which divorcees must pay the state fee is also interesting. Security considerations helped resolve this issue.

“With digital services, it is theoretically possible to start harassing people with fake inquiries and notifications. That is why, for example, in the case of e-marriage, the state fee must be paid first and only then will the notification be forwarded to the partner,” explains Pungas. “However, since in the case of divorce the party is known, the party who filed the last application with this e-service pays the state fee.”

Why is e-divorce the last family event to be digitalised?

“We have based the digitalisation of public services on the number of users. E-marriage was completed a year earlier. About 6,000 people get married in Estonia per year. It is known that half of the marriages are dissolved, so we have 3,000 divorces,” said Enel Pungas.

Pungas hesitates to declare that the digital state is now truly complete.

“Based on the developer’s logic, everything could be theoretically digitalised. For example, we are still developing a digital name change service. The number of its users is about 2,000 people per year. But if there are even fewer users of the services, then it is not worth it,” explains Ms. Pungas. “It is much easier and cost-effective to allow old-fashioned personal services for exceptions and small user groups.”

The service is already popular

Currently, 56% of marriage applications are submitted to local governments in Estonia, and 85% of birth registration applications are submitted electronically.

Although e-divorce has only recently become available, it is already known that about half of divorce applications are submitted electronically.

“The only obstacle to using the e-service can be if people have married abroad or, for some reason, their documents are not in order,” specifies Pungas. “Then you have to first deal with organising your data or documents. Or you can still go to an official.”

Where to go next?

With most services in Estonia already digitised, developers are now exploring how to push boundaries further—mainly through automation and proactive services.

“We have thought about which direction to take next,” says Ms. Pungas. “In Estonia, there has been a lot of talk about more proactive services. There are some options there. But there comes a point where state intervention seems excessive.”

She illustrates this with an example: “For instance, many people add places like ‘home’ and ‘work’ to Google Maps or other apps. If GPS data shows they frequent a different address, they might receive a notification: ‘We see that you often go to Main Street 2. Do you want to register your residence there?’ But for many, this kind of intervention feels intrusive. We need to strike the right balance.”

This delicate balance—between convenience and overreach—highlights the challenges of advancing digital services. Sharing data between the public and private sectors raises questions of trust, legality, and public acceptance, while another dimension looms larger on the horizon: sustainability.

As governments strive to balance digitalisation’s efficiency gains with ICT’s environmental impact, especially AI, service developers must steer these complex and interconnected priorities. Estonian innovation’s future lies in building better tools and ensuring they are ethical, sustainable, and trusted. This challenge will keep Estonia’s digital pioneers busy for years to come.

 

Written by
Peeter Vihma
Peeter Vihma is an author, documentalist, and researcher at Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech). He is interested in how digital technology influences people and societies, especially regarding nature and resources.

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