Certificate Recovery and Duplicates

Common Problems

Loss or damage of official certificates is one of the most common problems faced by Ukrainian citizens, especially during wartime. Millions of people were forced to leave their homes, leaving documents in combat zones or temporarily occupied territories.

Most Common Reasons for Requests:

• Loss of documents due to military actions, fire, natural disaster
• Damage to documents (water damage, wear, partial destruction)
• Need for documents for processing abroad
• Change of residence and inability to contact the issuing authority
• Change of surname, first name, or patronymic
• Errors in previously issued documents
• Need for certificates for persons located abroad

Who Issues Certificates and Where to Get Them?

In Ukraine, civil status certificates are issued by the departments of state registration of civil status acts (DRACS) under the territorial bodies of the Ministry of Justice. You can also apply through:

• CNAP (Administrative Service Centers) — a convenient way to submit documents
• Ukrainian consular offices abroad — for citizens outside Ukraine
• Diia portal — for some types of electronic applications

How to Obtain a Duplicate Certificate?

1. 1Determine which DRACS office to contact (at your place of residence or registration)
2. 2Prepare the necessary documents: passport, application form
3. 3Pay the state fee or administrative charge
4. 4Submit the application in person or through a representative (with power of attorney)
5. 5Wait for the duplicate to be prepared (usually 1 to 30 days)
6. 6Receive the duplicate certificate

Which Certificates Can Be Recovered?

• Birth certificate
• Marriage certificate
• Divorce certificate
• Name change certificate
• Death certificate

Possible Difficulties

• Lack of archival records (especially for documents issued before 1991)
• Documents issued in temporarily occupied territories or combat zones
• Data discrepancies between different documents (different surname spellings, dates)
• Need to confirm family connections to obtain third-party certificates
• Difficulties obtaining documents for persons located abroad
• Long processing times due to high volume of requests

Obtaining Certificates from Abroad

For Ukrainian citizens abroad, the following options are available: • Contact the Ukrainian consular office in the country of stay • Processing through an authorized person in Ukraine (notarized power of attorney required) • Using electronic services (Diia portal — for a limited list of services) It is important to note that processing times may be longer due to the need for document forwarding and inter-agency correspondence.