About the portal
The Unified Portal of Public and Municipal Services (hereinafter, portal) is designed to facilitate interactions between citizens and the government and to make it easier to use government services. It provides information about government and municipal services and online access to select services.
All services hosted on the portal are linked with a specific region, as the availability of a service and related terms and conditions vary from region to region. By selecting their region on the portal, users will be able to see which services are provided by local departments of federal executive bodies, executive regional bodies and local government bodies in their region.
The portal today
As of April 2013, the portal receives 3.3 million visitors each month, the number of registered users exceeds 3.7 million, and over 1.1 million government services are accessed on the portal each month.
The portal makes interactions between citizens and the state simpler and more enjoyable.
Popular services
The most popular services are:
· Checking fines for traffic violations;
· Obtaining passports for foreign travel;
· Viewing personal accounts in the pension system;
· Checking back taxes;
· Receiving individual tax returns.
How the website works
Registration
Users can register and verify their identity several ways:
· By receiving a password via certified mail sent by the Russian Postal Service;
· Using a USB flash drive or smart card issued in person at a Rostelecom sales and customer service centre;
· Obtaining a qualification certificate and an electronic signature device;
· with all-purpose smart card
For all forms of registration, users must verify their identity before gaining access to their personal information.
Using online services
Currently, the portal provides 511 online services that do not require that the applicant appear in person at a government building, or submit any paper documents, certificates, applications, etc.
To use an online service:
1. Get verified on the portal;
2. Search for a service by department, category, life situation, or popularity, or by performing a full-site search;
3. Read the detailed description of the service;
4. Fill out the questionnaire with the personal data required to obtain the service;
5. Check the status of your application;
6. Pay the applicable fee, fine, or balance;
7. Read background information related to the service.
The number and sequence of actions required to use online services depends on the type of service and may vary.
Making it easier to obtain services in person
Some services can’t be provided online and require that the applicant appear in person at a government building, such as car registration and obtaining a new foreign passport. However, the government services portal can make this process easier by performing certain actions online before making an appointment with the department in question.
Online payment
The portal can be used to pay fines and balances. Payment information is automatically entered into a specialised database which speeds up the process of updating information about fines and balances, giving citizens the most complete and up-to-date information about their accounts.
Online payments can be made by credit card, e-money, or mobile phone.