Austrian Municipalities Choose Regula Document Readers to Facilitate ID Verification and Processing

In Austria, the municipal registration office (Meldeamt) plays a crucial role in the administrative process for both citizens and residents. It's where individuals are required to register their place of residence, which is an essential part of living in Austria. The Meldeamt ensures that the government has up-to-date information on the residence of its citizens and residents. However, its role extends beyond mere registration; it facilitates a smooth transition for individuals moving within or to Austria, granting them access to public services and contributing to orderly municipal management.

Challenge

Identity document handling and verification in the registration offices across Austria has been a long-established process based predominantly on manual work. The employees in the Meldeamt prove the document's authenticity and enter its data into registers manually. This approach requires a certain level of expertise, is time-consuming and prone to human-related errors.

Aspiring to modernize and facilitate the whole process of ID verification in registration offices, the Federal Ministry of Internal Affairs of Austria (Bundesministerium für Inneres, BMI) has launched the “Sicheres Meldeamt” (secure registration office) initiative. Within it, the ministry has offered registration offices a new approach to automate identity document reading and verification.

Solution

To realize the “Sicheres Meldeamt” project across the whole country, cooperation with IT service providers to Austrian registration offices was initiated. Among these providers are Kufgem, Gemdat OÖ, PSC, Comm-Unity EDV, Gemdat NÖ, and others. They have offered to equip registration offices with compact desktop document readers Regula 7024M.

This device is a powerful tool capable of transforming the daily operations of border controls and immigration services. Regula 7024M enables the scanning of a passport data page, automatically examining security features under white, infrared, ultraviolet, and coaxial lighting.

Featuring advanced OCR technology tailored for identity documents, Regula 7024M accurately identifies various data types, including engraved and embossed text. Intelligent algorithms swiftly decode machine-readable zones (MRZs) and barcodes. Additionally, the device comes equipped with an RFID chip reading module to enable verification of biometric documents.

To ensure the unrivaled trustworthiness of document verification, Regula 7024M performs extensive cross-checking of all the data and portraits from MRZ, RFID chip, and visual zone. This helps identify any possible inconsistencies in personal information that may indicate fraud.

Result

The first pilot projects in Linz, Telfs, Sankt Pölten, and some other Austrian cities turned out to be a success: Regula 7024M has significantly improved and simplified day-to-day processes in registration offices.

All the identity documents are now instantly scanned and securely verified, while the registration data is automatically sent to the register. All this is done in no time, significantly reduces manual workload, and eliminates human-related mistakes in data entry.

The municipality of Telfs in Tyrol is one of five Austrian pilot municipalities that have gone live within the “Sicheres Meldeamt” project. The use of the new BMI interface and the Regula document readers in the registration system has increased the security standard in the registration office. Kufgem ensured an easy integration of the application and document readers, including a professional implementation within the municipality, so that the administration can continue to run smoothly.

—Florian Schwitzer, Kufgem project manager for the implementation of “Sicheres Meldeamt”

We are extremely pleased with our collaboration with Regula. Their team has demonstrated remarkable responsiveness and a deep commitment to meeting our specific needs, which has significantly contributed to the success of the 'Sicheres Meldeamt' project. Regula’s focus on customer service and ability to quickly adapt solutions to our requirements have been essential in enhancing the registration processes across Austria.

—Alexander Arambasic, Gemdat OÖ project manager for the implementation of “Sicheres Meldeamt”

Now, the “Sicheres Meldeamt” project is going to be extended to other registration offices in Austria.

The digital enhancement of the registration process allows registration offices to create effective protection mechanisms against the unauthorized use of registration confirmations. This is achieved by using high-quality passport and document readers for verifying documents.

—Christoph Heichinger, Ministerial Councillor from the Central Office of the Federal Ministry of Internal Affairs of Austria and one of the project managers of the “Sicheres Meldeamt” project