The Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Civil Affairs is considering requiring local residents to electronically register their marital status on their social welfare cards, a bureau official told the Global Times yesterday.

The measure aims to save residents with local household registration from the hassle of repeatedly applying for a government certificate that is supposed to prove they are single.

The certificate of marital status, sometimes referred to as "the proof of being single," is an indispensable document necessary for getting married, purchasing real estate, applying for home mortgages and even registering with reputable matchmaking agencies, said Lin Kewu, the director the bureau's marriage registration office.

Residents have to file a slew of paperwork to obtain the certificate, including sworn statements from an applicant's parents and employer stating that the he or she is single.

However, because the certificate expires after three months, some residents have to reapply multiple times, placing an unnecessary burden on the civil affairs bureau, which handles the applications.

Encoding the marital status on residents' social welfare cards would allow both the bureau and residents to avoid the trouble of repeated applications. The bureau plans to verify the applicant's marital status before encoding it on their social welfare cards, Lin said.

The bureau processed 40,000 applications last year for the certificate, as well as 140,000 marriage certificate applications - most of which would have required both spouses to verify they were single, Lin said.

The bureau implemented a similar measure in 2001, but it was discontinued during its second year.

Lin said the requirement still needs legislative approval and won't take effect until the end of next year at the earliest.