OpenCRVS
RegistriesOpenCRVS is an open-source civil registration and vital statistics system that governments use to register births, deaths and marriages at national scale. It sits in the collection as a foundational registry building block: registration events are exposed through a standards-based interoperability layer that feeds identity, health and social protection systems rather than serving a single sector.
- DPG Profile: https://www.digitalpublicgoods.net/r/opencrvs
- Website: https://www.opencrvs.org/
- Source code: https://github.com/opencrvs/opencrvs-core
All DPGs in the DPGs for DPI Collection are assessed by the DPGA Secretariat against the DPGs for DPI criteria v2.0. Assessments use publicly available documentation and link to their evidence below. Assessed September 2026.
16 of 18 checks met
2 partially met
Layer 1
Recognised DPG
Layer 2
DPI Relevance
Layer 3
DPI Architecture Alignment
Layer 1 Recognised Digital Public Good
Listed in the DPG Registry.
Layer 2 DPI Relevance
Does it provide a foundational DPI function, reusable across sectors, at population scale?
Core function is national civil registration, placing it in the Registries domain. Registration data flows to ID, health and social protection systems via FHIR and DCI standards, so the core is not sector-locked, and the system is designed for country-wide operation with live implementations including Bangladesh.
- Interoperability: https://documentation.opencrvs.org/technology/interoperability
- OpenCRVS within a government systems architecture: https://documentation.opencrvs.org/crvs-systems/opencrvs-within-a-government-systems-architecture
- Documentation: https://documentation.opencrvs.org/
Layer 3 DPI Architecture Alignment
How the solution's architecture reflects the principles that distinguish DPI from conventional digitisation.
A · Interoperability
3/3Can other systems connect without modifying the core, using documented open standards?
APIs are publicly documented: a GraphQL gateway alongside REST and FHIR endpoints exposed through an OpenHIM mediator. The solution adopts HL7 FHIR v4, DCI CRVS-SP interface standards and G2P Connect payloads, and exchanges data as FHIR JSON with published schemas.
- API & interoperability docs: https://documentation.opencrvs.org/technology/interoperability
- Standards: https://documentation.opencrvs.org/technology/standards
- Architecture: https://documentation.opencrvs.org/technology/architecture
B · Minimalist & Reusable Design
3/3Is it a modular building block that does one thing well, rather than a monolithic platform?
Built as microservices — authentication, gateway, workflow, notifications and metrics can be deployed and updated independently. The codebase separates opencrvs-core (the reusable infrastructure) from country configuration packages, so countries adapt the system through configuration rather than forking it.
- Architecture: https://documentation.opencrvs.org/technology/architecture
- opencrvs-core repository: https://github.com/opencrvs/opencrvs-core
C · Ecosystem Enablement
3/3Can other public and private actors build on top of it?
External systems integrate through the OpenHIM mediator and GraphQL APIs, with developer documentation published. Documented integrations include OpenSPP, national ID systems and health systems, and the MPL-2.0 licence plus multiple implementation partners mean it is not tied to a single vendor.
- Interoperability: https://documentation.opencrvs.org/technology/interoperability
- Government systems architecture: https://documentation.opencrvs.org/crvs-systems/opencrvs-within-a-government-systems-architecture
- Source code (MPL-2.0): https://github.com/opencrvs/opencrvs-core
D · Federation Readiness
2/3Can it run in distributed or federated deployments suited to national infrastructure?
Each country runs its own instance with no central authority required, and data stays in-country on premise or in country-controlled cloud. Kubernetes-based deployment supports scaling, though public documentation on high-availability and redundancy configurations is currently limited.
- Architecture & deployment: https://documentation.opencrvs.org/technology/architecture
E · Security & Privacy at Scale
2/3Does it meet the security and privacy bar for population-scale infrastructure?
Uses JWT authentication, encrypted communications, role-based access control and an audit trail covering every vital event, with data-minimising FHIR resources appropriate for sensitive birth and death records. A SECURITY.md is published in the repository, but no third-party audit reports or formal vulnerability disclosure page are publicly available.
- Architecture: https://documentation.opencrvs.org/technology/architecture
- Security policy: https://github.com/opencrvs/opencrvs-core/security
- Standards: https://documentation.opencrvs.org/technology/standards
Criteria: DPGs for DPI Collection criteria v2.0 · Co-stewarded by CDPI, Co-Develop and the DPGA Secretariat.
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