Borobudur Law and Society Journal

The Magelang Regency Population and Civil Registration Office (Disdukcapil) provides documents online and offline. Ministry of Home Affairs Regulation No 7 of 2019 created the online channel to make governance more effective and efficient. This article asks how the Regulation is implemented at the office and what hinders it. This empirical socio-legal study applies the four implementation factors of George C Edwards III: communication, resources, disposition and bureaucratic structure. Primary data come from interviews in February and May 2023 with four officials of the office; the legal materials include the Regulation and the office’s service standard; the analysis is qualitative. The findings rest on the informants’ accounts, not on transaction data. Residents of 15 of the 21 sub-districts are reported to use offline service mainly, because of poor internet in mountain areas, limited digital skills among older residents and personal preference. Staff, budget and facilities are reported as insufficient, and the service standard is not yet fully applied. The Regulation is read as adding an online channel to offline service, not replacing it, so low online use is a problem of access and outreach and not of residents’ non-compliance. The article recommends assistance points in villages, a service desk for older residents, response-time targets, a complaint channel and the systematic collection of usage data.