Machine lets couples get hitched in a hurry

It may not be many couples’ romantic vision of their ideal wedding, but a Chinese province has introduced a selfservice terminal where the marriage process can be completed in minutes.

Couples can use the machine, which resembles an airport’s automated check-in terminal, to scan their identification documents, input further personal information, and have images of their faces taken.

It then automatically reviews the application and prints a marriage certificate. All the newlyweds then have to do to complete their legal bond is put their fingerprints on the paperwork in front of an official. The whole process can be completed in 15 minutes.

‘‘It has greatly improved our work efficiency,’’ said Liu Xiao, who heads the marriage registration office in the city of Xinghua in Jiangsu province.

The self-service marriage registration terminal arrived after Beijing ordered local government to use technology to improve public services. It might also improve marriage and birth rates.

The number of marriages in China fell to 8.13 million last year, compared with 13.47 million in 2013. Divorces rose to more than four million couples in 2019, up from 3.5 million in 2013.

About 200 couples in Xinghua have already received their marriage certificates from the terminal, prompting a local TV presenter to urge other young people to ‘‘wait no more’’ and ‘‘hurry up’’.